Chennai Scientists Develop New Ocean Monitoring Tool Which Can Also Help Predict Rainfall And Climate Patterns
NIOT has developed a low-cost device that can collect real-time ocean data from fishing boats. This tool can also help predict climate changes, said researchers.
Published : September 13, 2025 at 12:42 PM IST
By S Ravichandran
Chennai: Researchers at the National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT) in Chennai have developed a new low-cost device that can collect ocean data from fishing boats on a real-time basis. This new technology, called the Boat-Based Real-Time Towed Profiling Ocean Observation System, can help monitor ocean health, track changes in salinity and even predict rainfall.
As per the claims, this technology can be used to collect data from a fishing boat up to 350 km offshore and study the health of the ocean.
Earlier, large research vessels, fixed or anchored, were required to measure data in the Indian Ocean. However, NIOT has come up with a new tool that can collect high-resolution data from the coastal plain and the estuary area, where rivers meet the sea, with low operational costs and greater flexibility.
On the newly-developed Ocean Observation System, Balaji Ramakrishnan, Director of the National Institute of Ocean Technology, said, "We are using data from the ocean to predict climate and rainfall. Now, with the indigenously designed Boat-Based Real-Time Towed Profiling Ocean Observation System, we can collect data from fishing boats. Moreover, we can collect data in real time while the boat is moving."
This system has been successfully proven off the Ennore coast in the Bay of Bengal. It provides information on the climate and other minerals in the ocean from a depth of 10-100 metre. During the rainy season, when water from rivers enters the ocean, the salinity of the ocean also changes, he explained. "This tool will allow us to understand the state of living organisms and determine the extent of waste in the ocean," he said.
Sharing details, S Muthukumaravel, head of electronics team who developed the marine monitoring device, said, "We have developed a device using new technology to obtain data from the sea. We can install it on a boat and obtain data in real time. This allows us to confirm the climate changes that occur when we go to the coastal area of the sea by returning to the same place. The climate data obtained from the sea can also predict rainfall. When the water coming from the river mixes with the sea, we can detect the change in salt water, the change in the environment of marine life, etc., and we can also know the mixing of waste."
"When this device is lowered into the sea and activated, it operates completely automatically, does not touch the ground and provides data. Since this device is installed and operated on the boat used by the fishermen, the cost is comparatively low, and it can be operated again to confirm the data," he added.
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