Career in Marine Science

Marine science is a multidisciplinary field concerned with research on oceans. Oceanography- has united physics, chemistry, biology ecology, geochemistry, geology, geophysics, computer and electronic engineering, marine instrumentation as well as other disciplines in investigations of the marine environment.  The various sub fields  of ocean science are survey and exploitation of marine minerals, water and sediments chemistry, role of microbes in organic matter degradation, enzymes in marine living organisms and other biochemical aspects, land-ocean interaction , air -sea interaction, marine pollution and corrosion, marine natural products, marine instrumentation, data management and information  technology.  

Besides fishing and offshore oil and gas which are being exploited; there are renewable energy resources like tides, currents, waves, thermal gradients and salinity gradients. A lot of R & D effort is going on to exploit these resources. Mineral industries also poised a significant breakthrough in the mining of deep sea nodules. Pharmaceutical potential in marine flora and fauna has also been identified but it is still in its infancy.

Marine scientists work in a variety of disciplines. Examples include meteorology, physics, chemistry, geology, physical oceanography, paleontology, and biology. Marine science also includes archaeology, anthropology, sociology, engineering and other studies of human relationships with the sea. Many marine scientists have multiple specialties or work as part of multi disciplinary teams.

Institutes offering   education and research in  marine science: Various institutes which offer education and research in marine science include National Institute of Oceanography, Goa,  National Centre for Antarctic and Ocean Research, Goa, Central Salt and Marine Chemicals Research Institute, Bhavnagar; Central  Marine Fisheries Research Institute, Mysore, Suganthi Devadason  Marine Research institute, Tuticorin and National Institute of Ocean Technology, Chennai. The Central Institute of Fisheries Education deals largely with fisheries research and education. Andhra University and Goa University impart post graduate level education in marine science.   The area of education and research at Suganthi Devadason Marine Research institute include marine environmental impact assessment and monitoring, Coastal ecosystem Restoration and conservation and Socio-economic upliftment of coastal people. The Institute offers masters programme in marine Science and Ocean Management. M.Phil. programme is offered in marine Microbiology, Coastal aquaculture and Marine sciences and Ocean Management.

The research activities in marine science involve participation in cruises to the Arabian Sea, Bay of Bengal, Indian Ocean and Atlantic and Pacific Oceans in case of collaborative projects with other foreign organisations. The cruises are undertaken on board the ocean research vessels ORV Sagar Kanya, ORV Sagar Shakti and other chartered vessels like ORV Sidorenko, ORV Yuzhmorgeologiya. The ships are well equipped with laboratories and sampling gadgets for different types of studies. Unlike other fields of science which involves full time laboratory work, this relatively new field of science dealing  with ample resources to explore throws up  a real challenge to  scientists to prove their capabilities since quite often one has to work on board the ship under rough sea weather conditions.

Eligibility: After graduation or post graduation in sciences and engineering, students can join the above mentioned institutes to pursue their higher studies in marine science. During this time they get opportunity to work on different analytical instruments and learn latest analytical techniques to understand different aspects of ocean science and technology. A first class M.Sc. is eligible to enter a regular job as scientist ‘B’ and lead or assist a research project. The performance of the scientist is assessed after every five years and he/she is promoted to the next higher grade if found eligible.  Graduates in science get an opportunity to work as project trainees to assist the scientist in their project work in different disciplines. Project trainees are employed for a period of two years. During this period they get training in analytical techniques  in the discipline they join which help them to undertake jobs in any field of aquatic and fisheries science, marine chemistry, microbiology, geology, marine corrosion and other applied fields.