Chapter 2 : Geoscientific Explorations

Introduction

• The leading geoscience organisation engaged in mineral exploration in India since its founding in 1851 is the Geological Survey of India (GSI). The GSI's baseline geoscience data collection serves as the foundation for further mineral exploration, which results in mineral discoveries.
• The development of the mining sector is closely related to the country's mineral endowment, which is established via repeated efforts in resource augmentation and mineral exploration through discoveries.
• The GSI's baseline geoscience data collection serves as the foundation for further mineral exploration, which results in mineral discoveries.

Working area of GSI

• The primary mandate of GSI at the time of its founding was to conduct out: a geological survey of the nation and exploration in particular regions of the nation with a focus on finding mineral resources.

Recent Area of Focus

Mission-I Baseline Geoscience Data Generation:

• The collecting and dissemination of pre-competitive baseline geoscience data of the highest calibre are stressed in the National Mineral Exploration Policy (NMEP), 2016 edition.
• To advance mineral exploration in the nation, it is essential to explore deep-seated or hidden mineral reserves.
• As a result, 99.15% of the country's mappable area has been geologically mapped by GSI.
• At the moment, GSI is working on pan-India mapping projects with the main goal of identifying new target areas for natural resource forecasting and to solve both fundamental geological difficulties and geo-societal concerns.
• With its cutting-edge research vessel, R V Samudra Ratnakar, and other coastal vessels, GSI has made significant contributions to the study of marine geology through seabed mapping across an area of 20.5 lakh sq km and reconnaissance of mineral resource estimation.

Mission-II Natural Resource Assessment:

• GSI is increasing natural mineral and coal resources to increase the contribution of the mining sector to India's GDP.
• Under Project "Uncover India," a partnership with Geoscience Australia, emphasis has been placed on the discovery of key and vital minerals like tungsten, molybdenum, nickel, lithium, cobalt, rock phosphate, and potash as well as the investigation of buried and hidden reserves.

Mission-III Geoinformatics

• To fulfil its obligation to openly communicate geoscientific information on a variety of topics for everyone's use, GSI has created the Online Core Business Integrated System (OCBIS) portal.
• It achieves this via "Bhukosh," the company's main geospatial portal. Anyone can use this information for mineral forecasting and to do research to produce new knowledge.
• In order to house exploration-related geoscientific data gathered by all stakeholders, GSI is also assuming the lead in the establishment of the National Geoscience Data Repository (NGDR).
• For the purpose of implementing NGDR, GSI and Bhaskaracharya National Institute for Space Applications and Geo-Informatics (BISAG-N) have signed the MoU.

Mission-IV Multidisciplinary and Fundamental Geosciences and Special Studies:

• Since many years, GSI has been engaged in fundamental geoscience research that aids in understanding earth surface dynamics.
• Since 2004, GSI has been the country's central organisation for landslide hazard studies.
• From 2017, GSI has been working with the British Geological Survey (BGS) on the LANDSLIP project to create an experimental regional Landslide Early Warning System (LEWS) based on rainfall thresholds.
• Beginning with the monsoon of 2020, GSI began sending district administrations in two pilot locations daily landslide forecast bulletins during the monsoon (Darjeeling district, West Bengal and the Nilgiris district, Tamil Nadu).

Activities Besides

• Since 1974, GSI has been keeping a close eye on a number of glaciers in the Himalayan states of Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim, and UTs of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh, as well as in Sikkim.
• Ongoing research is being done in the Himalayan glaciers to understand how climate change is affecting the cryogenic environment and how it affects the water balance of the Himalayan River systems that feed the fertile Indo Gangetic Plain.
• In order to comprehend the global ecosystem more fully, GSI has also been undertaking research in the Arctic and Antarctica's Polar Regions to understand how the frozen continent's climate is changing and how that impact is affecting the rest of the world.