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CSIR Syllabus

Earth Sciences Part II Continued

iii. Ocean Waves and Tides  :  Small amplitude ocean waves; wave energy and group velocity.  Finite amplitude waves, long waves and internal waves, wind waves, their origin, growth, propagation and decay; signified height and period. SMS and PNJ methods, tides, their causes, variation and types, tidal currents; harmonic analysis, finite difference method and prediction of tides.

iv. Air-Sea interaction  :  Laminar and turbulent flows; Reynolds stresses; Richardson’s theory of turbulence, principles of Prandit’s mixing length theory; Taylor’s statistical theory and Kolmogoroffe similarity theory; Air Sea interaction at various scales; planetary and laminar boundary layer, surface layer and spiral layer; Sea surface as a lower boundary of air-flow, and its geometry; wind field in the first few meters of the sea surface, wind structure in the marline frictional layer; transfer of heat and water vapour, determination of air-sea fluxes, energy exchange and global heat and water budgets, convection and its role in tropical circulations, affects of upwilling and sinking on the ocean-atmosphere system.

v. Coastal and Esluarine Oceanography  :  Factors influencing coastal processes; transformation of waves in shallow water; Effects of stratification; effect of bottom friction, phenomena of waves reflection, refraction and diffraction, breakers and surf; littoral currents wave action on sediments; movement to beach material, rip current; beach stability ocean beach nourishment; harbour resonance, saiches, Tsunamis; interaction of waves and structure.  Sea Walls,  Estuaries; classification and nomenclature; tides in estuaries; estuarine circulation and mixing; depth – averaged and breadth- averaged models; sedimentation in estuaries; salinity intrusion in estuaries; Effect of stratification; coastal pollution; mixing and diffusion dispersal of pollutants in estuaries and near shore areas; standing concentration; coastal zone management.

vi. Chemical Oceanography :  Major and minor constituents of sea-water and their residence times, processes controlling the composition of sea-water; Dissolved gases in sea-water;  their sources and sinks.  Carbondioxide system, distribution of alkalinity, Physical chemistry of sea-water, dynamic equilibrium in chemical composition of the ocean including trace metals, organic materials.  Biogeochemical cycling and its effect on atmospheric composition and climate.  Inter-relationships between ocean circulation, primary productivity and chemical composition of the atmosphere and ocean.  Stable and radioactive isotopes; chemistry of waters and transfer across the sediment water interface; marine pollution, pathways of transfer of various pollutants (hydrocarbons, pesticides, trace metals etc.) and their tatls in the sea.  Chemistry of marine natural products; biomedical potential of marine biots; remote

vii. Marine Geology  :  Morphological and tectonic domains of the ocean floor.  Mid-oceanic ridge systems, hydrothermal vents and sea-water basalt interaction; modes and rates of sedimentation in the oceans; diagenetic changes in oxic and anoxic environments, mobility of redoxmetals; nature of deep sea sediments and processes and regulating sedimentary composition; geochronology of marine sediments, sedimentary markers (biological and chemical) of paleoenvironmental conditions.  Mineral resources of the ocean phosphorites, manages and other deposits and the factors controlling their distribution.

viii. Marine Biology  :  Sea as a biological environment; divisions of the marine environment and their characteristics fauna and flora and their adaptations.  Marine ecosystems; rocky shores, sandy shores, estuarine, mangroves and coral reefs; description of communities, community structure and function; plankton, nekton and benthos; primary, secondary and tertiary production; food web and trophic structure; living resources of the Indian seas; mariculture; culture of moifuses, crustacean, fishes and seaweeds.