CSIR NET EARTH SCIENCES SYLLABUS

CSIR NET EARTH SCIENCES SYLLABUS

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We have described the pattern and syllabus for CSIR NET EARTH SCIENCES.

 

EXAM PATTERN:

The MCQ test paper of each subject shall carry a maximum of 200 marks.

The exam shall be for duration of three hours.

 The question paper shall be divided in three parts

Part 'A' shall be common to all subjects. This part shall be a test containing a maximum of 20 questions of General Aptitude. The candidates shall be required to answer any 15 questions of two marks each. The total marks allocated to this section shall be 30 out of 200

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Part 'B' shall   contain subject-related conventional MCQs. The total marks allocated to this section shall be 70 out of 200. The maximum number of questions to be attempted shall be in the range of 20-35.

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Part 'C' shall contain higher value questions that may test the candidate's knowledge of scientific concepts and/or application of the scientific concepts. The questions shall be of analytical nature where a candidate is expected to apply the scientific knowledge to arrive at the solution to the given scientific problem.  The total marks allocated to this section shall be 100 out of 200.

Negative marking for wrong answers.

 

 

SYLLABUS FOR

EARTH, ATMOSPHERIC, OCEAN AND PLANETARY SCIENCES:

PAPER I (PART B)

1. The Earth and the Solar System:
Milky Way and the solar system. Modern theories on the origin of the Earth and other planetary
bodies. Earth‟s orbital parameters, Kepler‟s laws of planetary motion, Geological Time Scale; Space
and time scales of processes in the solid Earth, atmosphere and oceans. Radioactive isotopes and
their applications. Meteorites Chemical composition and the Primary differentiation of the earth.
Basic principles of stratigraphy. Theories about the origin of life and the nature of fossil record.
Earth‟s gravity and magnetic fields and its thermal structure: Concept of Geoid and, spheroid;
Isostasy.

2. Earth Materials, Surface Features and Processes:

Gross composition and physical properties of
important minerals and rocks; properties and processes responsible for mineral concentrations; nature
and distribution of rocks and minerals in different units of the earth and different parts of India.
Physiography of the Earth; weathering, erosion, transportation and deposition of Earth‟s material;
formation of soil, sediments and sedimentary rocks; energy balance of the Earth‟s surface processes;
physiographic features and river basins in India

3. Interior of the Earth, Deformation and Tectonics
Basic concepts of seismology and internal structure of the Earth. Physico-chemical and seismic
properties of Earth‟s interior. Concepts of stress and strain. Behaviour of rocks under stress; Folds,
joints and faults. Earthquakes – their causes and measurement. Interplate and intraplate seismicity.
Paleomagnetism, sea floor spreading and plate tectonics.

4. Oceans and Atmosphere
Hypsography of the continents and ocean floor –continental shelf, slope, rise and abyssal plains.
Physical and chemical properties of sea water and their spatial variations. Residence times of
elements in sea water. Ocean currents, waves and tides, important current systems, thermohaline
circulation and the oceanic conveyor belt. Major water masses of the world‟s oceans. Biological
productivity in the oceans.
Motion of fluids, waves in atmospheric and oceanic systems. Atmospheric turbulence and boundary
layer. Structure and chemical composition of the atmosphere, lapse rate and stability, scale height,
geopotential, greenhouse gases and global warming. Cloud formation and precipitation processes,
air- sea interactions on different space and time scales. Insolation and heat budget, radiation balance,
general circulation of the atmosphere and ocean. Climatic and sea level changes on different time
scales. Coupled ocean-atmosphere system, El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO). General weather
systems of India, - Monsoon system, cyclone and jet stream, Western disturbances and severe local
convective systems, distribution of precipitation over India.

Marine and atmospheric pollution, ozone depletion.

5. Environmental Earth Sciences
Properties of water; hydrological cycle; water resources and management. Energy resources, uses,
degradation, alternatives and management; Ecology and biodiversity. Impact of use of energy and
land on the environment. Exploitation and conservation of mineral and other natural resources.
Natural hazards. Elements of Remote Sensing.

 

 PAPER I (PART C)
I. GEOLOGY

1) MINERALOGY AND PETROLOGY:
Concept of point group, space group, reciprocal lattice, diffraction and imaging. Concepts of crystal
field theory and mineralogical spectroscopy. Lattice defects (point, line and planar). Electrical,
magnetic and optical properties of minerals. Bonding and crystal structures of common oxides,
sulphides, and silicates. Transformation of minerals – polymorphism, polytypism, and polysomatism.
Solid solution and exsolution.
Steady-state geotherms. Genesis, properties, emplacement and crystallization of magmas. Phase
equilibrium studies of simple systems, effect of volatiles on melt equilibria. Magma-mixing, -
mingling and -immiscibility.
Metamorphic structures and textures; isograds and facies. Mineral reactions with condensed phases,
solid solutions, mixed volatile equilibria and thermobarometry. Metamorphism of pelites, mafic-ultra
mafic rocks and siliceous dolomites. Material transport during metamorphism. P-T-t path in regional
metamorphic terrains, plate tectonics and metamorphism.
Petrogenetic aspects of important rock suites of India, such as the Deccan Traps, layered intrusive
complexes, anorthosites, carbonatites, charnockites, alkaline rocks, Kimberlites, ophiolites and
granitoids.

2) STRUCTURAL GEOLOGY AND GEOTECTONICS:
Theory of stress and strain. Behaviour of rocks under stress. Mohr circle. Various states of stress and
their representation by Mohr circles. Different types of failure and sliding criteria. Geometry and
mechanics of fracturing and conditions for reactivation of pre-existing discontinuities. Common
types of finite strain ellipsoids. L-, L-S-, and S-tectonic fabrics. Techniques of strain analysis.
Particle paths and flow patterns. Progressive strain history. Introduction to deformation mechanisms.
Role of fluids in deformation processes. Geometry and analyses of brittle-ductile and ductile shear
zones. Sheath folds. Geometry and mechanics of development of folds, boudins, foliations and
lineations. Interference patterns of superposed fold. Fault-related folding. Gravity induced structures.
Tectonic features of extensional-, compressional-, and strike-slip-terrains and relevance to plate
boundaries. mantle plumes.
Himalayan Orogeny; concept of super continent, their assembly and breakup.

3) PALEONTOLOGY AND ITS APPLICATIONS:
Theories on origin of life. Organic evolution – Punctuated Equilibrium and Phyletic Gradualism
models. Mass extinctions and their causes. Application of fossils in age determination and
correlation. Paleoecology, Life habitats and various ecosystems, Paleobiogeography. Modes of
preservation of fossils and taphonomic considerations. Types of microfossils. Environmental
significance of fossils and trace fossils. Use of microfossils in interpretation of sea floor tectonism.
Application of micropaleontology in hydrocarbon exploration. Oxygen and Carbon isotope studies of
microfossils and their use in paleoceanographic and paleoclimatic interpretation. Important
invertebrate fossils, vertebrate fossils, plant fossils and microfossils in Indian stratigraphy.

4) SEDIMENTOLOGY AND STRATIGRAPHY:
Classification of sediments and sedimentary rocks ; elastic, volcanoclastic and chemical.
Classification of elastic rocks. Flow regimes and processes of sediment transport. Sedimentary
textures and structures. Sedimentary facies and environments, reconstruction of paleoenvironments.
Formation and evolution of sedimentary basins. Diagenesis of siliciclastic and carbonate rocks.
Recent developments in stratigraphic classification. Code of stratigraphic nomenclature –
Stratotypes, Global Boundary Stratotype Sections and Points (GSSP). Lithostratigraphic,
chronostratigraphic and biostratigraphic subdivisions. Methods of startigraphic correlation including
Shaw‟s Graphic correlation. Concept of sequence stratigraphy. Rates of sediment accumulation,
unconformities. Facies concept in Stratigraphy – Walther‟s law. Methods for paleogeographic
reconstruction. Earth‟s Climatic History. Phanerozoic stratigraphy of India with reference to the type
areas– their correlation with equivalent formations in other regions. Boundary problems in Indian
Phanerozoic stratigraphy.

5) MARINE GEOLOGY AND PALEOCEANOGRAPHY:
Morphologic and tectonic domains of the ocean floor. Structure, composition and mechanism of the
formation of oceanic crust. hydrothermal vents-. Ocean margins and their significance. Ocean
Circulation, Coriolis effect and Ekman spiral, convergence, divergence and upwelling, El Nino.
Indian Ocean Dipole Thermohaline circulation and oceanic conveyor belt. Formation of Bottom
waters; major water masses of the world‟s oceans. Oceanic sediments: Factors controlling the
deposition and distribution of oceanic sediments; geochronology of oceanic sediments, diagenetic
changes in oxic and anoxic environments. Tectonic evolution of the ocean basins. Mineral resources.
Paleoceanography – Approaches to paleoceanographic reconstructions; various proxy indicators for
paleoceanographic interpretation. Reconstruction of monsoon variability by using marine proxy
records Opening and closing of ocean gateways and their effect on circulation and climate during the
Cenozoic. Sea level processes and Sea level changes.
Methods of paleo Sea Surface temperature. Quantifications.

6) GEOCHEMISTRY:
Atomic Structure and properties of elements, the Periodic Table; ionic substitution in minerals;
Phase rule and its applications in petrology, thermodynamics of reactions involving pure phases,
ideal and non-ideal solutions, and fluids; equilibrium and distribution coefficients. Nucleation and
diffusion processes in igneous, metamorphic and sedimentary environments, redox reactions and EhpH diagrams and their applications. Mineral/mineral assemblages as „sensors‟ of ambient
environments. Geochemical studies of aerosols, surface-, marine-, and ground waters. Radioactive
decay schemes and their application to geochronology and petrogenesis. Stable isotopes and their
application to earth system processes; geochemical differentiation of the earth; geochemical cycles.

7) ECONOMIC GEOLOGY:
Magmatic, hydrothermal and surface processes of ore formation. Metallogeny and its relation to
crustal evolution; Active ore-forming systems, methods of mineral deposit studies including ore
microscopy, fluid inclusions and isotopic systematics; ores and metamorphism- cause and effect
relationships. Geological setting, characteristics, and genesis of ferrous, base and noble metals.
Origin, migration and entrapment of petroleum; properties of source and reservoir rocks; structural,
stratigraphic and combination traps. Methods of petroleum exploration. Concepts of petrophysics,
Petroliferous basins of India. Origin of peat, lignite, bitumen and anthracite. Classification, rank and
grading of coal; coal petrography, coal resources of India. Gas hydrates and coal bed methane.
Nuclear and non-conventional energy resources.

8) PRECAMBRIAN GEOLOGY AND CRUSTAL EVOLUTION:
Evolution of lithosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere, biosphere, and cryosphere;, lithological,
geochemical and stratigraphic characteristics of granite – greenstone and granulite belts. Stratigraphy
and geochronology of the cratonic nuclei, mobile belts and Proterozoic sedimentary basins of India.
Life in Precambrian. Precambrian – Cambrian boundary with special reference to India.

9) QUATERNARY GEOLOGY:
Definition of Quaternary. Quaternary Stratigraphy – Oxygen Isotope stratigraphy, biostratigraphy
and magnetostratigraphy. Quaternary climates – glacial-interglacial cycles, eustatic changes, proxy
indicators of paleoenvironmental/ paleoclimatic changes, - land, ocean and cryosphere (ice core
studies). Responses of geomorphic systems to climate, sea level and tectonics on variable time scales
in the Quaternary, Quaternary dating methods, –radiocarbon, Uranium series, Luminescence, Aminoacid. Quaternary stratigraphy of India– continental records (fluvial, glacial, aeolian, palaeosols and
duricrust); marine records; continental-marine correlation of Quaternary record.
Evolution of man and Stone Age cultures. Plant and animal life in relation to glacial and interglacial
cycles during Quaternary.
Tectonic geomorphology, neotectonics, active tectonics and their applications to natural hazard
assessment.

 

10) (I)APPLIED GEOLOGY:
(i) Remote Sensing and GIS: Elements of photogrammetry, elements of photo-interpretation,
electromagnetic spectrum, emission range, film and imagery, sensors, geological interpretations of
air photos and imageries. Global positioning systems. GIS- data structure, attribute data, thematic
layers and query analysis.

(ii) Engineering Geology: Engineering properties of rocks and physical characteristics of building
stones, concretes and other aggregates. Geological investigations for construction of dams, bridges,
highways and tunnels. Remedial measures. Mass movements with special emphasis on landslides and
causes of hillslope instability. Seismic design of buildings.

(iii) Mineral Exploration: Geological, geophysical, geochemical and geobotanical methods of
surface and sub-surface exploration on different scales. Sampling, assaying and evaluation of mineral
deposits.

(iv) Hydrogeology: Groundwater, Darcy‟s law, hydrological characteristics of aquifers, hydrological
cycle. Precipitation, evapotranspiration and infiltration processes. Hydrological classification of
water-bearing formations. Fresh and salt-water relationships in coastal and inland areas. Groundwater
exploration and water pollution. Groundwater regimes in India.

(II) PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY

1) Geomorphology: Concepts in geomorphology. Historical and process Geomorphology.
Landforms in relation to climate, rock type, structure and tectonics. Processes – weathering,
pedogenesis, mass movement, erosion, transportation and deposition. Geomorphic processes and
landforms – fluvial, glacial, eolian, coastal and karst. River forms and processes – stream flow, stagedischarge relationship; hydrographs and flood frequency analysis. Submarine relief. Geomorphology
and topographic analysis including DEM, Environmental change– causes, effects on processes and
landforms. Extra-terrestrial geomorphology.

2) Climatology: Fundamental principles of climatology. Earth‟s radiation balance; latitudinal and
seasonal variation of insolation, temperature, pressure, wind belts, humidity, cloud formation and
precipitation, water balance. Air masses, monsoon, Jet streams, tropical cyclones, and ENSO.
Classification of climates – Koppen‟s and Thornthwaite‟s scheme of classification. Climate change.

3) Bio-geography: Elements of biogeography with special reference to India; environment, habitat,
plant-animal association; zoo-geography of India; Biomes, elements of plant geography, distribution
of forests and major plant communities. Distribution of major animal communities. Conservation of
forests. Wildlife sanctuaries and parks.

4) Environmental Geography: Man-land relationship. Resources – renewable and non-renewable.
Natural and man-made hazards – droughts, floods, cyclones, earthquakes, landslides, tsunamis.
Ecological balance, environmental pollution and deterioration.

5) Geography of India: Physiography, drainage, climate, soils and natural resources – the Himalaya,
Ganga-Brahmaputra Plains, and peninsular India Precambrian shield, the Gondwana rift basins,
Deccan Plateau. Indian climatology with special reference to seasonal distribution and variation of
temperature, humidity, wind and precipitation; Climate zones of India. Agricultural geography of
India. Population – its distribution and characteristics. Urbanization and migration. Environmental
problems and issues.

(III) GEOPHYSICS

1) Signal Processing: Continuous and discrete signals; Fourier series; auto and cross correlations,
linear time invariant systems with deterministic and random inputs; band limited signal and sampling
theorem; Fourier and Fast Fourier transforms; Z-transform; convolution; Filters: discrete and
continuous, recursive, non-recursive, optimal and inverse filters; deconvolution; fractal analysis.

2) Field theory: Newtonian potential; Laplace and Poisson‟s equations; Green‟s Theorem; Gauss‟
law; Continuation integral; equivalent stratum; Maxwell‟s equations and electromagnetic theory;
Displacement potential, Helmhotz‟s theorem and seismic wave propagation.

3) Numerical analysis and inversion: Numerical differentiation and integration, finite element, and
finite difference techniques; Simpson‟s rules; Gauss‟ quadrature formula; initial value problems;
pattern recognition in Geophysics. Well posed and ill-posed problems; method of least squares;
direct search and gradient methods; generalized inversion techniques; singular value decomposition;
global optimization.

4) Gravity and Magnetic fields of the earth: Normal gravity field; Clairaut‟s theorem; Shape of the
earth; deflection of the vertical, geoid, free-air, Bouguer and isostatic anomalies, isostatic models for
local and regional compensation. Geomagnetic field, secular and transient variations and their
theories; palaeomagnetism, construction of polar wandering curves.

5) Plate Tectonics and Geodynamics: Marine magnetic anomalies, sea floor spreading; midoceanic ridges and geodynamics; plate tectonics hypothesis; plate boundaries and seismicity. Heat
flow mechanisms, thermal moddling of earth,core-mantle convection and mantle plumes.

6)Seismology Elastic theory: Seismometry: short period, long period, broad band and strong
motion; elements of earthquake seismology; seismic sources: faulting source, double couple
hypothesis, seismic moment tensor, focal mechanism and fault plane solutions; seismic gaps;
seismotectonics and structure of the earth; Himalayan and stable continental region earthquakes,
reservoir induced seismicity; seismic hazards; earthquake prediction, travel time residuals, velocity
anomalies, seismic tomography.

7) Gravity and Magnetic Methods: Gravimeters and magnetometers; data acquisition from land, air
and ship; corrections and reduction of anomalies; ambiguity; regional and residual separation;
continuation and derivative calculations; interpretation of anomalies of simple geometric bodies,
single pole, sphere, horizontal cylinder, sheet, dyke and fault. Forward modelling and inversion of
arbitrary shaped bodies and 2-D, 3-D interfaces. Interpretations in frequency domain.

8) Electrical and Electromagnetic Methods: Electrical profiling and sounding, typical sounding
curves, pseudo-sections; resistivity transform and direct interpretation; induced polarization methods.
Electromagnetic field techniques; elliptic polarization, in-phase and out of phase components,
horizontal and vertical loop methods; interpretation; VLF (very low frequency); AFMAG (Audio
frequency magnetic) methods; and central frequency sounding; transient electromagnetic methods;
magneto-telluric method; geomagnetic depth sounding.

9) Seismic Methods: Generalized Snell‟s Law; Ray theory; reflection, refraction, diffraction;
Zoeppritz‟s equation; seismic energy sources; detectors; seismic noises and noise profile analysis;
seismic data recording, reduction to a datum and weathering corrections; Interpretation of refraction
and reflection data; CDP/CMP; velocity analysis, F-K filtering, stacking, deconvolution, migration
before and after stack; bright spot analysis; wavelet processing; attenuation studies, shear waves,
AVO; VSP; introduction to 3D seismics; seismic stratigraphy.

10) Well logging: Open hole, cased hole and production logging; Electrical logs; lateral, latero,
induction, temperature, S.P; porosity logs; sonic, density, neutron; natural gamma; determination of
formation factor, porosity, permeability, density, water saturation, lithology; logging while drilling.

 

(IV) METEOROLOGY

1) Climatology: Same as under Geography

2) Physical Meteorology: Thermal structure of the atmosphere and its composition. Radiation: basic
Laws - Rayleigh and Mie scattering, multiple scattering, radiation from the sun, solar constant, effect
of clouds, surface and planetary albedo. Emission and absorption of terrestrial radiation, radiation
windows, radiative transfer, Greenhouse effect, net radiation budget; Thermodynamics of dry and
moist air: specific gas constant, Adiabatic and isoentropic processes, entropy and enthalpy, Moisture
variables, virtual temperature; Clausius – Clapeyron equation, adiabatic process of moist air;
thermodynamic diagrams: Hydrostatic equilibrium: Hydrostatic equation, variation of pressure with
height, geopotential, standard atmosphere, altimetry. Vertical stability of the atmosphere: Dry and
moist air parcel and slice methods. Tropical convection. Atmospheric optics - visibility - optical
phenomenon - rainbows, haloes, corona, glarg, mirage.

3) Atmospheric Electricity: Fair weather electric field in the atmosphere and potential gradients,
ionization in the atmosphere. Electrical fields in thunderstorms, theories of thunderstorm
electrification - Structure of lightening flash-mechanism of earth-atmospheric change balance-role of
thunderstroms.

4) Cloud Physics: Cloud classification, condensation nuclei, growth of cloud drops and ice-crystals,
precipitation mechanisms: Bergeron, Findeisen process, coalescence process – Precipitation of warm
and mixed clouds, artificial precipitation, hail suppression, fog and cloud – dissipation, radar
observation of clouds and precipitation, radar equation, rain drop spectra, radar echoes of hail storm
and tornadoes, radar observation of hurricanes, measurements of rainfall by radar.

5) Dynamic Meteorology: Basic equations and fundamental forces: Pressure, gravity, centripetal and
Corolis forces, continuity equation in Cartesian and isobaric coordinates. Momentum equation
Cartesian and spherical coordinates; scale analysis, inertial flow, geostrophic and gradient winds,
thermal wind. Divergence and vertical motion Rossby, Richardson, Reynolds and Froude numbers.
Circulation, vorticity and divergence; Bjerknese circulation theorem and applications, vorticity and
divergence equations, scale analysis, potential vorticity, stream function and velocity potential.
Atmospheric turbulence: Mixing length theory, planetary boundary layer equations, surface layer,
Ekman layer, eddy transport of heat, moisture and momentum, Richardson criterion; Linear
Perturbation Theory: Internal and external gravity waves, inertia waves, gravity waves, Rossby
waves, wave motion in the tropics, barotropic and baroclinic instabilities. Atmospheric Energetics:
Kinetic, potential and internal energies – conversion of potential and internal energies into kinetic
energy, available potential energy.

6) Numerical Weather Prediction: computational instability, filtering of sound and gravity waves,
filtered forecast equations, barotropic and equivalent barotropic models, two parameter baroclinic
model, relaxation method. Multi-layer primitive equation models. Short, medium and long range
weather prediction. Objective analysis; Initialization of the data for use in weather prediction models;
data assimilation techniques, application of satellite in NWP (Numerical Weather Prediction) and
remotely sensed data.

7) General Circulation and Climate Modelling: Observed zonally symmetric circulations,
meridional circulation models, mean meridional and eddy transport of momentum and energy,
angular momentum and energy budgets; zonally asymmetric features of general circulation; standing
eddies; east-west circulations in tropics: climate variability and forcings; feedback processes, low
frequency variability, MJO Madden-Julian oscillation), ENSO, QBO (quasi-biennial oscillation) and
sunspot cycles. Basic principles of general circulation modelling; grid-point and spectral GCMs; role
of the ocean in climate modelling; interannual variability of ocean fields (SST, winds, circulation,
etc.) and its relationship with monsoon, concepts of ocean – atmosphere coupled models.

8) Synoptic Meteorology: Weather observations and transmission, synoptic charts, analysis of
surface, upper air another derivative chart, stream-lines, isotachs and contour analysis; tilt and slope
of pressure/weather systems with height. Synoptic weather forecasting, prediction of weather
elements such as rain, maximum and minimum temperature and fog; hazardous weather elements
like thunderstorms, duststorms, tornadoes. Tropical meteorology: Trade wind inversion, ITCZ;
monsoon trough tropical cyclones, their structure and development theory; monsoon depressions;
tropical easterly jet stream; low level jets, Somali jet, waves in easterlies; western disturbances; SW
and NE monsoons; synoptic features associated with onset, withdrawal, break active and weak
monsoons and their prediction. Air masses and fronts: sources, origin and classification of air
masses; and fronts, frontogenesis and frontolysis; structure of cold and warm fronts; weather systems
associated with fronts. Extra-tropical synoptic scale features: jet streams, extratropical cyclones and
anticyclones.

9) Aviation Meteorology: Role of meteorology in aviation, weather hazards associated with take off
cruising and landing, inflight – icing, turbulence, visibility, fog, clouds, rain, gusts, wind shear and
thunderstorms, nowcasting and very short range forecasting.

10) Satellite Meteorology: Meteorological satellites – Polar orbiting and geostationary satellites,
visible and infrared radiometers, multiscanner radiometers; identification of synoptic systems, fog
and sandstorms, detection of cyclones, estimation of SST, cloud top temperatures, winds and rainfall:
temperature and humidity soundings.

(V) OCEAN SCIENCES

1) Physical Oceanography: T-S diagrams; mixing processes in the oceans; characteristics of
important water masses.
Wind generated waves in the oceans; their characteristics; shallow and deep water waves.
Propagation, refraction, and reflection of waves. Wave spectrum, principles of wave forecasting.
Tide-producing forces and their magnitudes; prediction of tides by the harmonic method; tides and
tidal currents in shallow seas, estuaries and rivers. Factors influencing coastal processes;
transformation of waves in shallow water; effects of stratification; effect of bottom friction,
phenomena of wave reflection, refraction and diffraction; breakers and surf; littoral currents; wave
action on sediments – movement to beach material; rip currents; beach stability, ocean beach
nourishment; harbour resonance; seiches; tsunami; interaction of waves and structure.
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 dispersal of pollutants in estuaries and nearshore areas; coastal zone management.
The global wind system; action of wind on ocean surface; Ekman‟s theory; Sverdrup, Stommel and
Munk‟s theories; upwelling and sinking with special reference to the Indian ocean. Inertial currents;
divergences and convergences; geostrophic motion; barotropic and baroclinic conditions; oceanic
eddies, relationship between density, pressure and dynamic topography; relative and slope currents.
Wind driven coastal currents; typical scales of motion in the ocean.
Characteristics of the global conveyor belt circulation and its causes.
Formation of subtropical gyres; western boundary currents; equatorial current systems; El Nino;
monsoonal winds and currents over the North Indian Ocean; Somali current; southern ocean.
Upwelling process in the Arabian Sea.

2) Chemical Oceanography: Composition of seawater – Classification of elements based on their
distribution; major and minor elements, their behavior and chemical exchanges across interfaces and
residence times in seawater.
Element chemistry in atypical conditions-estuaries, hydrothermal vents, anoxic basins, HNLC
waters, sediment pore fluid and anthropogenic inputs.
Chemical and biological interactions – Ionic interactions; biochemical cycling of nutrients, trace
metals and organic matter. Air-sea exchange of important biogenic dissolved gases; carbon dioxidecarbonate system; alkalinity and control of pH; biological pump.
Factors affecting sedimentary deposits-CaCO3, Silicate, Manganese nodules, phosphorites and
massive single deposits.

3) Geological Oceanography: Same topics as under subhead “Marine Geology & paleooceanography”

4) Biological Oceanography: Classification of the marine environment and marine organisms.
Physio-chemical factors affecting marine life – light, temperature, salinity, pressure, nutrients,
dissolved gases; adaptation and biological processes.
Primary and secondary production; factors controlling phytoplankton and zooplankton abundance
and diversity; nekton and fisheries oceanography; benthic organisms; coastal marine communities
and community ecology – estuaries, coral reefs and mangrove communities, deep-sea ecology
including hydrothermal vent communities.
Energy flow and mineral cycling – energy transfer and transfer efficiencies through different trophic
levels; food webs including the microbial loop.
Human impacts on marine communities; impacts of climate change on marine biodiversity.
Impact of pollution on marine environments including fisheries.

 

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