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The Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS) has unveiled its state-of-the-art computing facility, "TARANG," which promises to significantly enhance the country’s ability to forecast oceanic and atmospheric events, including tsunamis, storm surges, and high waves. The facility, launched under the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES), is equipped with advanced technology aimed at improving India’s disaster preparedness and providing real-time ocean weather updates for the Indian Ocean region.

TARANG, a high-performance computing (HPC) system, boasts a powerful processing capacity of 1 Peta FLOPS, a storage capacity of 2 Peta Bytes, and 3 Peta Bytes of archival storage. Additionally, the facility includes a dedicated system for Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) applications with an impressive 15.5 Peta FLOPS. The infrastructure is designed to run complex ocean models that will support operational forecasting and provide critical early warnings for extreme ocean weather events.

Dr. Jitendra Singh, Union Minister of State for Science & Technology, highlighted the importance of the new system, noting that it would support key national initiatives such as the Deep Ocean Mission, Mission Mausam, and the Monsoon Mission, all within the next year. These efforts aim to enhance India’s capability to monitor and predict ocean behavior, which is vital for coastal safety, shipping, and maritime operations.

AI-Driven Modeling to Improve Tsunami and Storm Surge Predictions

The new TARANG facility is set to play a pivotal role in India’s tsunami early warning system, offering Service Level 3 Tsunami warning services for India and 25 other countries around the Indian Ocean Rim. The system will utilize advanced ocean-atmosphere coupled models, wave models, and ocean circulation models to predict various ocean phenomena with greater accuracy.

The computational power of TARANG will be employed to run next-generation ocean state forecast systems, incorporating high-resolution modeling and advanced data assimilation techniques. This will allow INCOIS to more accurately represent complex physical processes in the ocean, providing more localized and precise predictions for extreme weather events such as tsunamis and storm surges.

TARANG’s integration with AI and ML technologies will further enhance forecasting accuracy by leveraging advanced algorithms to analyze vast amounts of ocean and atmospheric data. This system will improve predictions for storm surges, high waves, and other extreme ocean conditions, benefiting coastal communities, maritime industries, and disaster response agencies.