Page 46 - CTB-1 10 May

46 PIONEERING A NEW FUTURE
Indian Institute of Geomagnetism
Above: IIG’s Alibag building Below: IIG building at Colaba
Indian Institute of Geomagnetism (IIG) has an enviable history of over 175 years, which was instrumental in spawning geomagnetism in the Indian subcontinental region. It
has evolved from being a data gathering organization to using long series
geomagnetic data to tackle applied
aspects that benefit society, in an obvious
and abstruse ways. IIG was given a full-
scale mandate to pursue geomagnetic and
allied field research in 1971. It has been an autonomous institution since its inception and
is now functioning directly under the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India. The evolution of geomagnetism in the country has been interminably linked to the growth of this institution.
It was the observation and data collection entity in the form of Colaba-Alibag Magnetic Observatories, set in motion in 1841, that
metamorphosed into Indian Institute of Geomagnetism. When the Government of India established the institute little was known about
the geomagnetic vicissitudes of the Earth and the Sun. The signature work of IIG is
the chain of magnetic observatories that capture the nuances of magnetic field characteristics.
ACHIEVEMENTS
Research Activities: The institute has gained comprehensive understanding about
the internal structure of the Earth, conductive bodies, use of magnetic minerals to map the earth and delineate past climate change. The magnetic
particles volleying from the Sun towards the Earth have their own complex story to narrate.
This has been unraveled, to a large extent, through modeling and simulation.