NATIONAL CENTRE FOR EARTH SCIENCE STUDIES

The National Centre for Earth Science Studies (NCESS), known earlier as CESS, is an autonomous research centre promoting scientific and technological research in earth sciences, instituted by the Government of Kerala in 1978 at Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. It was the earliest institute in India to embrace Earth System Science. Its work covers geological evolution, coastal processes, natural hazards, river basin evaluation, groundwater management, coastal erosion, CRZ mapping, pollution studies, environmental impact assessment, and natural resources management, and it offers doctoral research courses. Due to its growth potential, the Kerala government proposed its takeover by the Ministry of Earth Sciences, Government of India, to be made an autonomous institute under the Earth System Science Organization (ESSO). Its campus, developed in 1986, spans 19 acres and houses a 50,000 sq. ft building designed around natural terrain, including administrative, laboratory, and residential blocks. The centre comprises research groups such as the Solid Earth Research Group, Environmental Hydrology Group, Marine Science Group, and Atmospheric Science Group, supported by facilities including XRF, XRD, EPMA, LA-ICPMS, seismological observatories, and cloud physics observatories.