The JGOFS is an established core programme of International Biospehere- Geosphere Programme (IGBP) designed to determine carbon flux in the world oceans with a view to establish the role of ocean in governing atmospheric CO2 content, in relation to climate change. The Indian component of JGOFS was launched in 1993, to assess the carbon flux in the Arabian Sea and to determine whether Arabian Sea acts as a source or sink for atmospheric carbon-di-oxide. Under the programme, four multi-disciplinary cruises were proposed to be conducted in the Arabian Sea, covering both southwest and northeast monsoon seasons. Studies on biological, geochemical, physical oceanography and sediments are also carried out. The institutes involved in the programme are National Institute of Oceanography, National Chemical Laboratory, Physical Research Laboratory and Centre for Mathematical Modelling and Computer Simulation. Two multi-disciplinary oceanographic cruises were conducted in the earlier years. During the year, one multi- disciplinary oceanographic cruise was organised using ORV Sagar Kanya in the Arabian Sea. The interim findings of the project are as follows:

The surface primary productivity rates in the Arabian Sea are high compared to other open ocean waters.

Large phytoplankton contribute significantly to trap derived particulate flux in the Arabian Sea.

Nitrous oxide and Methane concentrations in subsurface waters exhibit an increasing trend from south to north in the Arabian Sea.

Sources for atmospheric dust in the Arabian Sea are largely from the Indian sub- continent and Thar desert.