The Earth Resource and System Studies Group (ER&SSG) of the Institute consists of one group and five departments namely, 1) Agriculture & Soils, 2) Forestry & Ecology, 3) Marine & Atmospheric Sciences, 4) Urban & Regional Studies, and 5) Water Resources and Geosciences and Disaster Management Studies Group (GDMSG). The GDMSG consists of two departments namely Geosciences and Geohazards Department and Disaster Management Sciences Department.
The main focus of the group is on applications of geospatial technologies in various thematic domains. One of the most exciting research project under this group is on various thematic aspects in North West Himalayas. Group is also involved in other ISRO and user funded research projects using Remote Sensing, Ground observations and geospatial tools and technologies. Various field instruments and laboratories are setup in Himalayas for long term observations and studies. Some the scientific instruments like Automatic Weather Stations (AWS), Flux towers, Laser Distance Meter, Spectro-radiometer (ASD & FTIR), Total Precession System, Total station, Continuous Operating Reference System (CORS), Broadband Based Seismograph & Strong Motion Accelograph, Digital Plant Canopy Imager, Photosynthetic Analyzer, Spherical Crown Densitometer, Chlorophyll concentration mete etc. are available.