Manipal, December, 2019 : A team of eleven MSc Geology students of Manipal Institute of Technology got a unique opportunity to get trained on sediment and organic matter sampling techniques on-board the Fishery Oceanography Research Vessel (FORV) Sagar Sampada for three days from December 9 to 11.

The study trip was an initiative of the government of India to motivate young post-graduates to take up oceanographic research and was organized by the CMLRE- Kochi, a research laboratory owned by the Ministry of Earth Sciences (CMLRE), Government of India.

The students were taken on a cruise off Kochi port for about 70 km in the Arabian Sea and were shown how the scientists obtained deep sea-bed sediment samples for studies on past climate, geology and fishery sciences.

In one of the experiments, a sediment grab sampler was lowered through winches to a depth of 50 metres and the fine sediment from the sea floor was collected. The students processed the samples for different life forms and preserved it for geochemical analysis. They were also shown the mode of sampling for phytoplankton’s, fish larvae and zooplanktons using the Bongo sampler.

The team was led by Dr K Balakrishna, Professor of Geology in the department of civil engineering at MIT, Manipal. He also officiated as the deputy chief scientist of the cruise no. 393. Dr Are Shivaji, senior scientist of the Centre for Marine Living Resources and Ecology (CMLRE) led the cruise as the chief scientist.

The students were:Ragini R,Adith N,Althaf,Athira S R,Brandis Dominic C,Munnavir P A,Ruchi, Sreevishnu K, Shrinivash D K,Swaroop M E,Keshav R.