The Hindu : Kerala News : Research vessel to study tsunami impact on seawater

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Jan 07, 2005

Kerala

Kerala

Research vessel to study tsunami impact on seawater

By T. Nandakumar

The research vessel Sagar Purvi at Vizhinjam in the capital on Friday.

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, JAN. 6. The Department of Ocean Development has commissioned its research vessel, Sagar Purvi, for a five-day cruise along the coasts of Kollam, Thiruvananthapuram, and Kolachel to assess the impact of tsunami on the marine life and water quality.

Mission begins today

The ship, which arrived at Vizhinjam today, will embark on the mission on Friday morning. Sagar Purvi is one of the two coastal research vessels of the department that are capable of operating in shallow near-shore areas. Its larger cousin, Sagar Sampada, is currently on a cruise to assess the tsunami impact in the deep-sea areas. During the five-day cruise, the research team on board Sagar Purvi will collect samples of seawater and marine organisms. While the water will be analysed for any change in quality, the organisms will be subjected to various tests to assess any tsunami-induced variation in the marine food chain.

The mission team comprises eight scientists involved in the Coastal Ocean Monitoring And Predictive Systems (COMAPS). The team is led by C.S.P. Iyer, Head of the Centre for Marine Analytical Reference and Standards (C-MARS) at the Regional Research Laboratory here.

Dr. Iyer told The Hindu that the mission would primarily focus on whether and how the massive influx of seawater borne by tsunami from afar had affected water quality and biological life along the coast.

Sagar Purvi is equipped with sophisticated onboard dry and wet laboratories, sediment samplers, gravity corer, plankton nets and incubators to carry out a battery of tests. While the wet labs handle water collection and analysis, the dry labs carry an array of instruments for detailed analysis. The scientists will study the dissolved oxygen content, turbidity and nutrient levels to detect changes in the productivity of the sea that starts with phytoplankton or marine plants at the primary level. The food chain extends to zooplanktons or animal organisms, which feed on the plants and the bigger organisms like fish.

Microbiology tests

"We will also carry out microbiology tests to indicate the arrival of new species in the coastal waters," Dr. Iyer said. The team will collect sediments and core samples from the seabed. Analysis of the texture and deposit levels are expected to reveal the extent of sediment transfer from the land to the seabed in the wake of tsunami. The core samples will also be subjected to carbon dating to learn whether such an event had taken place earlier in history. The tests at sea will be followed up with more investigations at the C-MARS laboratory.

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