MIT students on scientific mission across Bay of Bengal

Five students of final year MSc Geology from Manipal Institute of Technology (MIT), MAHE— Shibashis Guru, Abhilash A L, Gokul Valsan, Yugandhar Nighojkar and Sahil Ghola participated in the Geoscientific Studies of Exclusive Economic Zone in Bay of Bengal onboard National flagship ORV Sagar Kanya recently.

The students assisted the team of scientists led by Dr Twinkle Damodharan from the National Centre for Antarctica and Ocean Research (NCAOR) in the mapping of the Bay bed off Puri, using Multi-Beam Echo Sounder.

They received onboard training of various oceanographic, geophysical and geological instruments, their operations and data acquisition and their processing software. The students spent 31 days on-board the scientific vessel, travelling from Chennai to the survey area and then across Sri Lanka, returning to Kochi.

This trip helped budding scientists to get experience in real-life encounters of the oceanographic research cruise.

The entire on-board expenses of the students were borne by the Ministry of Earth Sciences, Government of India. They are the first batch of MSc students from MAHE going on-board a government-owned scientific research vessel.