Indian Ocean still least explored, say scientists

Panaji: The Indian Ocean is the least studied among the world’s oceans, said Sunil Kumar Singh, director of the CSIR-National Institute of Oceanography (NIO), Goa, at Dona Paula, on Wednesday, at the GEOTRACES meet being held at the NIO from Oct 15 to 17.“It is huge, covering 71 million sq km, and studying it fully is important to understanding its health and problems. NIO covers a big part of Indian Ocean, while Japan and Australia study other sections,” he said.The scientists found that most of the iron in the Indian Ocean doesn’t come from the air, as some might think, but from sediments (mud and sand) and hydrothermal vents (underwater hot springs). Even so, the amount of iron is lower here than in other oceans. “Iron is important because it helps phytoplankton grow, which supports fish and also helps remove carbon dioxide from the air,” Kumar said. “In many such iron-deficit areas, we can artificially put iron and increase productivity,” he added.Another finding is that while lead pollution has gone down in many oceans, it is still high in the Indian Ocean, around 150 to 160 picomolar (which is a way to measure tiny amounts).Scientists from 34 countries gathered to talk about the oceans and how pollutants move and impact the world’s oceans.M Ravichandran, secretary, Union ministry of earth sciences, told TOI, “The scientific steering committee meets to understand whether macronutrients are a food source for fish or a problem. This way, the global oceans are studied to see how trace metals and pollutants are migrating from one place to another and what is its impact.”As a result, each country studies a different ocean. India focuses on the Indian Ocean, while others study the Atlantic, Pacific, or other oceans.