Research Projects

The Bay of Bengal (BoB) is a unique basin with substantial sediment-loaded freshwater from the extensive riverine network, making it a potential site for recording the earth's history. The freshwater input may cause ocean water stratification, resulting in varying upwelling intensity and oxygen deficiency in subsurface water. The oxygen minima (OM) in the BoB may differ from the Arabian Sea, with fewer studies in the BoB. The BoB also houses extensive gas hydrates within the Quaternary sediments, which are crucial for understanding the detailed Holocene climatic variations within the subcontinent and Southeast Asian zone. To date, only a few high-resolution studies have been conducted on the sediments of BoB to understand the detailed Holocene climatic variations. Foraminifera, an eukaryotic test-bearing marine protist, can record every change in the habitat and are used as vital proxies in understanding past climates and oceanography. Sedimentological studies, including geochemical and physical, can supplement observations inferred from paleontological studies. The proposed research proposal considers foraminiferal, sedimentological, and geochemical studies of the top 3m continuous sediment cores collected from the Mahanadi Basin and Krishna-Godavari Basin. The study will include foraminiferal census counts, carbon and oxygen stable isotope studies, 14C AMS dating using foraminifera, sediment grain size analysis, total organic carbon and total nitrogen study, XRD and SEM study of sediments and foraminifera, and the effects of methane seepages during the Holocene on biota and carbon isotope variations in biogenic and abiogenic carbonates.