Balakrishna spent 95 days there as part of a research expedition
AManipal professor is back from Antarctica — what he calls a lifetime experience — where he spent 95 days at various Indian research bases such as Bharati and Maitri. Dr K Balakrishna, professor, Dept of Civil Engineering, was part of the 37th Indian Scientific Expedition to the coldest continent along with 40 other scientists from IMD, GSI, IIG, BARC, BSI, ISRO, NCAOR and logistics personnel from Army, Border Roads Organization and others.
He was the only scientist from a deemed private University for the expedition, organized by the National Centre for Antarctica and Ocean Research (NCAOR), a research institute of Ministry of Earth Sciences and based in Goa.
“The selection procedure was tough as it demanded not only research work but also physical fitness, including two weeks of snow acclimatization at the Mountain-eering and Skiing Institute of Indo-Tibetian Border Police in Auli, Uttarakhand. Acclimatization included mountaineering, trekking across the Himalayan terrains and rock-climbing,” Dr K Balakrishna said.
Describing the entire experience as thrilling and most unforgettable, Prof Balakrishna said, “It was a rewarding experience for me both professionally and personally. Though it was tough initially with temperature dipping -10 degrees, I acclimatized quickly and got down to my research.
The research was on obtaining a baseline of micro-pollutants like pharmaceuticals, personal care products and other naturally occurring metals in the seawater, sea-ice, lakes, sediments and soil of the region. He collected over 100 samples at different locations within a radius of 20 km from the Bharati station.
The samples are being analyzed at Manipal College of Pharmaceutical Sciences lab here.
Prof Krishnamurthy Bhat is the co-investigator of the project. The sampling was done by travelling across the region through skidoo (snow scooter) and helicopter. Bharati station has 24×7 broadband internet access with comfortable rooms, , library, Indian food and so on. The Indian expedition also used MV Ivan Papanin, an Indian ship chartered exclusively for the Antarctica expedition.
His study: Effect of micro-pollutants
The professor is measuring the level of micro-pollutants in seawater, sea-ice, lakes, sediments and soil of the region. Talking about the experiment, he said, “The environment in Antarctica is pristine with minimal pollution. However, in that region there are three stations – India, Russia and China.
Whenever we go on field trips, we use sunscreen lotions and other personal care products to prevent us from UV radiation. In the stations, we use several other products like soaps/detergents. All these contents have low amount of antibiotics. There are chances that these products including medicines we eat, may go in low doses to the sea water and may affect the sensitive eco-system. The fauna may not die, but there could be side-effects.
I am trying to get the current status of the micro-pollutants- pharmaceuticals. They may be in very low concentration, but this can affect the sensitive fauna. I am measuring the level of micro-pollutants in seawater or lakes and so on.”
source: http://www.bangaloremirror.indiatimes.com / Bangalore Mirror / Home> News> States / March 22nd, 2018