Five students from Manipal Institute of Technology (MIT), Shibashis Guru, Abhilash A.L., Gokul Valsan, Yugandhar Nighojkar and Sahil Gholap, all in final year M.Sc Geology, participated in the Geoscientific Studies of Exclusive Economic Zone in the Bay of Bengal onboard the national flagship ORV Sagar Kanya recently.
A statement issued by the Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE) here said that the students contributed to mapping of the Bay bed off Puri using Multi Beam Echo Sounder, along with scientists, led by Twinkle Damodharan from the National Centre for Antarctica and Ocean Research (NCAOR), and others.
These students received onboard training on various oceanographic, geophysical and geological instruments, their operations and the data acquisition and processing software.
The students spent 31 days onboard the scientific vessel travelling from Chennai to the survey area and then across Sri Lanka, returning to Kochi.
It was an adventurous voyage for the budding scientists, where they got to experience the real life encounters of an oceanographic research cruise.
The entire onboard expenses of the students were borne by the Ministry of Earth Sciences, Government of India.
They are the first batch of M.Sc students from MAHE going onboard a government-owned scientific research vessel.
