Scientists from the National Centre for Antarctic and Ocean Research (NCAOR) and the Union Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) are preparing to probe the seabed off the western coast under an international collaborative programme that is expected to provide clues to the evolution of the Himalayas and the origin of the Indian monsoon.
The proposal, part of the Integrated Deep Sea Drilling Programme (IODP), involves drilling deep boreholes in the Laxmi basin of the Arabian Sea to collect sedimentary samples that would help scientists reconstruct climate variation over the centuries and study the role of the Himalayas in modulating climate in the Indian subcontinent.
Shailesh Nayak, Secretary, MoES, told
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India is the lead partner in the programme, which include the National Science Foundation, the U.S.; and the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT), Japan.
The sediment samples from the borehole would be analysed to unravel the erosional history of the Himalayas.
Titled “Deep sea drilling in the Arabian Sea: Discovering the Tectono-Climatic unknowns,” the study is also expected to provide climate records shedding light on the development of the monsoon and its variability.
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According to the Indian proposal for the IODP, the uplift of the Himalayas and the evolution of the Tibetan plateau are hypothesised to have intensified the Asian monsoon system. Erosion of these mountains has created the largest sediment bodies on earth.
By reconstructing the process of Himalayan uplift, weathering, erosion and sedimentation, scientists hope to establish how tectonics has shaped the climate in Asia.
The long-term history of monsoon variation is also expected to help improve forecast of the monsoon.
Dr. Nayak said another borehole experiment would be carried out in the Andaman and Nicobar subduction zone sometime in 2017 with Japanese collaboration.
Deep boreholes to be drilled in the Laxmi Basin
Drilling work to begin in March