CHENNAI: With lessons learned from deploying the country's first indigenous underwater vehicle in an unexplored region of Antarctica, Indian scientists have begun collecting scientific data that will eventually help understand the role of polar region in climate change.
Scientists at the National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT) tested a polar remotely operated vehicle (PROVe) designed and developed by the institute to collect baseline data from the Antarctic waters. What this holds could be revealing.
The team of six scientists lead by G A Ramadass, head of deep sea technology, was part of the 34th Indian Scientific Expedition to Antarctica during February-April 2015.
Working under minus 20 degrees Celsius, the team deployed PROVe in two locations in the Antarctic Ice Shelf (New Indian Barrier). The shelf was about 120km from India's second permanent research base Maitri, in Eastern Antarctica, a region not explored by other countries. The vehicle explored water near an ice-shelf that connects to a landmass.
The vehicle, with sensors and cameras that can go up to a depth of 500m, helped collect data on salinity, conductivity, temperature, dissolved oxygen and light penetration into the water (irradiance meter) required for the survival of the oceanic food chain. The probe, that clicked images, also collected water samples.
Ramadass said they have collected baseline data that would help in future studies on the geological, biological, physical and chemical aspects of oceanography.
"We found that factors like salinity varied from one location to the other, which were 1.5km apart. What we have collected is just baseline data that would help in future research," he said. "In technical aspects, we proved our vehicle's capability to work in the polar region.
Now we have platform where any scientist in the country
can fit a sensor of their choice to conduct underwater research."
All was not fine, however, with the ROV. Owing to inclement weather and some technical problems, PROVe found it tough to proceed beyond a depth of 62m, and hence couldn't reach the bottom of the ice shelf from where scientists had planned to collect samples. These samples could be millions of years old.
Nevertheless, they have recorded scientific evidence that the ice-shelf was much thicker than expected. Data on the thickness of the ice-shelf was never available.
"We measured the thickness of the ice-shelf to be more than 62m as the vehicle reached up to that depth. It will help us study the cause of the thickness of the shelf, how it breaks into icebergs, what effect it has on the ocean, its temperature and salinity," Ramadass said.
The data about the ice shelf will help navigation as these shelves are used for ships to dock and unload supplies for scientists and personnel manning the research bases in the icy continent. Prior to deploying PROVe near the ice shelf, it was tested in Priadarshini Lake at Schirmacher Oasis, which is a source of water for Maitri.
"We found that it is not easy to work with an ROV that weighs 175kg. We are now working on a lighter and compact ROV, which would be ready in a year. This would be deployed in Antarctic and Arctic waters," the scientist said.
