Prof Pankaj Khanna, Assistant Professor of Earth Sciences at Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar, has been selected as the only sedimentologist from India to participate in the offshore phase of the International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP)’s Hawaiian Drowned Reefs Expedition (“IODP Expedition 389”) between August 29 and November 1. Prof Khanna is part of a 31-member team of leading researchers from across the world that will investigate the links between global sea-level change and global climate change by studying a series of fossil coral reefs surrounding the island of Hawaii to learn more about our planet, the institute stated Wednesday. Scientific drilling of these natural fossil reefs will provide a new record of climate and sea level change, including several key time periods where sea level and climate conditions are poorly known, it further added. “The research cruise will provide critical datasets to dive deep into past sea levels and climate for the last five lakh years for which there are very limited records. The rocks collected through scientific drilling will give critical information on mechanisms that control abrupt climate change. I will be analysing the core samples that will be collected on the expedition. I am looking forward to what the drowned reefs offshore Hawaii hold for us to expand our understanding,” Prof Khanna said. IODP is an international marine research collaboration of 21 countries, including India. It was established to explore Earth’s history, structure, and dynamics by collecting and studying the seafloor sediments and rocks, and monitoring sub-seafloor environments. The European Consortium for Ocean Research Drilling, a part of IODP, is responsible for implementing mission-specific platforms, like the current “Expedition 389” for drilling drowned reefs offshore Hawaii. The scientific team will be led by co-chief scientists Prof Jody Webster from the University of Sydney, Australia, and Prof Christina Ravelo from the University of California, Santa Cruz, USA.
