The Whale Story

Whales are majestic creatures which have been hunted mercilessly by humans almost to extinction. Thankfully, due to conservation efforts the population of whales are on a steady rise. There are various species of whales patrolling the oceans of our planet but the one which I find the most riveting is the Humpback Whale.  Like many marine mammals, they were heavily depleted during the whaling era, but are now a centerpiece in ecotourism. These gentle giants are found in all the oceans across the globe. But the most unique of  all humpbacks are the ones living in the north Pacific off the Alaskan coast.
In this region, the Arctic winter lasts for a period of four months. Temperatures go below -40 degrees and only the toughest survive during this time. The whales from the northern hemisphere migrate from their temperate cold waters to the south  tropical-subtropical warmer waters to breed. They give birth to their young ones during this time and raise them in the warm waters down south. The Humpbacks hardly feed during this period of 6 months. Their great migration (more than 3000 miles) start with the onset of autumn towards the northern, colder Pacific waters. It is a race against time and the elements of nature. A delay of a couple of days to the feeding grounds can cause death of the mother (and the child subsequently) due to starvation.  Life carpets every available surface during this time. The feasting begins with millions of tiny mouths- the phytoplanktons. These are the life force that keep the oceans around the world alive. They are the prime source of nutrition for all shoals of herring in the Pacific. The herrings in turn are the prime food source for the gigantic humpbacks.

A humpback whale

The feeding technique of the whales of the North Pacific is indeed a sight to behold! It is known as Bubble-Net feeding. Bubble net feeding of hump back whales is a unique technique, only 100 such whales exist perhaps who feed in such team work. The primary whale goes deep and blows a series of bubbles and begins the whale-singing- high pitched noises. The other whales dive one after the other in an organised fashion and  each whale gauge exactly the same timing.  This series of bubbles and high pitched singing confuses the herring and they don't escape this net of bubbles and rise up to the surface. The whales gulp them down with ease after that. Each whale can feed up to 1 ton of herring a day. Only mankind exploits the sea better than these majestic beings. Considering the fact that a whale calf can drink upto 400 litres of milk per day the food supply should be equally abundant for the mother.

Its astonishing to know that some of the mightiest creatures of this planet are dependent upon the tiniest. The days become shorter the plankton growth decreases.The herring go into the depth to avoid the colder waters and the whales leave the north pacific of Alaska.

Bubble net feeding

Nature is the most wonderful symphony we will ever witness. Conserving it is the best thing we can do for the upcoming generations. Travel the world and witness such events - they are the true wonders of the world!

A tribute to GSI

Today, the 4th of March is the 169th foundation day of Geological Survey of India (GSI). Today we celebrate not only the birth of the premier geological organization of this country but also earth science as a whole. Since its inception in 1851, GSI has contributed heavily to the development of this nation. It was established by the British to aid in the exploration of coal but with the passing years GSI has spread its wings in all branches of earth sciences be it mineral investigation, mapping, polar research, marine research, natural hazard mitigation, engineering geology to name a few. It is the parent institution from which all other organizations such as Indian Bureau of Mines (IBM in 1948), Oil and Natural Gas Corporation(ONGC in 1956), Coal India Limited,(erstwhile NCDC in 1956), etc. have branched out  in later years. 

The ongoing focus of Geological Survey of India is in mineral investigation to boost the economy of our nation. As in previous years, all the major deposits of India has been the find of the geologists of this institution, the good work goes on even now by the tireless working of the geoscientists of GSI who spend months on end in intensive field work, sacrificing the comforts of home and family.

The advent of modern technology and the depletion of conventional deposits has led to the necessity to think outside the box to find substantial mineral deposits in the country. The first step has been creating a geochemical map of the whole country to delineate potential zones of mineralisation with the aid of geophysical techniques as well. The integration of the geological, geochemical and geophysical maps provide a much robust approach with a higher degree of confidence for targeting mineral deposits. The concept of mineral system is also need of the hour as is followed by the USGS, Geocience Australia, and the Geological Survey of Canada. The advantage of the mineral system approach is that it focusses on the critical geological processes necessary to form a major mineral deposit and is not restricted to descriptive elements of a specific mineralisation style. Mineral systems can explain the spatial and temporal co-occurrence of mineral deposits within a specific mineral province. The mineral system concept can also explain families of coeval mineral systems that potentially formed in the same or adjacent terranes or provinces.(Mineral System Analysis, SG Hagemann et.al., Ore Geology Review)

Geological Survey of India has collaborated with Geoscience Australia for searching mineral deposits which are at greater depth covered by more than a kilometer of overburden, in a project named as the 'Project Uncover'. With the help of sophisticated geophysical techniques such as Magnetotelluric survey and a combination of other geophysical, geochemical and geological data discovering a massive deposit is the target such as the one in Lewis Ponds Zn–Pb–Cu–Ag–Au deposit, located in the eastern Lachlan Fold Belt, New South Wales, Australia. 

Coming to the other aspects, GSI has recently been increasing its outreach to the general public with the help of certain programs such as the Bhuvi Samvad, where geologists of the organisation have been visiting educational institutions to spread the knowledge of geology and GSI's role in nation building. GSI is attempting to be a bridge between the academic sphere and the industrial one by collaborating with various top universities of the country. 

On this auspicious occasion of its 169th Foundation day, every office of GSI throughout the country is celebrating the birth of this esteemed institution and planning to take forward the legacy.

In GSI, Gandhinagar, a function was held where guests from IBM and IIT Gandhinagar where invited for today's occasion to pay homage to this great institution. The Deputy Director General of SU: Gujarat elaborated on the current workings of GSI and the need for collaboration with universities for the overall development of earth sciences in the country. Chief guest, Prof. Vikrant Jain from IIT Gandhinagar, emphasized on the role that GSI has been playing for the past one and a half century in all aspects related to geology. He made an important statement regarding the environmental aspect of our planet with climate change occuring due to anthropogenic activities around the globe and it has brought about scientists from all spheres to work together to protect our planet and look forward for a sustainable and greener future. 

Today is a day of pride for all geoscientists of Geological Survey of India and also for every other geoscientist in this country. Let us make a pledge to perform our duties with the best of our ability, as has been done by all geologists of this phenomenal organization for more than a century, and take our nation ahead to days of glory.

Jai Hind!

Inauguration of the Foundation day by lighting the ceremonial lamp

Address by Chief Guest at GSI Gandhinagar

 

Give Peace a Chance

"Move out"...sounds of firing...panic and cries of despair filled the air as i tried to evade the bullets running and ducking and finally jumping into a muddy trench dug for safe passage within the city!

I had a strange dream tonight. I dreamt i was trapped in a war-zone somewhere. There was mass destruction, fires, screams of helpless people. I was standing atop of a pile of rubble with fallen buildings all around me, I could feel the hopelessness and the pain of that situation.

Sipping a cup of tea and sitting at my cosy spot on a cold winter morning looking at the trees fluttering with the breeze and listening to the birds chirping is blissful. Really calms the mind and sets you up for the day to come. 

Now, if you kindly may, close your eyes for a minute and just picture yourself in your hometown- destroyed and battered by fellow human beings-- the feeling of loss and despair. Just take it in for a minute. Is it too depressing? Just do it anyway. Because as I write this sitting in my home sitting at that cosy corner and you too reading this in your couch or someplace safe there are millions who are feeling that pain which I just asked you to feel. It will never be close to what our fellow human beings are feeling in all the war-stricken areas of this planet but we might get a whiff of it and open our eyes.

Since the dawn of mankind perhaps, Humans have been killing each other. But can it not stop now? Are we not sane enough to do that? Stop the cruelty, stop the mass-murders, stop feeding of each other! Have not enough men bled and tears not shed for this lunacy to end?

There have been outbreaks of several diseases through time. Epidemics as they are called have hurt us but we have survived and the reason has always been unity.
The epidemic that has grasped the world for the last 100 years is going to end this world as we know it.
Let us all as citizens of planet Earth take a pledge to protect our only home in this galaxy from destruction by our very own human species. Let us be kind to each other and let there be no  ore walls between countries. But as I am typing I know a massive wall building (literally) is underway in a western country which claims to be the most democratic of them all.
Why not give peace a chance in this brutal world? It might solve many a problem that grips the modern world.

I firmly believe that human beings always look for peace. The core of human beings never wants to fight. Only a handful are exceptions to this rule and unfortunately this bunch are controlling positions. But what about the mass? The majority of us can unite and put an end to this. There have been revolutions in modern history and one is required now to end the atrocity and the monstrosity that is rampant around the globe. But first let that peace begin within me and then lets spread it everywhere we go. Amidst all this chaos and cruelty there is still some good left in this world and its worth fighting for. What do you think?
As John Lennon wrote in his song

" You,may say I'm a dreamer

   But I'm not the only one
   I hope someday you will join us
   And the world will be as one "