CMLRE set for southern ocean expedition

KOCHI: The Centre for Marine Living Resources and Ecology (CMLRE) in Kochi is all set to send researchers to the Southern Ocean for explorations this year too.The institute, under the Ministry of Earth Sciences, has been focusing on ocean development activities and has been conducting studies on the conservation of marine life in the Southern Ocean region.According to scientists, the Southern Ocean region - comprising the southernmost waters of the Great Southern Ocean, the Antarctic Ocean and the South Polar Ocean - has a variety of unexplored and unidentified marine species. The other speciality of the ocean is that it merges softly into the Indian Ocean, Pacific Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean.CMLRE’s maiden voyage to the Antarctic region was 15 years ago, when it undertook its first expedition in 1995 for the study of Krill and other marine living resources. “Through such trips we intent to study the ecological factors of the marine life existing in the Antarctic Ocean. Life as such is influenced by a lot of factors- ranging from sunlight, water regulation pattern, tropic relations, its existing food chains etc.  Usually, the species is affected by all these factors,” CMLRE Director A Sanjeevan said. The major reason for the  emphasis on the marine life existing in the Antarctic regions is because it is much more sensitive to change than the other oceans, he said.The team will analyse data and also study new species of marine life existing in the Southern Ocean, Major changes in the ocean circulation can also lead to such a phenomenon because of the changes that occur in the habitat of the organisms. “A study conducted 30 years ago in the oceans around the world showed the presence of 1.2 million marine species. But a survey conducted from 1990-2010 showed that the number shot up to at least 2 million. So, it is necessary to study and analyse these organisms once in a while,” he said. Presently, under the institute, at least three more new marine species off the Indian coast, have been identified but they refused to name them, as they have only been sent to London  for identification and confirmation.