India advances polar science aboard R/V Skagerak
This summer, a research team from India’s National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research (NCPOR) will board the R/V Skagerak for an expedition to the waters off Greenland. Their focus is the interplay between currents, nutrients and microbial life in a changing polar environment.
“We expect this will develop into a full-fledged partnership that produces outstanding science and long-lasting collaborations,” says Dr Nuncio Murukesh. He is a physical oceanographer at the Indian research and development institution NCPOR, and chief scientist for the expedition with the University of Gothenburg’s research vessel R/V Skagerak.
Running from July 21 July to August 4, the research cruise is part of a growing Indo-Swedish scientific partnership. It marks the first Arctic mission led entirely by NCPOR in collaboration with a Swedish marine research vessel – and reflects India’s increasing investment in Arctic research.
What keeps me coming back to the Arctic is the fact that the changes happening there don’t stay there.
Mapping water masses and microbial life
The scientific scope of the voyage is ambitious. Using the CTD (conductivity, temperature, depth) sensors, plankton nets, sediment grabs, and satellite imagery, the team will conduct high-resolution observations of water masses, biological production, and microbial communities.
Special focus will be placed on how freshwater transport through the Denmark Strait may influence the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) – a key driver of the global climate system.
“Processes around Greenland influence global systems in at least two major ways – by contributing to sea level rise and by affecting ocean circulation,” says Nuncio Murukesh. “We aim to provide new data to help understand these links.”
The microbiology team, Dr Anand Jain and Dr Archana Singh, will also perform time-series sampling at two distinct locations to investigate how microbial life is shaped by physical processes such as underwater currents and water mass stratification.
Arctic collaboration – from Goa to Gothenburg
The partnership between NCPOR located in Goa, India, and the University of Gothenburg has emerged from shared scientific interests and a recognition of the East Greenland Shelf as a critical zone for climate and ecosystem research.
“This is our first project with R/V Skagerak, and we’ve had very fruitful exchanges with the Skagerak Facility team during the planning process,” says Nuncio Murukesh.
The expedition aligns with India’s Arctic Policy, launched in 2022, which highlights the country’s intention to play an active role in international Arctic research – particularly in the fields of climate change, oceanography, and glaciology. In recent years, India has expanded its Arctic collaboration with countries such as Norway and Germany. Sweden now joins that list.
For Nuncio Murukesh, polar science was never an initial career goal – but it quickly became a passion.
“What keeps me coming back to the Arctic is the fact that the changes happening there don’t stay there. Through altered ocean circulation, atmospheric dynamics, and biogeochemical shifts, the Arctic influences the entire planet. Studying these processes is both a scientific challenge and a global necessity.”
Text: Agnes Faxén
