High level of dissolved lead in Indian Ocean: Study

A study by the National Institute of Oceanography, Goa, and the Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research, Ghaziabad has found higher concentrations of dissolved lead (dPb) in the northern and central Indian Ocean (IO), which is much higher (23-114 pM) compared to other ocean basins such as the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, with a clear north-south decreasing gradient.

- BALA CHAUHAN @Bengaluru

The recent study conducted by scientists Chhaya Yadav, Sunil Kumar Singh and Venkatesh Chinni states that among the Asian countries, China and India have exhibited a substantial rise in lead emissions by coal combustion, with an increase of 4.3 to 4.8 times over a last 33-year period; 12.5 and 82.8 thousand tonnes annually for India and China respectively in 2023, due to coal burning.

"Apart from coal combustion, climatic events such as the Indian Ocean Dipole, which controls dry/wet conditions and dust storms, play a substantial role in the addition of dPb over the southern Indian Ocean," states the study during which the authors had examined the distribution of dPb in the IO, based on seawater samples collected during winter monsoon and spring inter-monsoon cruises in 2020 and 2021.