The New Indian Express: Chennai: Tuesday, June 25, 2013.
The Atomic
Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) has asked utilities in Kalpakkam to undertake a
detailed study following information in Smithsonian’s Global Volcanism Programme
website about a reported volcano about 100-110 km off Kalpakkam. The
information was revealed through an RTI query.
Replying to a
query from M Vetriselvan, AERB chief public information officer Dr Pankaj
Tandon in a reply on May 31, 2013, said AERB was aware of information in the
Smithsonian Global Volcanism programme official website about the reported
volcano located about 100-110 km from Kalpakkam with status uncertain.
The volcanic
event was reported in the 18th century without enough scientific evidence, he
said. The Global Volcanism Program is the hub of an international network for
monitoring, reporting, and maintaining data related to volcanic activity around
the world.
Tandon said
the AERB contacted national agencies like Geological Survey of India, National
Institute of Oceanography and Oil and Natural Gas Corporation of India Ltd that
might possess or have access to related data and expertise in the domain.
While
regional scale geophysical surveys conducted by NIO did not find any
significant bathymetric anomaly that could suggest existence of such a volcano,
GSI’s offshore surveys so far neither indicate any signature of volcanic
eruption in the sediments nor the existence of any ephemeral island said to
have formed due to the said event.
The RTI
information states that GSI has recommended further data analysis in view of an
inferred high density material intrusion of remnant magnetization based on
magnetic and gravity anomalies around the said location.
As a result,
Atomic Energy Regulatory Board has asked utilities in Kalpakkam to undertake a
detailed study through expert agencies and work in this regard is in progress,
the RTI information revealed.
Chairman and
managing director of Bhavini Dr Prabhat Kumar said that in spite of agencies
like NIOT, Geological Survey of India and ONGC negating the presence of volcano
in the area, a committee was formed consisting of experts from AERB, Indira
Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research and Bhavini to clear any doubts whatsoever
over the presence of volcano in the region. “We have assigned the job to
National Geophysical Research Institute,” he said, adding that as of now there
is no possibility or records of volcano in the region.
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