At Independence in 1947, India had just a few operational oil wells situated in the northeastern region of the country. Most of the subcontinent's sedimentary basins remained unexplored for their hydrocarbon potential. The Oil Hunter: Journey of a Geologist for India's Oil Exploration by Dr. Shreekrishna Deshpande is a personal recollection of the immense effort undertaken by Indian geologists to re imagine these basins as hydrocarbon source and reservoir rocks. It is the story of the development of India's oil industry told with unconcealed pride. Russia, France, and the U.S. offered personn ..read more

My Whatsapp profile description says, "what's a few million years here and there". It is a tongue in cheek acknowledgment of the vast spans of time geologists often have to contend with. If I am studying a rock that formed more than a billion years ago, a 5 to 10 million year uncertainty in nailing down its exact time of formation is acceptable. Uncertainty in estimating the time of formation may occur due to our as yet not so perfect understanding of the decay rate of various radioactive isotopes being used for dating, or due to limits of sensitivity of the instruments measuring the radioacti ..read more

A few interesting readings: 1) Sedimentation Shifted - How rivers move sediment along their course to the sea is an important aspect of sedimentology research. Grain size, shape, and density, all affect how currents move sediment, and where and in what proportions sand, silt, and mud particles come to be deposited. Now there is a new kid on the block: plastic. Catherine Russell has written a fascinating article diving deep into experimental work on how plastic impacts sediment transport. The work she describes has important implications for our understanding of plastic pollution in rivers, and ..read more

As I settled down for lunch by the Sunderdunga riverside during my recent Kumaon trek, I noticed a polished boulder nearby. It had a striking appearance dominated by a large crystal of feldspar set in a much finer grained material. This finer matrix had a pronounced streaky fabric, as if made up of very fine layers. Upon closer examination, these layers or foliation was due to the planar arrangement of minerals like amphiboles, mica, quartz, and feldspar. The larger eye catching feldspar grain in the center of the boulder seems a little flattened along one axis and elongated along the orthogon ..read more

A friend recently returned from a trip to Patagonia, Argentina. I mentioned to her that Charles Darwin had spent some time exploring the Patagonian coastline and had made some interesting observations about the local fauna and the native people. Being a bit vague on the details I dug into one of the most reliable source on Darwin's life and work, the Darwin Online archive.  I accessed his Beagle Diary, scrolling down to the time the Beagle docked at Port Desire on December 8, 1833. Below is his entry from December 24, 1833: 24th Took a long walk on the North side: after ascending some roc ..read more

In mid November, I explored the Sunderdunga valley in the Kumaon region of Uttarakhand. It was a good rigorous walk through some extraordinarily beautiful landscapes. This area is better known for the famous Pindari Glacier trek. Kafni Glacier is another option for trekkers. All three routes begin at village Khati. The picture taken of the high ranges from nearby Dhakori shows the three glacial valleys. And here are some more photos of the route with a brief commentary. The entrance to Sunderdunga valley with the vigorous Sunderdunga river flowing through. The first day walk to Jatoli villag ..read more

 A couple of good articles and a geology podcast. 1) “Spontaneous Revolutions” Darwin’s Diagrams of Plant Movement: Darwin's unbounded curiosity for nature led him down many unexpected research pathways. Towards the end of his long career, his restless mind noticed the growth patterns of his house plants. Determined to understand more about their motion and the stimuli, he spent hours tracking tendrils grow and came up with innovative ways to record their movements on paper. Natalie Lawrence has written a lovely essay on this lesser known chapter of Darwin's life and work.  2) Trust ..read more

I came across this lovely evocative passage in Nick Lane's book Transformer: The Deep Chemistry of Life and Death. "You are not completely spineless. You have a notochord: a flexible rod made of cartilage, which in your descendant, millions of generations hence, will develop into a proper backbone. For now, you flex your rod like an eel to undulate through the water, never quite fast enough. Better to stay submerged in the soft mud at the bottom, with only your head visible, while you filter out grains of food from the swell. You have a wormlike head, with a small bulging of nerves that will ..read more

Committees are underappreciated.  xkcd comics. Happy New Year everyone!  ..read more

Jyotirao Phule (1827-1890) was a social reformer from Maharashtra who worked for the emancipation of the lower castes and for improving the lives of peasant agriculturists. In Shetkaryacha Asud (The Cultivator's Whipcord), written in 1883, he describes the plight of poor farmers and offers some advice on improving yield through land management practices.  An excerpt-  The essence of leaf, grass, flower, dead insects and animals, is washed away by summer rain, therefore our industrious government should, as and when convenient, use the white and black soldiers and the extra manpower i ..read more