Siberian School of Geosciences of INRTU Explores the Geology of Assam State in India
Employees of the Siberian School of Geosciences of INRTU participate in an expedition to the Indian state of Assam. Engineering-geological and geo-ecological field work is carried out near railway infrastructure and water bodies. The result of the international project will be 2D and 3D materials describing gravitational and hydrogeological hazards - mudflows, landslides, rockfalls, waterlogging, which should be taken into account during construction and ensuring the safety of people.
The research was commissioned by the Centre for Technology and Innovation of the Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati with the support of the AORVIS company.
Alexander Parshin, the scientific manager of SSG, Sergey Yakovlev, the Head of the Electromagnetic Sensing Laboratory, Andrei Chernov, the Head of the Engineering Petrology and Permafrost Science Laboratory, Viktor Matytsin, the Lead Engineer of the Geoinformatics Department, and Viktor Vinokurov, the Head of the Transport Support Department, are involved in the field work.
‘Mudslides and rockfalls in the state of Assam claim lives every year. Expertise in geophysical and optical remote sensing of the Earth and the experience of the Siberian School of Geosciences in engineering geology on railways are crucial in studying and preventing such dangerous processes. We also carried out research of the unique ecosystem of the Dipor-Bil Lake to assess its ecological state’, - said Alexander Parshin.
Using drones, the expedition participants conduct multispectral survey, electromagnetic soundings and gamma radiometry.
They take samples of soils and rocks for engineering and geological studies, take water samples, as well as samples of native fish for chemical and analytical studies. Some of the material is already in INRTU laboratories.
Many technologies used in the field expedition and in laboratory research, INRTU students have developed within the framework of the Programme ‘Priority 2030’ in 2021-2024.
The team of INRTU employees met with the Rector and scientists of the Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati, including the Centre for Technology and Innovation. In addition, the team of Irkutsk scientists met with employees of scientific and technical departments and government agencies of the state of Assam, Geological Survey of India.
‘Despite the fact that field work to study geological features in the railway area continues, we have already received proposals for three new projects. These are commercial studies related to prospecting and exploration of coal deposits, engineering hydrogeology and geoecology of unique natural sites with complex man-made interactions’, - Alexander Parshin outlined the prospects of work in India.
