Kasaragod: Kasaragod native Dr. A V Sijinkumar is part of a team conducting groundbreaking research in the Arctic region. The team is mining soil and rocks from the depths of the Arctic Ocean as part of their study. Dr. Sijinkumar, an associate professor in the Department of Geology at the Central University of Kerala, is the sole Indian participant in this international endeavor.

The research is part of the International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP), which includes scientists from 17 countries, such as the United States of America, Britain, Germany, Japan, and China. The National Science Foundation of America is supporting this project, which aims to analyse the rock composition and check for fossils in the collected samples. He is sponsored by the National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research (NCPOR), Goa. 

The scientists will research the climate change in the region. They are also focusing on evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of the North Atlantic Current (NAC), said Sijinkumar while speaking to Mathrubhumi. 

He will return to Amsterdam on August 5 after completing the research. After six months, the excavation samples will be sent to the PaleoResearch Institute and the analysis will be conducted at the core lab in Bremen, Germany.