A study by researchers from the National Institute of Oceanography (NIO) has suggested a sharp increase in sedimentation off Goa’s shore which, it stated, corresponded with the increase in mining in the State. Researchers of the institute collected a 103 cm long gravity core or column of sediment from a water depth of 24.6 mts and noticed that the bottom part showed a sedimentation rate of 0.19 cm per year while the top indicated a rate of 1.57 cm. The study concluded that the open cast mining in the State is affecting sedimentation in the off-shore region and this may be detrimental to oceanic environment.
We do not question the NIO researchers’ investigation and their findings of an increased rate of sedimentation. What is questionable though, is the certainty with which they claim that this sedimentation could be detrimental to oceanic environment.
