ESSO - Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services

"Marine Phytoplankton - optics, pigment and taxonomy"

during 23 - 27 March, 2020

Organized by
International Training Centre for Operational Oceanography (ITCOocean) ESSO-INCOIS, Hyderabad, India  

 *** The recent outbreak of COVID-19 and its spread in India is causing distress among some of the participants of the upcoming training to be held during 23rd - 27th March, 2020 here at ITCOO, INCOIS. We have received requests from participants in this regard. Director, INCOIS also advised ITCOO colleagues, to postpone the training. As we have participants from some of the affected states like, Kerala, Karnataka, Pune, it was decided to postpone the training to another convenient dates. The new dates will soon be announced after consulting all concerned. We regret the inconvenience caused. ***

Background:

The unicellular micro-organism, phytoplankton, plays a critical role in the modulating aquatic ecosystem. They are the primary producers and foundation of the aquatic food chain. They also play a critical role in global carbon budget in addition to aquatic health assessment. Although most phytoplankton are intimately linked with all of the aforementioned processes, certain groups of phytoplankton have distinct physiological and biogeochemical attributes that afford them specialized functional roles in the oceans. The chlorophyll concentration being the most utilised ocean colour product, an evolving interest in retrieving other properties, including information on the composition of the phytoplankton community, has emerged in recent years. The phytoplankton community can be described on the basis of their size, pigment composition and taxonomy. This interest has paralleled the incorporation of the concept of phytoplankton functional types (PFTs) into studies of a range of ecological and biogeochemical problems, especially into modelling studies as each PFT represents a group of species aggregated according to distinct functional characteristics.

About the course:

The course intends towards providing overview of marine phytoplankton, its distribution, ecology and optical characteristics. The course includes theory classes as well as hands on exercises. The theory will cover the various aspects of marine phytoplankton including its distribution in World Ocean, physical control, ecology, pigment composition, optical characteristics etc. The hands on exercise will focus on measurement of phytoplankton pigment analysis using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), optical properties and taxonomy. In addition, the trainees will independently analyse the samples and perform a mini group project

3. Course contents:

a.The Lectures will tentatively cover the following topics:

• Marine phytoplankton ecology and analysis using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC)
• Phytoplankton optics: Applications and analysis
• Marine Phytoplankton: photosynthetic systems, size classification and taxonomy

b.Hands on exercise:

• Phytoplankton pigment analysis using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC)
• Measurements of phytoplankton absorption spectra
• Phytoplankton taxonomy using microscopy

c.Group project:

The course participants are also expected to perform independent analysis of the unknown samples. The participants will be grouped and provided unknown samples. The participants are require to perform the analysis and explain the results as a part of mini-project.

4.Faculty:

The faculty for the course consists of scientists/experts in different fields drawn from the host institute (INCOIS). These experts have long and varied experience in the field of marine phytoplankton ecology, optics, instrumentation and applications.

5.Venue:

The training course will be held at ITCOocean, Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS), Hyderabad, India.

6.Who can apply?

The training program is open to scientists, post-graduate fellows and doctoral students involved in oceanographic work with specific reference to Ocean Colour Remote Sensing and its applications. Priority will be given to students from Indian Ocean RIM countries.

The trainees are expected to have basic knowledge of marine phytoplankton and ocean colour remote sensing along with basic computer skills. Preference will be given to the candidates pursuing their research or building a carrier in the above topics.

It is expected that participants should carry their own laptop computer.

7.Course Fee and Financial Support:

Option-1: A consolidated amount of Rs 6500/- is charged for the attending the course. This includes expenditure for accommodation on twin sharing basis, Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner.

Option-2: A consolidated amount of Rs 3500/- is charged for the attending the course. The participants can stay on their own and pay for their breakfast and Dinner. Lunch would be provided free along with all other participants.

Important dates:

Last date for online application: 22 February , 2020

Course Date: 23 - 27 March, 2020

8. Application:

Interested candidates are encouraged to apply for the course online using the link provided (Link). Upon intimation about selection, the shortlisted candidates are required to transfer the amount to the account details given below and send the transfer receipt as confirmation for amount transfer to attend the course.
Ministry of Earth Sciences, Government of India,

Name of Bank: Andhra Bank
Account Number: 171410100022294
IFSC code: ANDB0001714
MICR code: 500011157

9.Contact Address:

Coordinator
International Training Centre for Operational Oceanography (ITCOocean)
Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS)
"Ocean Valley", Pragathi Nagar (B.O), Nizampet (S.O)
Hyderabad - 500 090, TELANGANA, INDIA
Tel: +91-40-23895000; Fax: +91-40-23895001;
E-mail: itcoocean@incois.gov.in; itcoocean@gmail.com

Tentative schedule

Day 1(Monday):
0930 - 0940 Hrs	Registration
0945 - 1000 Hrs	Welcome & Introduction to the Course - Dr. T.V.S. Udaya Bhaskar
1000 - 1100 Hrs	L1: Marine Phytoplankton: photosynthetic systems, size classification, pigment composition and taxonomy - Part-I - Dr. S. K. Baliarsingh
1100 - 1130 Hrs	Tea/Coffee
1130 - 1300 Hrs	L2: Marine Phytoplankton: photosynthetic systems, size classification, pigment composition and taxonomy - Part-II - Dr. S. K. Baliarsingh
1300 - 1400 Hrs	LUNCH
1400 - 1530 Hrs	L3: Marine phytoplankton absorption characteristics and applications - Mr. Alakes Samanta
1530 - 1600 Hrs	Tea/Coffee
1600 - 1730 Hrs	Dividing participants into batches, project discussion, instrument demonstration and sample preparation - Dr. Aneesh Lotliker
Day - 2
0930 - 1100 Hrs	Parallel Practical Sessions: P1/P2/P3 - AAL/ALS/SKB
1100 - 1130 Hrs	Tea/Coffee
1130 - 1300 Hrs	Parallel Practical Sessions (cont..): P1/P2/P3 - AAL/ALS/SKB
1300 - 1400 Hrs	Lunch
1400 - 1530 Hrs	Parallel Practical Sessions (cont..): P1/P2/P3 - AAL/ALS/SKB
1530 - 1600 Hrs	Tea/Coffee
1600 - 1730 Hrs	Group project - AAL/ALS/SKB
Day - 3
0930 - 1100 Hrs	Parallel Practical Sessions: P1/P2/P3 - AAL/ALS/SKB
1100 - 1130 Hrs	Tea/Coffee
1130 - 1300 Hrs	Parallel Practical Sessions (cont..): P1/P2/P3 - AAL/ALS/SKB
1300 - 1400 Hrs	Lunch
1400 - 1530 Hrs	Parallel Practical Sessions (cont..): P1/P2/P3 - AAL/ALS/SKB
1530 - 1600 Hrs	Tea/Coffee
1600 - 1730 Hrs	Group project - AAL/ALS/SKB
Day - 4
0930 - 1100 Hrs	Parallel Practical Sessions: P1/P2/P3 - AAL/ALS/SKB
1100 - 1130 Hrs	Tea/Coffee
1130 - 1300 Hrs	Parallel Practical Sessions (cont..): P1/P2/P3 - AAL/ALS/SKB
1300 - 1400 Hrs	Lunch
1400 - 1530 Hrs	Parallel Practical Sessions (cont..): P1/P2/P3 - AAL/ALS/SKB
1530 - 1600 Hrs	Tea/Coffee
1600 - 1730 Hrs	Group project - AAL/ALS/SKB
Day - 5
0930 - 1100 Hrs	Group project
1100 - 1130 Hrs	Tea/Coffee
1130 - 1300 Hrs	Group project
1300 - 1400 Hrs	Lunch
1400 - 1530 Hrs	Group project
1530 - 1600 Hrs	Tea/Coffee
1600 - 1730 Hrs	Group project - AAL/ALS/SKB

Practical Session(s):

P1	Phytoplankton pigment analysis using (HPLC)	Dr. Aneesh Lotliker	AAL
P2	Phytoplankton absorption spectra using integrating sphere spectroscopy	Mr. Alakes Samanta	AAL
P3	Phytoplankton taxonomy using microscopy	Dr. S. K. Baliarsingh	SKB

Group Project(s):

Project	Title	Mentor
1	Phytoplankton species distribution in various geographical domain (lake, estuary, coastal and open ocean)	Dr. S.K. Baliarsingh
2	Phytoplankton absorption coefficient in various geographical domain (lake, estuary, coastal and open ocean)	Mr. Alakes Samanta
3	Phytoplankton pigment characteristics in various geographical domain (lake, estuary, coastal and open ocean)	Dr. Aneesh Lotliker