Pankaj Khanna is an assistant professor in the Department of Earth Sciences at the Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar. This is his first IODP expedition.
What is your background and area of expertise?
I’m a carbonate sedimentologist, and the main goal of my research is to understand past sea level fluctuation based on how reefs respond to sea level changes. I’ve been studying reefs in the Red Sea, the Gulf of Mexico, the Lakshadweep Islands (in the Laccadive Sea) and the Andaman Islands (in the Bay of Bengal). In each of those places, I look at corals and their morphologies, date them, and try to establish the signature of sea level fluctuations since the last glaciation. Typically, I’m looking at records of the last 20,000 years.
But on this expedition, I’m going further back in time than I ever have – to over 500,000 years!
What is your specific job on board?
Describing the core – it’s the most important job, I think! I’ll be examining the components that make up each core – looking at the fossils that are there, the grain sizes of sand and sediment, minerology, and ash layers from volcanic eruptions. The two major rock types that we expect to see are carbonates and volcanics – but we don’t know exactly what we’ll get.
We have 10 minutes to process 1.5 meters of core. It’s very fast – but this is just the initial, preliminary observations. We will do more detailed descriptions at the Offshore Science Party in Bremen in 2024.
How does it feel to be part of an international, interdisciplinary team?
Our team is great. Everyone here is a renowned expert in their field, and I feel fortunate to be among them. Many people have been on previous research cruises to explore places like the Tahiti and the Great Barrier Reef, and they have so much knowledge and experience to share. During every discussion I have with a shipmate, I learn something new.
You’ve been to sea several times before on different research vessels. What makes this expedition different? What are you most excited about?
The data we’re gathering is critical to provide future modelers with information on past paleoclimate/paleosea-level fluctuations. When climate scientists generate models, they are usually looking at past datasets that may span a few decades or a few centuries. However, the data sets from these cores will give us a portal to dive deep back in time – this is what I’m most excited about.
I’m also excited on a personal level. This is my first-ever IODP expedition. It’s my first time in the Pacific Ocean, my first time in Hawaii, and my first expedition as an assistant professor.
One of my life goals is to run my own expedition in the Indian Ocean – in territory that hasn’t yet been explored. Seeing firsthand what goes into planning, what goes into the teams, what goes into the technology, and how do things run? It’s a fantastic learning opportunity.
Blog of IODP Expedition 389: Hawaiian Drowned Reefs 
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