Lockdown let scientists complete pending research: NCPOR chief

The COVID-19 outbreak and the resultant lockdown gave the scientific community time to complete pending research, though field work suffered, said M Ravichandran, Director of Goa-based National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research NCPOR. But field work suffered, as expeditions could not be undertaken and data could not be collected, he added.The NCPOR is a Central government organisation carrying out research in Antarctica and the Arctic..

The COVID-19 outbreak and the resultant lockdown gave the scientific community time to complete pending research, though field work suffered, said M Ravichandran, Director of Goa-based National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research (NCPOR). He was speaking on Monday at an event in Mormugao Port in Vasco in south Goa in connection with India's 40th scientific expedition to Antarctica.

''The number of scientific papers authored increased during the pandemic. At NCPOR, we used to publish 70-80 research papers every year. However, in 2020, we published 100 papers,'' he told PTI. ''During usual times, a lot of data is collected to be used in research later. In the lockdown, we got the time to work on these. But fieldwork suffered, as expeditions could not be undertaken and data could not be collected,'' he added.

The NCPOR is a Central government organization carrying out research in Antarctica and the Arctic.