PANJIM: NIO Chief Scientist Dr Rajiv Nigam will be awarded the S N Bhalla Gold Medal in recognition of his contributions in the field of micropaleontology by the executive council of the Paleontological Society of India.
The award will be given for his contribution in the field of marine geology (micropaleontology) using foraminifera as a tool to understand oceanographic processes and their role in environmental and paleoenvironmental assessments.
His main findings include pollution monitoring through relative sensitivity of the benthic foraminifera; development of novel technique to decipher net sediment transport direction by comparisons of living and dead benthic foraminifera; postulating dimorphism as proxy for paleoclimate reconstructions; development of model for the paleodepth determination in the Arabian Sea and sea level curve for the Holocene; morphogroups of benthic foraminifera as a new tool for paleomonsoonal reconstruction; and discovery of 77 years cyclicity in average rainfall.
which is modulated by Gleissberg solar cycle and application of marine micropaleontology in the field of Marine Archaeology.
He has also pioneered the study of foraminifera in laboratory culture. These experiments provide new insights for some of the fundamental aspects of foraminiferal studies.
