Studies into Microplastics and Mesoplastics in Cochin, Kerala

Soumya Sathyavan – MPhil Student, Cochin University of Science and Technology (CUSAT)

We have awarded a research grant to Soumya Sathyavan who is studying for a MPhil at the School of Marine Sciences at Cochin, India. Soumya is from Palakkad district of Kerala, which is land locked district in the central part of Kerala. It borders with adjacent state Tamil Nadu and is known as the granary of Kerala. Soumya completed her Masters degree in biotechnology and published two papers . She is genuinely interested in environment and wanted to do her research to find solutions to the pressing environmental pollution issues. After joining the MPhil programme in the Marine Biology department of CUSAT, she wanted to pursue her research related to plastic pollution of the marine environment. After her MPhil she would like to conduct further research leading to a PhD and eventually become an established environmental scientist.

Research Project

Soumya’s research aims to understand the extent of microplastic pollution on three selected beaches around Cochin in Kerala. Cochin is a coastal city which has some very good beaches frequented by the national and international tourists. Since plastic littering is a major problem in India, weathering of land derived plastic or those washed ashore from the sea could result in considerable amount of microplastics on the beaches.

Using methods developed by Just One Ocean for their Big Mocroplastic Survey citizen science project, Soumya will provide a better understanding of the scale and distribution of microplastics in this economically and environmentally important location.