Shiba Shankar Acharya

Assistant Professor

B.Sc. (Geology): North Orissa University, 2008

M.Sc. (Geology): Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, 2010

Ph.D. (Chemical Oceanography): Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, 2016

During my doctoral dissertation work (Jan 2011-Jan 2016) at Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kharagpur, I investigated the Arabian Sea to understand the accumulation of phosphorus in Eastern Arabian Shelf, Redox-sensitive elements’ response in the shelf-slope system within oxygen minimum zone, the relation between ocean productivity and organic matter accumulation, and the eastward-shift of Arabian Sea Oxygen Minimum Zone. Each of these works has been accepted in peer-reviewed journals. During my post-doctoral Research in IIT Kharagpur (Feb 2016-Jun 2016), I was a part of a DBT sponsored project, where the geochemical investigation of water and soil samples from wells and mine drainage around Malanjkhand copper mine was conducted to understand the level of contamination of groundwater. After that, I moved to Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore where I joined initially as a research associate (July 2016-Jan 2017). During this tenure two different projects were initiated: viz., (1) evaluation of radiogenic Sr-flux from the Bengal basin to the Bay of Bengal through submarine groundwater discharge, and (2) application of redox proxies and provenance indicators to trace paleo-depositional conditions in the shelf-slope system of Eastern Arabian Shelf in two contrasting oceanic settings. In January 2017, I joined as a National Post Doctoral fellow at Centre for Earth Sciences, IISC Bangalore where I worked in the water and sediment samples from both riverine system (Mahanadi) and oceanic system (Bay of Bengal), to differentiate the anthropogenic forcing from the climatic impact on river chemistry and oceanic regime.

My research interests lie in chemical oceanography and low-temperature geochemistry. I am primarily focused on exploring elemental mobility during surface processes and evaluating the efficacy of different geochemical proxies. During my doctoral studies at IIT Kharagpur (2011-2016) and subsequent postdoctoral research at IISc Bangalore (2016-2018), I have refined my expertise in operating a range of cutting-edge instruments, such as Thermal Ionization Mass Spectrometry (TIMS) (Thermo Triton Plus), Quadrupole ICP-MS (Thermo X Series II), XRF (Philips PW2404 WD, PANalytical-Axios), CHNS Analyzer (EA3000–Eurovector), and Ion Chromatography (Metrohm). Currently, I manage the XRF facility within the Department of Geology.

PG Semester I:  Isotope geology and geochronology,

PG Semester II: Fundamentals of Oceanography, Geomathematics and Computer Applications

PG Semester IV: Petroleum Geology

UG Semester II: Computational Techniques and Programming

UG Semester IV: Elements of Geochemistry

UG Semester V: Oceanography and Marine Science, Earth and Climate

Currently, three students- Sinjan Roy, Lisantaraj Biswal, and Sayantan Guha- are pursuing their Ph.D. degrees.

Member of American Chemical Society (ACS) 2020 onwards

Peer-reviewed Articles

9. Acharya, S. S., & Dey, P., 2024. Geochemical insights into the 5.4 ka event in the eastern Arabian Shelf. Journal of Earth System Science, 133(2), 1-14.

8. Roy, S., Acharya, S.S. & Chakrabarti, R., 2024. Mobilization of rare earth elements during extreme weathering of basalt. Geochemistry, 84(1), p.1-14. doi: 10.1016/j.chemer.2024.126086

7. Acharya, S. S., Hishamunda, V., & Chakrabarti, R., 2022, Natural sources and anthropogenic influences on the river water and groundwater chemistry of the Lower Mahanadi Basin: Insights from radiogenic Sr isotopes and major ion chemistry, Front. Water 4:846438. doi: 10.3389/frwa.2022.846438

6. Acharya, S. S. & Chakrabarti, R., 2019, Variations in trace metal concentrations and Sr, Nd isotopic compositions in sediments from two contrasting settings in the Eastern Arabian Shelf: implications for provenance and paleoclimate reconstruction, Chemical Geology, 509, 134-151.

5. Chakrabarti, R., Mondal, S., Acharya, S. S., Lekha, J. S., & Sengupta, D., 2018. Submarine groundwater discharge derived strontium from the Bengal Basin traced in Bay of Bengal water samples. Scientific Reports (Nature), 8(1), 4383.

4. Acharya, S.S., Panigrahi, M.K., 2016. Eastward shift and Maintenance of Arabian Sea Oxygen Minimum Zone: Understanding the paradox. Deep-Sea Research Part I: Oceanographic Research Papers (Elsevier), 115, 240-252.

3. Acharya, S.S., Panigrahi, M.K., 2016. Evaluation of factors controlling the distribution of organic matter and phosphorus in the Eastern Arabian Shelf: A geostatistical reappraisal. Continental Shelf Research (Elsevier), 126, 79-88.

2. Acharya, S.S., Panigrahi, M.K., Kurian, J., Gupta, A.K., Tripathy, S., 2016. Speciation of phosphorus in the continental shelf sediments in the Eastern Arabian Sea. Continental Shelf Research (Elsevier), 115,65-75.

1. Acharya, S.S., Panigrahi, M. K., Gupta, A. K., Tripathy, S., 2015. Response of trace metal redox proxies in continental shelf environment: The Eastern Arabian Sea scenario. Continental Shelf Research (Elsevier), 106, 70-84.

International Conference abstracts

6. Guha, S., Acharya, S.S., Formation and preservation mechanisms of jarosite on the earth’s surface: A coupled theoretical and experimental approach. American Chemical Society (ACS) Spring, 2023,

5. Basu, A., Acharya, S.S., Evaluation of the efficacy of water-rock interaction in granitic & basaltic terrains in the present and past climate change episodes as a potential negative feedback on atmospheric pCO2 on the earth. American Chemical Society (ACS) Spring, 2023

4. Roy, S., Acharya, S.S., Mobilization and redistribution of rare earth elements during extreme weathering of basalt. American Chemical Society (ACS) Spring, 2023

3. Chakrabarti, R., Acharya S.S., Mondal, S., Large Stable Ca Isotopic (δ44/40Ca) Variation in Open Ocean Samples from the Bay of Bengal. Goldschmidt, 2018. Boston

2. Chakrabarti, R., Mondal, S., Acharya S.S., Sreelekha, J., Sengupta, D,. Strontium Isotopic Evidence for Submarine Groundwater Discharge (SGD) in Bay of Bengal Water. Goldschmidt, 2017. Paris

1. Panigrahi M.K., Acharya S.S., A Microsoft Excel 2007 and MS Visual Basic Macro based software package for computation of density and isochors of fluid inclusions. Proc. ACROFI-3 and TBG XIV, 15-20 Sep, 2010, Novosibirsk, Russia, pp160-61