Asif InamBahria University Karachi Campus · Maritime Sciences
Asif Inam
PhD Marine Geology
About
63
Publications
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Introduction
Worked at National Institute of Oceanography from 1984 to 2019. Did PhD from the University of Wales. Director of Pakistan's Continental Shelf Programme. Participated in the scientific expedition to Antarctica. Member of the Legal & Technical Commission of United Nations International Seabed Authority (2007-2011). Appointed as Director General of National Institute of Oceanography in 2015. Retired in April 2019. Head of Department of Maritime Sciences, Bahria University Karachi since May 2019.
Additional affiliations
January 2007 - December 2012
International Seabed Authority
Position
- Member
August 1984 - April 2019
May 2019 - present
Education
September 1986 - November 1990
University of Wales
Field of study
- Oceanography
July 1977 - January 1983
Publications
Publications (63)
Under the steadily intensifying human activities in coastal areas, it is crucial to distinguish the sources of organic matter (OM) in sediments for better understanding of the environmental change. In this study, 25 surface sediments collected along the harbor and creeks areas off Karachi coast were used for total organic carbon (TOC), total nitrog...
Because of the existing risks, studying the maritime supply chain (MSC) is a complicated task. The interdependence of the global Supply Chain (SC) on other channel members makes it vulnerable to disruption. This research signifies the determinants such as improved Information and Communication Technology (ICT), Strategic Alliance (SA), and its effe...
Seaborne trade, particularly containerized trade, was expected to suffer a significant decline at the outbreak of the coronavirus of the 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Due to the reason that supply chains are obliged to import various items and resources from China to meet consumer demand for commodities such as medical equipment, home office supplies,...
Pakistan is vulnerable to a range of climate hazards, including sea-level rise. The Indus Delta region, situated in the coastal Sindh province, is particularly at risk of sea-level rise due to low-lying land and fragile ecosystems. In this article, expertise is drawn together from the newly established Pakistan Sea-Level Working Group, consisting o...
Pakistan is vulnerable to a range of climate hazards, including sea-level rise. The Indus Delta region, situated in the coastal Sindh province, is particularly at risk of sea-level rise due to low-lying land and fragile ecosystems. In this article, expertise is drawn together from the newly established Pakistan Sea-Level Working Group, consisting o...
Geological and geophysical studies suggested that the Indus River system was initiated shortly after the collision between the Indian and Eurasian Plates in Middle Eocene. The geology of the Indus drainage is largely shaped by the collision between the Indian Plate with mainland Eurasia, starting around 50 million years ago. The Indus Basin holds a...
Primary production on the Western Indus continental shelf has been linked to the large quantities of nutrients delivered to the shelf by the Indus River.
Multiple geochemical tracers and biomarker records, including stable isotopes (δ13C and δ15N), total organic carbon (TOC), total nitrogen (TN), molar
carbon/nitrogen (C/N) ratio, the branched and...
This study focuses on the spatial distribution of the major and minor elements (Al, Ca, Fe, K, Ti, Ba, Sr, V, Zn, Cr, Ni, Li, Zr, Cu, and Co) and the textural characteristics of the surface sediments from the continental shelf off the Indus delta, Pakistan. The sediments from the inner shelf near the Indus River mouth and around the Indus canyon to...
Suspended Solids Concentration (SSC) in water is related to its quality and transparency. Satellite remote sensing has proven to be an efficient means of monitoring water quality in large deltas because in situ sampling methods are costly, laborious, time consuming, and spatially constrained. In this study, the potential of Landsat's Enhanced Thema...
The Indus River is one of the major river systems of the world and the principal contributor in the creation of the
Indus Fan - second largest sediment body in the ocean basins, to talling ~5 x 106 km3 . Recent geological and geophysical information obtained from the Pakistan margin suggests that the Indus River and Fan system was initiated shortly...
Nutrient and carbon flux play a significant role in the deltaic nourishment. These fluxes significantly involved in
the stability of deltaic coast. Recent studies reflect that Indus River discharge is subtracted due to Khobar Creek, which is presently the only creek that carries the fresh water of Indus River into the Arabian Sea. There has been a...
The Indus river basin stretches from the Himalayan Mountains in the north to the dry alluvial plains of Sindh in
the south. The area of Indus basin is 944, 574 sq. km.The development of infrastructure in the basin affected the sediment and water discharge downstream of Kotri Barrage. Prior to the construction of major dams and
barrages on the Indus...
The Indus River is one of the major river systems of the world and the principal contributor in the creation of the Indus Fan-second largest sediment body in the ocean basins, to talling ~5 x 10 6 km 3. Recent geological and geophysical information obtained from the Pakistan margin suggests that the Indus River and Fan system was initiated shortly...
Indus deltaic creek system is in under stress due to lack of a harmonized administration planning and consequently harsh natural environment, numbers of research article concluded end result toward short term and long term sea water intrusion impact in all major and minor creeks of Indus delta. In Sindh, the sea water intrusion is mainly caused by...
Gas hydrate deposits have become the focus of much attention in recent years because of the potential availability of vast natural resources that could possibly be tapped as one of the future energy source. There are several published estimates of the total amount of methane stored in gas hydrates worldwide. Gas hydrate deposits may account for app...
Climatic variability and Extreme Weather Events such as cyclones, floods, dry spells has increased globally. The North Arabian Sea (NAS) lies in the region that the Intergovernmental Panel Commission of Climate Change (IPCC) has designated as the Middle East region and is an area vulnerable to Sea Level Risks. The Sea Level Rise predicted for Pakis...
The Makran accretionary wedge is located in the southern part of western Pakistan and off the
south coast of this area. It has formed by the subduction of oceanic crust under the Eurasian
Plate which lasts since 70 - 80 mill. years. Two features make this accretionary wedge especially
interesting: Firstly, the sediment thickness on the oceanic crus...
The rapidly increasing gap in the production and consumption of oil, gas and electricity in Pakistan is being felt severely at all levels of public and private sectors and even by a common man. Demand for natural gas is growing and is expected to increase substantially in the next couple of decades. Pakistan is fortunate to have some very productiv...
The Indus was formed shortly after the collision between the Indian and then Eurasian Plates prior to 45 million years ago. During, the Holocene, the Indus has formed a vast deltaic complex in southern Sindh, most of which has been abandoned due to frequent natural channel avulsions. The Indus Delta was formed under arid climatic conditions with hi...
Most countries in the South Asia region such as Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka are engaged in the collection of data on water quality, from both off-shore and inland water bodies such as rivers, large reservoirs and lagoons. Studies on sediment dynamics and nutrient analysis as well as ecology of the coastal regions have also been carrie...
To date more than 60 submissions have so far been made by different coastal States. In addition to that there are number of States that are actively pursuing for submission of their cases for the extension of the Continental Shelf. The process for the preparation of the case for the submission to the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shel...
Pakistan has a coastline about 990km long. The arid coastline of Makran/Balochistan coast stretches from the Iranian border at the mouth of River Dasht eastward 670 km towards the Hub River, while the Sindh coast is about 320km long. The Makran coast is along the tectonically active zone where the Arabian Plate is being subducted under the Eurasian...
Marine resources have an immense potential in contributing towards national economic growth and progress. The coastal zone is one of the most important national assets of a country where socio-economic activities are highly concentrated. They are fragile and therefore any attempt to deplete them for alternative uses may result in irreparable loss o...
United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) through its OCA/PAC regional seas programme (1989) has grouped Pakistan in the countries, which are most vulnerable to the impacts of a rising sea level. Recently, the Planning Division's Task Force on Climate Change (TFCC) projected that climate change will increase the variability of monsoon rains and...
The Indus fan is the most pronounced and extensive physiographic and sedimentary feature of the Arabian Sea as well as it is the second largest submarine fan in the world. It has developed off the passive continental margin of Pakistan and India, covering an area of about 1.1 x106 km2, which makes it one of the largest sediment bodies in the ocean...
The International Workshop on Integrated Coastal Area Management Planning for Pakistan – 2011 was held in Karachi from 13 to 15 May and was organized by the National Institute of Oceanography, Ministry of Science and Technology, Government of Pakistan with the financial support of the Pakistan National Commission for UNESCO. The workshop was a foll...
The Indian Plate has been the focus of intensive research concerning the flood basalts of the Deccan Traps. Here we document a volcanostratigraphic analysis of the offshore segment of the western Indian volcanic large igneous province, between the shoreline and the first magnetic anomaly (An 28 ∼63 Ma). We have mapped the different crustal domains...
The Arabian Sea has number of phenomena that makes it interesting to explore by researchers. The monsoonal reversal system in the Arabian Sea not only changes the water circulation but also influences the biological productivity. The biological productivity in this area is one of the highest in the world. In this presentation an attempt is being ma...
We use a simple approach to estimate the present-day thermal regime along the northwestern part of the Western Indian Passive Margin, offshore Pakistan. A compilation of bottom borehole temperatures and geothermal gradients derived from new observations of bottom-simulating reflections (BSRs) allows us to constrain the relationship between the ther...
Gas hydrates are ice-like crystalline substances occurring in nature where a solid water lattice accommodates gas molecules (primarily methane, the major component of natural gas) in a cage-like structure, also known as clathrate. Gas hydrates form under conditions of relatively high pressures and low temperatures, such as those found in the shallo...
ABSTRACT This study documents the tectono-stratigraphic setting and expulsion history of a major, previously undescribed mud volcano (MV) province in the Indus Submarine Fan, offshore Pakistan. A buried MV field of nine composite MVs has been recognized using two-dimensional (2D) and 3D seismic reflection data in a confined area of 50 × 65 km2. Con...
This study documents the tectono-stratigraphic setting and expulsion history of a major, previously undescribed mud volcano (MV) province in the Indus Submarine Fan, offshore Pakistan. A buried MV field of nine composite MVs has been recognized using two-dimensional (2D) and 3D seismic reflection data in a confined area of 50 x 65 km2. Conduits are...
The Indus River and Delta system was formed shortly after the collision between the Indian and Eurasian Plates prior to 45 million years ago. During, the Holocene, vast deltaic complex in southern Sindh experienced abandonment of several creeks due to frequent natural channel avulsions. Abandoned Indus delta channels have been reworked by tides all...
The role of hotter than ambient plume mantle in the formation of a rifted volcanic margin in the northern Arabian Sea is investigated using subsidence analysis of a drill site located on the seismically defined Somnath volcanic ridge. The ridge has experienced > 4 km of subsidence since 65 Ma and lies within oceanic lithosphere. We estimate crustal...
Pakistan has over 10% of its population living in the vicinity of the coastal zone, over 20 % of coastal area of Pakistan is relatively developed, 40% of industry is situated on or near the coast. Protecting these human assets will be costly, particularly if the effects of climate change are sudden rather than gradual. A rise sea level of a few mm...
. The discovery of an early advanced civilization in the Indus Valley (Meadows and Meadows, 1999 and references therein) further increased this interest in the history of the river. Its source lies in Tibet, close to sacred Mount Kailas and part of its upper course runs through India, but its channel and drainage basin are mostly in Pakiistan. Rece...
The Indus River, about 3000 km long, is one of the largest and most important river systems of the world, and predominantly flows through Pakistan towards the western margin of the India-Pakistan subcontinent (Figure 1). It is not only one of the oldest rivers existing today, but has also cradled one of the oldest and historically important civiliz...
The role of hotter than ambient plume mantle in the formation of a rifted volcanic margin in the northern Arabian Sea is investigated using subsidence analysis of a drill site located on the seismically defined Somnath volcanic ridge. The ridge has experienced >4 km of subsidence since 65 Ma and lies within oceanic lithosphere. We estimate crustal...
Sediments preserved in the submarine fan fed by the Indus River record the interactions between climate and tectonics in the western Himalaya since the start of India-Asia collision, especially exhumation of the Greater Himalaya and intensification of the Asian monsoon. Seismic stratigraphic mapping has revealed peaks in sedimentation rates during...
On a global scale, humans have become the major cause of a rapidly changing marine environment. This will have far-reaching implications for the future of this environment. Karachi, the largest city of Pakistan, is situated along the coastline in close proximity of Indus Delta. Coastal zone of Karachi consists of sandy beaches, creeks, muddy backwa...
In natural conditions, the Indus River had one of the largest sediment loads in the world, building an extensive delta on the high-energy coast of the Arabian Sea. However, water and sediment discharge have been drastically altered in the Indus since the early 1960s, when several barrages were built along the river to feed the world's largest irrig...
Offshore geology of Pakistan is indicative that the country has a broad continental margin and therefore, may very likely extend its legal continental shelf beyond the 200 nautical mile limit in the Indus offshore region, if the UNCLOS Article 76 criteria in this regard are satisfied. If the entitlement is proved scientifically, it is expected that...
The paper describes the survival and existence problem of coastal forest like mangroves. The mangroves inhabit estuarine habitats in warm climate in general. In Pakistan, they occur mainly in the vicinity of Indus delta. The coastline of Pakistan is 990 km long; 260 km belonging to the province of Sindh and 720 km to the Balochistan. The entire coa...
The Indus River, that has created one of the world's largest delta and submarine fan system, is currently contributing a fraction of fresh water or sediment in to the Arabian Sea. Consequently, the seawater intrusion has resulted in tidal intrusion in the prime agricultural land in the Indus Deltaic region. Extensive use of fresh water for irrigati...
A local geochemical soil survey was carried out for the exploration of uranium deposits in the area of north – east Vogelkop Irian Jaya, Indonesia. The study explores the use of trace elements associations as an indicator for the possible presence of uranium deposits. This selective association of trace elements is useful since radon, helium o...
To study the activity, source and driving force of the venting of fluidized mud in the coastal Makran, we carried out reconnaissance surveys of two active onshore mud volcano fields (Chandragup and Jebel-u-Ghurab) and of a newly born (March 1999) offshore mud volcano (Malan Island). All studied on- and offshore mud volcanoes line up along one south...
The Makran accretionary complex shows a distinct bottom-simulating reflector, indicating a thick gas-hydrate-bearing horizon
between the deformational front and about 1350 m water depth which seals off the upward flow of gas-charged fluids. A field
of presently inactive mud diapirs with elevations up to 65 m was discovered in the abyssal plain seaw...
The research presented here is a study of fine-grained sediments of the Indus River, Indus Shelf/slope, Indus Canyon, and the pelagic/hemipelagic and the turbidite units of the Indus Fan. The material presented herein propose the source, dispersal patterns and mode of transportation of fine-grained sediments in the fluvial, littoral and deep-sea en...
ABSTRACI': Surface sediments from the continental shelf area off Indus delta were analysed for their
textural characteristics and carbonate content. The sediments are largely silt, silty clay and clayey silty
sand. Sandy fraction is dominant in the outer region with relatively high carbonate content. The study
shows that distribution of carbonate i...
The Makran slope-apron system is a stepped convergent margin across an active subduction complex. Shallow penetration piston cores have been recovered from the upper slope region (1325m), three mid-slope basins (1768m-2482m) and the abyssal plain (3274m). In these regions turbidites and hemipelagites are seen to be closely interbedded, with general...
During the past ten years the Makran offshore area has attracted considerable attention of national and international scientists, exploration, and petroleum companies to have a better understanding of the peculiar geological and oceanographic setting and to considerably broaden the geological knowledge about Pakistan's EEZ off the Makran margin and...
Questions
Questions (2)
Are we heading towards a wetter monsoonal period? If yes, what extremes should we expect for South Asian deltas e,g. Indus and Ganges deltas? Second question is rather a concern. Historically, wetter monsoonal periods were responsible for the high sediment and water yields. So what would happen with the dams and barrages we have developed during last century or so? Are they going to be silted up or will they would burst?
I am bit curious to ask you couple of questions. First are we heading towards wetter monsoonal period and if yes what extreme we should expect for Asia. Second question is rather a concern. Historically wetter monsoonal period was responsible for the high sediment and water yields. So what would you reckon to happen with the dams and barrages we have developed during last century or so. Are they going to be silted up or they would burst?
