ISRO with the help of NASA satellite, released detailed undersea map of Ram Setu

Aerial view of Ram Setu or Adam's Bridge (Photo Credit - PTI)

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) with the help of NASA's ICESat-2 satellite has released a detailed map of Ram Setu or Adam Bridge. According to the Optical satellite imagery verification, the pathway is 99.98% submerged in water.

The bridge is 29 meters long and 8 meters above the seabed. The released map is of a 10-metre resolution map created after 6 years of data collected. According to the reports, it is said the bridge is 1.5 km wider. This bridge is located between Mannar Island, off the northwest coast of Sri Lanka, and Rameswaram Island, in India.

Scientists from ISRO's Jodhpur and Hyderabad National Remote Sensing Centre revealed this map, which depicts a comprehensive image of the bridge underwater and was created using advanced laser technology from a US satellite. ICESat-2's green laser allowed for deeper penetration, detecting the seafloor up to 40 meters deep.

Researchers acquired around 0.2 million photons from ICESat-2, which provided depth information critical for creating high-resolution bathymetric data.

A team led by Giribabu Dandabathula uncovered 11 tiny channels with a depth of 2-3 metres and utilised 3-D-derived metrics to estimate the bridge's physiology. Until the ninth century AD, Persians called this bridge 'Sethu Bandhai'.

Ram Setu has great historical significance to the people of India as it is connected with our culture and is said to have been formed by lord Ram to reach Lanka or Sri Lanka to get his wife Sita back who got kidnapped by the demon named Ravan, mentioned in Ramayan.

The bridge was initially situated above sea level and served as a vital link until 1480 when a powerful storm ravaged the area, causing significant damage that resulted in the bridge becoming submerged underwater.

This study sheds light on the geological history of Adam’s Bridge and provides valuable data for future research in marine geophysics and archaeology.