The Cochin University of Science and Technology has received an invitation to be part of an international research programme on climate change funded by the European Union.
The varsity’s estimate Rs.20 crore Stratosphere Troposphere (ST) Radar, managed by its Advanced Centre for Atmospheric Radar Research, is expected to play a key role in generating valuable data towards the StratoClim research project. The aim of the ambitious venture is to assess the role of upper troposphere and stratosphere in climate change and it involves 28 institutions in 11 countries.
“The Dynamic Meteorology Laboratory in Paris has recommended a joint venture to study the impact of the Indian monsoon convection on the tropical tropopause layer and climate.
The StratoClim project is planning a measurement campaign during summer 2016 over India with a high-altitude aircraft that will bring a host of unparalleled information,” said K. Mohankumar, Director of the Advanced Centre for Atmospheric Radar Research.
The aircraft payload will include instruments devoted to characterise aerosols and ice crystals as well as the chemical composition of gas tracers. Explaining that Tropical Tropopause Layer (TTL) is mostly under the influence of the Indo-Asian monsoon in summer, Dr. Mohankumar pointed out that the distribution of ground sources and the transport properties across the layer are still poorly understood.
“The goal of the project is to make advances in our understanding of the processes ruling the composition of the TTL and the paths of air parcels going through. It will build on a unique combination of opportunities on the observation side,” he said.
CUSAT will start issuing weekly weather bulletins from November 2
Project proposal
A project proposal on the joint initiative said that the ST Radar at Cusat will provide significant information at the gateway of Indian summer monsoon.
The radar facility will issue weather bulletins to the public from Monday onwards.
Source: The Hindu