Dr. C.B.S. Dutt (Indian Space Research Organization, Bangalore): Indian Space Programme and Climate Change Studies
Mo. 2007-09-17 (18:15), H 8, GEOContact: Amarnath Giriraj
Abstract:
Indian Space Programme is driven with a focus on national development and emphasize on monitoring and surveillance of natural resources, meteorology and atmosphere for providing better livelihood conditions. Towards this ISRO during the last 3 decades has accomplished self-reliance in the launching capability of polar orbiting remote sensing satellites as well as geo-synchronous meteorology & communication satellites. The launching capability achieved through PSLV and GSLV is with a mass of 1200kg and 2500kgs respectively. The indigenous development of remote sensing, meteorology & communication payloads have made India self-reliant in monitoring the natural resources and enhanced the capability of communications, meteorology and TV network. The operational demonstration of IRS-1A, 1B, 1C, 1D & now Resourcesat –1, CARTOSAT-I & II are providing high-resolution multi-spectral images for monitoring natural resources. India has also launched INSAT series of satellites capable of communications, weather and meteorology. The services presently being provided by INSAT-2E, INSAT-3A & Kalpana are extending continual services in monitoring the weather and meteorology. The future programmes related to Oceansat-2, INSAT-3D & Megha Tropiques (MT) are going to provide an exponential growth and capacity in the monitoring ability of oceans, atmosphere and climate. The presentation highlights some of the demonstrated applications using satellite remote sensing, satellite communications, satellite meteorology and the future space technology tools for monitoring atmosphere and climate for improved understanding of India’s environment.
Specific technological aspects related to Space Recovery Experiment (SRE) and the studies related to Astrobiology using high-altitude balloon experiments conducted in India by the speaker himself as Project Director, Astrobiology responsible for preparation of a complex electro-mechanical payload capable of collecting high altitude samples in the stratosphere upto 42km will be briefly presented. The nation-wide remote sensing application projects related to 1) Biennial Forest Cover Mapping of India 2) Ground Water Prospecting Identification & Mapping 3) Land Slide Hazard Zonation 4) National Agricultural Drought Assessment 5) National Level Biodiversity Assessment 6) National Level Land Use Land Cover Studies and Agro-Climatic Zoning 7) Potential Fisheries Zone Mapping 8) Forest Volume Estimation and Non-Forest Timber Resources Assessment 9) Regional Scale Wild Life Habitat Zoning etc will be presented. Some specific aspects related to mesoscale forest fire damage and prediction studies, ecosystem level biodiversity assessment and community level studies using spectral signatures etc will be discussed. In the area of satellite communications and its applications in respect of tele-education and tele-medicine efforts in the Indian context for remote area access and societal applications will be presented briefly. A well-focused climate change research programme viz. ISRO’s Geosphere Biosphere Programme (ISRO-GBP) has identified specific goal oriented atmosphere and climate research activities. The projects on 1) Aerosol Radiative Forcing over India 2) Atmospheric Trace Gases, monitoring, transport & modeling network through establishment of environmental observatories 3) Atmospheric Dust composition and transport modeling 4) Atmospheric Boundary layer dynamics & Networking of Boundary Layer Lidars (BLL) 5) Quantitative multi-proxy paleomonsoonal reconstruction 6) Energy & Mass Exchange in the Vegetative Systems using AMS network 7) National Carbon Project involving soil and vegetation carbon and CO2 flux studies 8) Land Use Land Cover Dynamics and Human Impact in the Indian River basins 9) Regional Climate Modeling (RCM) and Impact studies on Hydrology and Agriculture. These projects would address specific questions; observational tools and analyses are presented. While presenting the climate change research in India specific aspects related to Land Use Land Cover Dynamics and Biodiversity and successional aspects of native vegetation. The proposed plans on the mesoscale fire prediction studies as relevant in the context of tropical Indian forests will be discussed. The ground-based observational tools related to atmosphere and climate change research in India has produced some vital indigenous instrumentation related to fluxes, Aerosols, meteorology and atmosphere. The specific efforts on Multi-Wavelength Radiometer (MWR) for Aerosols, Automatic Weather Station (AWS), Agro-Meteorological Station (AMS), GPS sonde, Dopler Weather Radar Boundary Layer Lidars (BLL) & the specialized efforts on high altitude balloon experiments and sounding rocket observations are some of the space technology tools enabling the Indian Space Research programme to monitor atmosphere and climate effectively. These efforts are systematically integrated for improved understanding and assist in reliable policy decisions towards sustainable development of the region. The experiences and demonstrated observational tools will be explained among the university faculty for enriching mutual benefit in the overall context of Climate Change research and its impact on biodiversity.Export as iCal:
