ATMOSPHERIC RESEARCH TESTBED

Why in News?                                                                                                        

Recently, Minister of Earth Sciences virtually inaugurated the first phase of the Atmospheric Research Testbed in Central India (ART-CI) in Sehore district in Madhya Pradesh.

What is Atmospheric Research Testbed?

• It is established by Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), MoES at Silkheda for better understanding on processes governing monsoon convection.
• ART-CI will have an extensive set of remote-sensing and in-situ instruments that will provide continuous observations of convection, clouds, precipitation, soil moisture, radiation, microphysics to capture major modes of variability.

Phases

• In the first phase, an ART would be set up in central India to study convection, land atmosphere interactions and precipitation processes. It is expected to provide a sound basis for other research testbed programs in climatologically interesting and important areas.
• In the second phase, ART is to be set up in the northeast/eastern part of the country to study severe thunderstorm processes.

Objectives-

• It is for better understanding on processes governing monsoon convection and land atmosphere interactions over the monsoon core region and to measure relevant meteorological parameters using the state-of-the-art observational systems.
• To organize intense observational campaigns along with weather prediction model runs for testing hypotheses and to improve physical parameterizations in the models related to convection and land surface processes.
• Outreach, Training and Dissemination of ART-CI data sets. The testbed will be made into an international facility for intense observational campaigns and testing physical parameterization schemes including sensitivity runs.
• It has nearly 25 high-end instruments like the aethalometer for aerosol studies, cloud condensation nuclei counter, laser ceilometer to measure cloud sizes, micro rain radar to calculate raindrop size and its distribution have been installed.
• A Ka-band cloud radar and a C-band doppler weather radar will also help track the movement of rain-bearing systems over this zone.