Science is for Sharing

Our long awaited publication exploring the Descending Cirrus clouds over Gadanki. Int'l. Journal of Remote Sensing It is the story of Cirrus clouds which descends / ascends altitude ..... their characteristic properties ....using NARL's long term Lidar data. Nellore Manoj Kumar, Kannan Venkatramanan, Anish Kumar M. Nair & Shekatam Satheesh Kumar   (2020)   On the characterization of descending nature of cirrus clouds over a tropical site, Gadanki,   International Journal of Remote Sensing,   41:17,   6550-6569,   DOI:  10.1080/01431161.2020.1742942 https://t.co/vpReYZZZsY https://t.co/3zJDq2KNjM https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01431161.2020.1742942 The interesting feature of Cirrus cloud's descending & ascending are well characterized using ~6 years of lidar observations. The study roots back to the inspiration from my earlier work published in J.Geophysicsl Research in 2012 Nair,  A. K. M.   ,  K....

Our collaborative research article Sensitivity of climate models in relation to the “pool of inhibited cloudiness” over South of the Bay of Bengal  is published in the International Journal of Climatology recently. [ click to view the paper ] / [ click here to download the paper ] It is on evaluation of CMIP5 models and suites of CFSv2 in capturing a region known as "Pool of inhibited cloudiness" [ click to view the base paper ] over the southwest Bay of Bengal region. This region was actually identified based on satellite observation by Nair et al. (2011)   However, the fidelity of climate models were not evaluated to capture this region of suppressed convection (surrounded by region of deep convection). Climate models (cmip5 and CFSv2 default) shows difficulties in simulating the region. However, improved cloud physics seem to have played an important role in capturing the complex process Present Paper: Roy, K., Mukhopadhyay, P., Mu...

🌞Eclipses 🌚  are heavenly visual feasts of celestial bodies hide and seek game with light and shadow. Indeed, they are rare events ! We need to be in the right place 🗺 and at right time  ⌚ to watch an eclipse unfurl. 💥How about watching a future eclipse now ? Yes, it is possible !   Curious to know ? 🤔 We can simulate it in our PC 💻 and enjoy. No need to travel far off. It would be truly interesting to watch it in advance and later wait at the right place to witness it. ❓ How to simulate a heavenly event ? Use the free open source Astronomy software  "Stellarium"  - to enjoy the realistic sky.⭐🌟⋆ It can be downloaded at  https://stellarium.org/ Set the location (latitude, longitude), change the time, play and watch !!! This would be really interesting and rewarding activity.  Now, let us see how an  Annular Solar Eclipse of  26 December 2019  📅 look like. An Annular Solar Eclipse...

Our latest paper on the "Role of cloud feedback in regulating the “pool of inhibited cloudiness” over the Bay of Bengal" published in Springer Nature's  Meteorology and Atmospheric Physics . https://goo.gl/bNdLFg Read & Share Full Article here: http://rdcu.be/wOmz Anish Kumar M. Nair,  T. N. Rao and  K. Rajeev   Reference .bib   @Article{nair2017,   author   = {Nair, Anish Kumar M. and Rao, T. Narayana and Rajeev, K.},   title    = {Role of cloud feedback in regulating the “pool of inhibited cloudiness” over the Bay of Bengal},   journal  = {Meteorology and Atmospheric Physics},   year     = {2017},   pages    = {1--12},   month    = {10},   issn     = {0177-7971},   abstract = {Cloud-circulation feedback by latent heating (LH) is a major contributor for driving atmospheric circulation. This study exami...

Congrats Dr. Suresh Babu for bagging the prestigious Shanthi Swarup Bhatnagar Prize 2017. CLICK HERE  Proud of you...!!! Wishing you and team more success !!

An Equinox is the astronomical event when both the hemispheres have equal duration and amount of sunshine. Sun would be exactly overhead of the equator. It happens twice in a year Spring (Summer) equinox (20 March) and Vernal (Autumnal) equinox (22 September) . Here is the view of the beautiful event from space for 22 September 2016. I have animated it (time series for the day). Watch the day-night solar terminator move through the earth. Observe the equal area of sunshine and night on either hemisphere. The visible imagery is from MeteoSat VISSR (IODC) stationed at 57deg.E longitude above equator in a geostationary orbit. For a typical comparison of Equinoxes with Solistices, you may go through this link http://akmnscience.blogspot.in/2012/07/equinox-solstice-better-view.html Image Courtesy: Dundee Satellite Receiving Station http://www.sat.dundee.ac.uk/

Solar Eclipse (09 Mar 2016) is hardly visible over Tirupati. Here is an animated version (Figure (a)) of the simulation I have prepared using the free open source "Stellarium" software. The Sun rises over Tirupati by 06:23 IST. Meanwhile eclipse has already begun and being in penumbra region, it's partial eclipse over here. Click here to see the eclipse For reference, the figure (b) of eclipse locations are shown in the figure below (scroll down) which also shows time in Tirupati during the events.  (courtesy: timeanddate.com ) Figure (a): Animation of the solar eclipse (simulated) over Tirupati. 'E' indicates East Figure (b): How eclipse happens world wide (courtesy: timeanddate.com)

Satellite images are are rich with useful and interesting information. It is not difficult to interpret them... here are some tips and stratergies....    They can show us how much a city has changed, how well our crops are growing, where a fire is burning, or when a storm is coming.  Here is a practical approach as given by Nasa Earth Observatory. Look for a scale Look for patterns, shapes, and textures Define the colors (including shadows) Find north Consider your prior knowledge Read more.... Check this link..... http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Features/ColorImage/?src=eorss-features Courtesy: Nasa Earth Observatory

Every year during winter time (Aug-Sep) , extend of Antarctic sea ice  increases. But this year...... it has reached record largest extend.... Reports NASA. Interesting .....!  Isn't it....? Read the following graph to compare the changes in sea ice extend. Read More: Antarctic Sea Ice Reaches New Maximum Extent Why should it grow....? It's an interesting field of research....! There are few hypothesis... Read More http://theconversation.com/why-is-antarctic-sea-ice-growing-19605  Courtesy: NASA earth observatory

Temperature data from four international science institutions. All show rapid warming in the past few decades and that the last decade has been the warmest on record. Courtesy:Nasa Global CLimate change http://climate.nasa.gov/scientific-consensus

High El Nino -Southern Oscillation (ENSO) activity in the late 20th century is a footprint of global warming says a recent study. An international team of scientists spearheaded by Jinbao Li and Shang-Ping Xie, while working at the International Pacific Research Center, University of Hawaii at Manoa, has compiled 2,222 tree-ring chronologies of the past seven centuries from both the tropics and mid-latitudes in both hemispheres. Their work is published in the June 30, 2013 online issue of Nature Climate Change . Li, J., S.-P. Xie, E. R. Cook, M. Morales, D. Christie, N. Johnson, F. Chen, R. D'Arrigo, A. Fowler, X. Gou, and K. Fang (2013): El Niño modulations over the past seven centuries. Nature Climate Change . http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nclimate1936 Caption: This graph shows El Niño variability derived from tree rings (blue) and instrumental measurements (red). The dashed lines indicate boundary for natural variability. Recent El Niño behavior is largely beyo...

Greenland is an immense, glittering expanse of snow and ice. But in recent summers, satellites have been observing less “glitter” from the Northern Hemisphere’s largest ice expanse due to surface melt and other changes caused by warmer temperatures. The summer of 2012 found Greenland darker than it has been since ice-sheet-wide observations began in 2000. The darkest areas occurred around the perimeter of the island—the lowest elevations, where melting is most significant—but virtually the entire ice sheet showed below-average reflectivity. Courtesy: Climate Watch Magazine by NOAA http://www.climatewatch.noaa.gov/article/2012/less-glitter-greenland-ice-sheet-continued-to-darken-in-summer-2012 Map by NOAA Climate.gov team, based on NASA MODIS albedo data provided by Jason Box, The Ohio State University. Inset image is from NASA’s Terra satellite, courtesy the  LANCE MODIS Rapid Response Project.  Reviewed by Jason Box.

Climate model projections that show a greater rise in global temperature are likely to prove more accurate than those showing a lesser rise. The study was published in the journal - Science. National Center for Atmospheric Research scientists John Fasullo and Kevin Trenberth analyzed how well 16 leading sophisticated climate models reproduce observed relative humidity in Earth's tropics and subtropics. They used observations from two NASA satellite instruments - the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) instrument on NASA's Aqua spacecraft and the Clouds and Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) . Climate model projections showing a greater rise in global temperature are likely to prove more accurate than those showing a lesser rise, according to them. Read in detail:  https://www2.ucar.edu/atmosnews/news/8264/future-warming-likely-be-high-side-climate-projections-analysis-finds http://www.nasa.gov/topics/earth/features/earth20121108.html

Equinox & Solstice (view from Space).  Doesn't it convey better information than the usual cartoons.....?  I have taken the Satellite images from Meteosat via. Dundee satellite Receiving Station and made the matrix using GIMP.

Be prepared to watch a heavenly drama on 6 June 2012. The Venus can be seen as a black dot travelling across the Solar Disk. Here is my Simulation: Yes, it is the "Transit of Venus across the Sun" Path-- L to R Credit: Michael Zeiler, eclipse-maps.com India comes under the visibility of the event after Sunrise. See the graphic below: Thiruvananthapuram can view it right from sunrise to 10:22 AM. The graphic was prepared using the tool provided in  http://transitofvenus.nl/wp/where-when/local-transit-times/   You can change the location and see about your visibility to the drama. Also read the following blog for wonderful information and graphics. http://blogs.esa.int/venustransit/        (nice and informative blog by ESA) http://eclipse-maps.com/Eclipse-Maps/Transits.html     (Transit maps) http://sunearthday.nasa.gov/transitofvenus/ You can also find how to watch the event.... Follow safe way.... take care ...

There are many proposals to reduce the climatic impact and change because of the Global Warming. Some of them tries to address the causative mechanism while some treats symptoms..... Geo-Engineering is d eliberate large-scale engineering and manipulation of the planetary environment to combat or counteract man made changes in atmosphere. Have a look at the three proposals to reduce increasing temperature. Click on the image of use the link below for a recent article in BBC. More details:  http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8338853.stm

Real–time Earthquake Map can be seen from US Geological Survey Click here:  http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/map/ Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)  about the Current Earthquakes information General Information Earthquake Notification Service (ENS) The  Earthquake Notification Service (ENS)  is a free service that sends you automated notification emails when earthquakes happen in your area.

Space weather starts at the sun.  It begins with an eruption such as a huge burst of light and radiation called a solar flare or a gigantic cloud of solar material called a coronal mass ejection (CME) .  The effects of those eruptions happen at Earth, or at least near-Earth space. Scientists monitor several kinds of space "weather" events -- geomagnetic storms, solar radiation storms, and radio blackouts – all caused by these immense explosions on the sun. They cause wide disruptions in Radio communications, power blackouts but for the beautiful aurora..... Read more :  http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/sunearth/news/storms-on-sun.html http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/sunearth/spaceweather/index.html

Nasa is gearing up to have 5 consecutive launches of sounding rockets which would releasr Tri-Methyl-Aluminum higher in the sky which would be acting like tracers in the Jet Stream. It would be tracked by the ground based cameras. A similar experiment was done by ISRO in Jan 2010 during the annular solar eclipse.   Read more: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/sunearth/missions/atrex-nightlight.html

COLD PLASMA LAYER DETECTED HIGH ABOVE EARTH The new findings suggest that about two lbs. (1 kilogram) of cold plasma escape from Earth's atmosphere every second. As physicists further map cold plasma around Earth, they could discover more about how it reacts during solar storms and other events, deepening our understanding of space weather. Read more:  http://news.discovery.com/earth/earth-cold-plasma-layer-found-120127.html#mkcpgn=rssnws1