A CELESTIAL BINOCULAR

Summer at CREST,IIA

2011-08-07T13:30:00.000-07:00

A classical style Architecture with Grey handsome building blocks; The Campus harboring exotic and indigenous Floral types; An island of snakes and jackfruit trees; Silent yet vibrant labs - This is where I spent my summer 2011. It’s dear to me for two reasons – partly because the ambience was very much alluring and partly because I could meet a few interesting people without whom my stay and also my research could not have been as rewarding as they were. I would count them to be a purple patch of my undergraduate life as I got to live my dreams of being at IIA.

Mesmering beauty!

The weather yarely turns from mild sunny afternoons to darkened evening. Congenial research Atmosphere with pleasantly mottled trees adds to the pulchritude of CREST. G2, My room in the ground floor - I would call it a heaven! I was even wondering if someone designed the room with the prior knowledge about my ‘Dream-lab’. Huh! Yeah, I had always yearned to work at a place where I would relish the beauty of gardens as soon as I open the curtains of the room!

Gestures not to scale!

Sonam, Peppu, Mrunalinee and Anusha – my chat buddies at CREST. ‘Impacted and elliptically transformed Spherical Balls’ – That was the Bonda which was made in the canteen!!! This is a sample of our lunch time scientific chats… The prey was Mrunalinee – A dimension problem in our description, finally concluded it saying, the gestures were not to scale!!

Census of our activities

Nothing could really substitute the dinner time chats, mid night star gazing, Open Air theatre dance classes, Cooking at pantry, CRESTFEST 2011 which made our final rocking days of dance performances at IIA auditorium. Another member of our group was my sweet ‘Taffie’ …Poor creature, I have scared it a couple of times by my shrieks.

Clean-Room world

I could still remember that our laughter would have torn the roofs apart when we renamed CREST as ‘Culinary Research and Education for Students and Trainees’  we had another Handsel of visiting the clean rooms of Astrosat’s telescope. Special credits to Raj for his vivid demos….We went crazy when we wore the clean room suits and more animated when we were given the masks and gloves as take home gifts 

Normalization of deviance – My research on 2m telescopic IR data

Venus Image captured through IIA 2m telescope on 3rd December 2010:

Waiting and wondering how much CREST enthralled me, my mind alerts me not to lecture my readers to boredom. So, I’m leaving my research thesis to find a place in my website. For all those intrigued by the Planet Venus and yearning to trace its Cloud Physics, please find my technical Report in my website.

Watch out for Mars, Hellas!

2011-08-07T13:19:00.001-07:00

Hellas, Next stop for Water in Mars!
“You bloom quickly, you do what you need to do, and you go dormant” – Ms.Pratt, Bio-Geochemist, Indiana University.
This holds good not only for Martian Microbes but also for transient water locked up inside the Polygonal cracks in Mars. The Martian Water Exploratory program got more moxie when the recent NASA’s images from MRO mission revealed dark shifting streaks in Hellas Impact Basin.

What’s not in Morsels of Hellas!

The discovery points out to flow of liquid brine in Hellas in summer. It was highly surprising when I superficially read the history of this region. SHARAD radar in MRO previously discovered 250m thick water-Ice on upper crater and 300-450m on middle and lower crater in Hellas. Mars Express HRSC images located 3.5-4km massif and Glaciers with viscous material running down from the rim of the crater. Starting from VIKING’s temperature measurements, Hellas has been much enticing due to its low altitude, favorably high temperature (-18C in late afternoon to -46C at nights- from VIKING), and high Atmospheric vapor pressure of over10mb.the below image shows some gullies identified by MGS, Mars Orbital Camera

Pretty Evidences for Perplexing questions:

Question 1: Why the streaks vanish each winter?
Question 2: What darkens the soil?

The dark streaks point to events caused by Liquid water albeit absence of Spectroscopic signatures of pure water. The albedo variations and sharpness of streaks calls for the younger ages of the streaks. The small ridges shown in the image explain the deformed ice. This provides the key for liquid water beneath the Martian Regolith. The deformed sub surface ice may break through the Crust in short lived outbursts enabling the downhill transport of debris. Fluids migrate through these fractures which are caused by rupture of subsurface liquid reservoirs. The below image shows the Marstian glaciers in Hellas captured by the HRSC camera in Mars Express (ESA)

Numerous Martian Gullies detected in the same basin hypothesizes the flow of Underground fluid either pure water/brine/acidic/Alkaline. The dark deposits in the rim of the basin are caused by internal erosion. The Atmospheric pressure of 11mb at the bottom of the basin (subsurface) and temperature above triple point of water beneath the Martian Soil in Hellas reinforce the striking presence of Ground Ice which melts in summer causing the dark streaks. Thus the morphological features in the image presumably suggest carving by Ground water/Ice, perhaps through capillary action rather than flowing brine on the surface of Mars.

P.S: The aforementioned points complement the research evidence submitted by UA team.
This link can make the reading further interesting :http://www.skyandtelescope.com/news/126800063.html

Looking Back.. Days at CEG...

2011-05-16T05:34:00.000-07:00

11.33am on May 12th 2011- the countdown began! Hang on! That was not a countdown for launch. Rather that was for departing my CEG officially as a student after surrendering my Smart Card. The countdown paused as I walked through my tantalizing campus and its evergreen spots. Reminiscing my blissful days, I was heading out towards the CEG parking lot (where my vehicle often assumed special place as locking my vehicle had escaped my memory plenty of times in CEG). The walk allowed me to pick up tell-tale signatures of nostalgic moments which CEG has given me since 2007 August. Every spot tied me to some specific occurrence of my student days – CPDE, Physics Lab, HOD office, CEG Canteen, our surveying field, and the most cherishable place –Our IRS (Institute of Remote Sensing) – whose walls will re-emit the memoir of 2007 batch in future years.

I vividly remember entering the ‘CEG campus’ way back in 2006, when I was in my 11th standard. I now feel proud to be an alumnus of the same College. My freshman years in college gave me lasting experiences. My First SQC meet was unforgettable! Believe me, this was the place I realised It was high time that I had an active ‘Email id’! Archana, Aarthi, Abhi – friends who made my initial months at CEG and from whom I learnt a lot. Neeraja (my senior) – My Engineering graphics tutor , but for her, my internal tests would have degenerated into a farce. Red Cross camp at a village near Kanchipuram was a giant pooper-scooper that scooped waves of self-confidence from me.

Sensor Design, Microprocessors, RS, and GIS– Everything paraded my mind....Despite listening to plenty of talks – the Million dollar question lingered – What’s GI? To me, it was a deep magnetization effect – Satellites and Remote Sensing, Yup that was my fantasy world! The Pandora box was finally opened when we arrived at 2nd semester and started probing the subjects of Geo-informatics. Then, GI appeared much mottled with farraginous topics than I had expected. Although the sign on the door was then unveiled, we had to really puzzle over the pieces to comprehend the close connection between different subjects.

Speaking of second year brings the most intriguing bird in its flock – Work on ‘Pollution’. My research got gravitated towards Pollution, Climate Change and Global warming. Conferences/Symposiums kept me occupied! I was then able to patch up the titbits of GI.

For every student there would be a Prof of his/her choice and so it was for me. I loved attending Remote Sensing and DIP classes by Vidhya Mam (Asst.Prof at IRS). Lost the opportunity of presenting her a nice greeting card on the last day...Yet, holding it to gift her next week... :)

My Internships –Experiences which gave much Momentum for my undergraduate life! They gave me opportunities to amplify my abstract ideas, think farther yet deeper into my research. My days at RRSC – B’lore, IISC, SAC, and PRL really made a striking difference!

Pre-final year and Final year – Halcyon days in College Life. Every day boasted a special significance. September 22nd 2010– an exceptional day for everyone in 2007 batch – The most precious terrace was opened and the Theodolites decorated IRS’ terrace on a darkening evening even after 8pm in the night! Oh friends! Neither that was an extra class of survey nor we had changed our usual location of survey (playground)...It was a moment when Earthlings enjoyed a rare honor of sighting JUPITER! ‘Jo’ (HW I call Jupiter) was just 3.51 AU away from our home planet. I would humbly direct my readers to my friend’s blog to know more on JOMAP (Jovian Measurement and Positioning) - http://archana4890.blogspot.com/. Thanks to my friend for the great piece of writing!My project helped me to live my passionate days for a planet which is a smorgasbord of volcanoes - Yes, My FYP was on Surface-Atmospheric interaction in Planet Venus!

Times of Geohorizon, Techofes, Kurukshetra 2010 and 2011 radiated much knowledge on team management and leadership. Looking back, they were heady stuffs! We had to make ambitious plans on a broad suite of issues within the stipulated amount of time. Hats off to everyone who made it to reality! Chill-outs with friends, Survey camp, IVs shared the inimitable moments of my life.

These Elysian days ended when I finally surrendered my Identity card. I signed the alumni form and marched my way down the ‘Red Building’. A mild smile occupied my face and I paused to mull it over. I wondered at the long way I have travelled from 13th Aug 2007 to May 12th 2011- From the day, when I ignorantly asked one of my friends, “Face book! Yeah, I have heard. Can you describe me how to use it?” To the day when I narrate the same experience in my blog space. Bye Bye CEG - With deep gratitude to this place and humble bow to many inspirational personas.

CRATER : HOW IT HAD ITS COMING?

2011-04-10T09:03:00.000-07:00

I have always wondered why many lovers of Planetary Science are raring to get off to the surface and ponder on the Craters with great alacrity. But, I myself was agog at the processes of Crater formation after a deep reading on plethora of controversial answers given to this question of ‘Crater formation’ in our Solar System. Thanks to Prof.P.Devadas for his book on ‘Igneous and Volcanic Origin of Lunar and Planetary Craters’.

While the telescopic and Spacecraft observations have provided treasure trove of information on the Surface features and Atmospheres of Planets and Satellites, the geophysical processes involved in the formation of craters, crater lets and ridges are still remaining a tangential question. The two most important processes of Crater Formation that are debated are – 1) Igneous and Volcanic Origin 2) Exogenous Impact.

A dogmatic assertion towards Impact Craters exists despite the irrefutable morphological evidences to the contrary. Many Lunar Craters have volcanic fumaroles and vents. The bright rays from these Craters are gas blown deposits from these vents and crater lets. Further, the forces attributed to Impact cannot act so extensively and so uniformly as to cause these circular structures on a large spherical surface with differential crustal hardness. The Lunar craters show the lava flooding on its surface. Such flooding events seem to arise from the central peak. It is evident from the Lunar Orbiter 2 photographs that the bottom most layers have spread farther distances with successive layers progressively on smaller areas. This causes folding of the upper layers.

On examining the Earth-Moon geometry, it is ratified that any exogenous body must first overcome the Gravity of Earth before impacting the surface of the satellite. This is the case in most of the Planet-Facing Satellites. There is a high probability that the exogenous body is pulled towards Earth’s Gravity and burnt in its Atmosphere. It has also been suggested that the primordial Atmospheres of Planets and Satellites were very dense and hence any object entering the satellite would be obliterated by its Atmosphere. This would either cause a soft landing or less impact due to negligible mass of the impacting material. Earth’s moon had a dense Atmosphere in its past. But it lost its Atmosphere to space due to less Gravity.

The surface topography of Mars (Hellas Basin), Venus (Franklin Crater), Callisto (Valhalla Basin), Galileo crater in Ganymede, Tyco crater in Lunar Surface and many other calderas are also attributed to Igneous and Geophysical origin rather than Impact processes.

Thus, the Author concludes that the impact events do occur in Solar System. But, a preconceived idea of Impact craters for all circular basins cannot be accepted. Also, no morphological impact evidences like impact splashes or regolith melting have been found in the surrounding areas. All these factors drive home the message that most of the Planetary Craters are endogenous in Nature.

I would be happy to find some debatable and controversial theories from my Readers in the comments page.

ASTRONOMY AND PLANETARY SCIENCE CLUB OF ANNA UNIVERSITY

2011-03-15T06:21:00.000-07:00

The Astronomy and Planetary Science club will act as a base for amateur astronomy and Planetary Science related activities. The exchange of information and spreading of general awareness about various astronomical events will find a common platform in the club. The club will also give exposure to various paraphernalia used by Astronomers and Planetary Scientists.

We plan to meet monthly or fortnightly (mostly during weekends) to hold sky watching Sessions, lectures, telescope making sessions and astrophotography sessions. The team members are a part of Tanastroclub of Tamil Nadu Science and technology centre. So, we also hope to have some joint observation and Telescope design sessions with Tanastroclub. Further, we also aim to have joint sessions for special Observations with IIT-Madras Astronomy Club.

Apart from observation sessions, we also plan to focus on Astronomical Image processing and Planetary Atmospheric correction analyses which are the primary requirements of planetary datasets.

ACTIVITIES

Observation sessions
Lectures by eminent Astronomers and Video Conferencing sessions.
Astrophotography
Planetary Remote Sensing
Astronomical Image Processing.
Theory sessions on Astrophysics.

RESOURCES

The initial sessions will be commenced with Amateur observations and HUBBLE telescopic data analyses. The data from Hubble is available online in the archive. The club activities can then be extended in plethora of Astronomical Arenas. We are likely to approach domain experts in Indian Institute of Astrophysics - Bangalore, Astronomy and Space Science Club, Ahmedabad, PLANEX Building-Physical Research Laboratory, ISRO, Ahmedabad for our initial lecture sessions.

I sincerely thank the team leaders Indhu ( B.E Geoinformatics ) and Gopi (M.E Geomatics) for their extraordinary zeal in motivating the club.

MY IMAGE PROCESSING TEAM IN K! 2011

2011-02-03T08:54:00.000-08:00

“It was a day with my Image processing team” This is how I wish to start my Blog post. Though many things come to my mind when I think of our workshop, I would put them all aside; my team made my day! This complete blogpost is dedicated to them.

There were people whom I have known for 8 months, two months, two days and even two hours. Still, everyone surprised me by their immense team coordination. They just blew me away by their sincerity, extraordinary zeal and complete dedication with heart and soul put into the work. I was astounded by their tenacity! Although my heart yearns to list their names, I’m afraid if I would unknowingly leave someone.

I only listed the tasks for them. They gave it a form, worked on it and brought my dreams right in front of my eyes. They were real strategic thinkers. For instance, I only gave them a digital camera. They finally gave me 9.7 Mb data with complete documentation of the entire workshop! It was a pleasant experience with them. Right from the second years to my peers, everyone steered the ship amazingly well. I only showed them the door; they walked or rather fought through it! Honestly, I take inspiration in their success!

Hats off to them! Well, even from the number of exclamatory marks in my post, I’m certain my readers would understand the efforts of my dynamic team whose scintillating activities would inspire anyone. Last but not least, I would express my sincere thanks to Sivani and Archana – my 3d evolution team in k! 2010. Their comments were of immense help to correct the pitfalls and make a coherent framework this year. This day would stay in my heart forever. Thank you all, I wish we meet again and work together.

PRL CONFERENCE ON PLANETARY ATMOSPHERES DURING JULY 12,13th 2010

2011-01-27T12:20:00.000-08:00

“The diversity of the phenomena of nature is so great, and the treasures hidden in the heavens so rich, precisely in order that the human mind shall never be lacking in fresh nourishment."
(Johannes Kepler)

One of the most wondrous and noble questions in this world is whether we are alone in this Universe or we are just one example of a much vaster and more varied tapestry. It seems desirable for us to inquire about exoplanets and civilisations outside our solar system. The thirst for planetary Observation and astronomy started with refracting telescopes when scientists pointed their telescopes to the sky and said “O telescope! Instrument of knowledge, more precious than any sceptre!”. Such dearest illusions took a dynamic form when men first set foot on Moon and enjoyed the Magnificent Desolation. From the days of Apollo to the current Mars science Laboratory and Kepler mission, we have studied and identified planets of many masses, varied atmospheres and extremely different Climatic conditions. Though we couldn’t conclude on life outside our Planet Earth or anywhere in our solar system, the data from these missions have made a big difference in how we look for evidence to answer the question of life. Thanks to Kepler team which has archived its data for the researchers around the world.

I had been enduring to write about a conference which I attended on ‘Planetary Atmospheres’ in Physical Research Laboratory, India during July 2010. It’s been very long, still, worth preserving the ideas. It was a wonderful and constructive meet which triggered the dream charge of many young researches to work in ‘Planetary science’. I have discussed here the crux of some striking lectures which engaged my interests during this conference.

First day of the conference was focussed on Terrestrial Planets, their evolution, present state of Knowledge, Atmospheric Escape and Magnetic field in those planets. The discussion on Colonization of Mars by Prof.U.R.Rao by melting the Polar Ice was my favourite lecture during this session. Martian Ionosphere was the most spoken topic. MARSIS sounding techniques revealed the peak electron density variations in Martian Upper Atmosphere due to dust storms in the neutral Atmosphere. The radio occultation experiments have derived a direct proportionality between peak electron density and solar zenith angle.

Comparative studies fostered both exploration and synthesis within diverse settings of Mars, Venus and Earth. Some fascinating similarities amongst these terrestrial planets include O+ ion flow, hot oxygen Corona and common dominant photo electron peak in Mars and Venus. The Photo e- peaks in Mars and Venus occur near tail unlike Earth where it occurs in Magnetosphere. The dominant composition of Martian Atmosphere and Venusian Atmosphere is Carbon-di-oxide. Yet, the current extreme and contradicting temperature in these planets digs questions about their Evolution and Primary Atmospheres which they inherited from Solar Nebula.

The last session on the first day was the most fascinating part as it spoke in volumes about India’s future Mars missions and Life on Mars. It was a lucid lecture by Prof.Murthy from PRL on Accretion, evolution, geochemistry and surface processes on Mars. Till now, we have had 4 orbiters, 3 rovers and 1 lander in Mars. Future Indian missions will carry Gamma Ray Spectrometers for studying the volatile chemistry, LASER sensors for terrain mapping, ultrasensitive magnetometers, and Hyperspectral imager for mineral analyses and Geological mapping camera. Another invigorating lecture was from Prof.B.C.Bhatt from Indian Institute of Astrophysics illustrated the telescopic observations which are being performed in India for analysing the Venusian cloud movement. He concentrated on the 2.3 window for cloud emissions and cloud opacity.

Day 2 was replete with lectures on diversified topics like Interplanetary Magnetic field, Heliospheric Physics, Outer planets, Aeronomy of Earth’s Atmosphere and Geomagnetic storms. Production of Sodium and water in Mercury is substantiated by proton sputtering of sodium bearing silicates by chemical spattering mechanisms (Ion spattering: Ion gives energy to target and releases neutrons). Craters can sustain magnetic field. When objects greater than Curie temperature when affected by impacts after cooling, can sustain permanent magnetic field.

Another mind blowing lecture series were about Saturn’s moon Titan. Titan , the only natural satellite ever found to possess dense Atmosphere with 1.5 bars of pressure dominated by Nitrogen and Methane. The nitrogen found in Titan is found to be of secondary origin. Ideal range of temperature in Titan is 150-250K. Methane has been evident in Titan through the process of Serpentinisation. RADAR data have revealed vast expanse of Methane lakes in northern Hemisphere and also specular reflection from these liquid bodies. Titan’s Atmosphere also contains Ethane clouds, Acetylene and uniform mixing ratio of Hydrogen. Titan’s methane cycle is similar to Hydrological cycle on Earth. In short, surface is the key to Titan’s mysteries.
The concluding lecture was about ‘Lightening in Planetary Atmosphere’. Dust storms in Venus stimulate turbo electric processes which cause lightening due to frictional charges. This electric field is similar to Earth’s electric field’. Though lightening in venus has been a matter of question, Lightening processes in Saturn and Jupiter has been confirmed.

I have only mentioned a few lectures which were fascinating me. Still, there were many on Jupiter’s moon, Mercury’s Magnetic field and Exoplanets. I would like to express my sincere thanks to Prof. Haider who gave us an opportunity to attend this conference.

When I started walking out of PRL after the conference, words of Dr. Lasio (Radio Astronomer, NASA, JPL) silently echoed in my ears, “Because nature is more clever than we are, it's quite possible that we will discover something we haven't thought of!” I continued walking saying to myself, ‘Yes, someday, the incredible will be known and we would be in other planets looking for some signals from living beings on Earth’.

A GEOENGINEERING SOLUTION TO GLOBAL WARMING

2010-07-23T05:19:00.000-07:00

Seldom are the remedies for Global Warming and Climate Change clobbered unequivocally and brought into light. Much have been spoken on alleviating pollution. The continuum looks endless!

Ruminating on the interior of cloud physics and atmospheric circulation, a Geo-Engineering solution has been recently discovered to increase the cooling effect and thereby increase rainfall.

(This was published in HINDU Final page dated 22-7-1990)

UNDERSTANDING VENUS

2010-07-02T22:24:00.000-07:00

Beginning with the space exploration in 1960, the probes have revealed many remarkable and uncanny facts about the planetary diversity and their satellites. It was a astounding truth that despite the formation of all planets from the solar nebula, each planet exhibits its own geological, atmospheric and seasonal changes. The scientists discovered and reasoned numerous exacting processes on Earth through comparative studies with other extra terrestrial planets. This broke much new ground and made us realize that it takes more than instrument to make an orchestra.

For a scientist enduring to perpend over the truth, the mystery of retreating glaciers and green house effect would be more intriguing than the most thrilling pages of a novel. But, when the victim turned out to be our own planet, the scientific community was alarmed! Bewildering concepts of global warming and threatening statistics of sea level rise brought into limelight, the intrepid discussions on our ‘Next Hospitable Planet’.

Terraforming on Extra terrestrial planets gained momentum. We understood that we are just an example of a ‘much vaster and more varied tapestry’. The whole Universe opened before us t find our next destination. It was a joy to behold those scores of creative ideas gave mankind, the unseen yet existing zones of our Solar System.

Even years of work can go for naught if the concepts and results do not reach the common man! Hence I would like to share some seminal facts on Venus from one of the discussions I recently attended.

Venus, much known as the sister planet of Earth is often visualized as a morning star or an Evening star in the sky. Walking down the history of our nearest neighbor, We can see how this planet was traced and viewed in the past. Galileo saw the phases of Venus through his amateur telescope. Captain Hookes and his team finalized the drawings of the phases of Venus. But the time or the split second when the limb of Venus actually passed in front of the Sun was still unanswered. The planet was found to have had a moderate temperature in the past with liquid water on its surface and active ‘Intra plate tectonics’. The planet became a scientific labyrinth due to its abnormal East to west spin unike the West to East spin of Planets housing solid rocks(Only three planets in the solar system have been found to have this negative spin ; Venus, Uranus and Pluto(gaseous comp). The length of a sidereal day was -243.0187. One solar day on Venus is equal to 116 solar days on Earth! Due to its spin axis of 177.8 degree, the seasons on Northern and Southern Hemisphere of Venus was almost symmetrical. The near surface temperature was same everywhere on the planet.

Mariner 2 was the first mission which flew by venus in 1962. Magelan gave high resolution images of Venus in 1986. Venera 6 was a hard lander to study the winds in the deep space. Venera 8 was a soft lander . Such missions gave us mind boggling results about the surface pressure (92 bars), Air temperature(737K) , density (65Kg/m3 ) and wind speed (0.3-1m/s – Though Similar to Earth,the pressure makes the huge difference). Ratio of dueterium to hydrogen was found to be higher than Earth which made the remote sensing Hydrologists to ponder over the existence of water. The atmospheric composition was almost similar to Mars (96.5co2 and 3.5 N2).
The UV spectra showed absorptions bands at specific wavelengths. But tracing the compounds which absorbed UV rays remained a tangential question. Venus had convective clouds similar to Earth but the composition was of H2SO4. Hypotheses predict the existence of condensed Co2 clouds on Venus.

Due to very high scattering and presence of thick H2SO4 clouds, the visible and infrared imaging may be futile. The Microwave window is predominantly used to study the wind patterns and their speeds. The lack of magnetic field stands to hamstring the method of retrieval of directions in this less understood planet. Venus Express launched in 2005 gave an idea on the active volcanoes on Venus(A paper published in science states the eruption of volcano a year back ). Venus Express had devices same as the Mars Express except the OMEGA( Here it was SPICA’P’ instead of SPICA’M’ on MARS EXPRESS).

It also concluded the vortex circulations on Venus similar to Earth. The hurricane formation was also not different from the Earth. Magellan imaged the panoramic view of the planet replete with basaltic rocks ( This conjecture is taken from the existing volcano).
Still, the doubts linger; questions remain.

* How does this planet lose its heat?
* What is the triggering factor for Green house effect?
* Were there fluidized flows of sulphuric acid on this inhospitable planet?
* Is it currently geologically active?
* Does it really hold a intra plate tectonics?

FUTURE MISSIONS TO VENUS:

1. Venus Climate Orbiter – 21 May 2010(AKATSUKI).
2. EVE- An European balloon FALL 2010
3. Venera D 2016
4. Design Reference mission

AKATSUKI:

* Wavelength bands in UV-IR
* 30 Hr Equatorial orbit
* Radio occultation for atm profiles
* 5 cameras
* It will move with clouds and will be highly geosynchronous.

Another 5.5 prototype superpressure balloon is being designed by JPL/NASA. It is made of canvas coated with film. It will image from 55km from surface of Venus for about 1 MONTH.

With such scintillating breakthrough in space applications, I’m sure that the day is not too far when we will hear the voices of Extra terrestrials through Interstellar and Interplanetary communication. Let’s tune our minds to welcome them.

SUBCONSCIOUS MIND : A MAGIC WAND FOR YOUR SUCCESS

2010-04-15T08:57:00.000-07:00

Have U ever believed in telepathy ? Yes, If U had done it so, this poem would be a real rejuvenation for you. Yes, my readers, sometimes miracles happen in life when we never think of them. But if something goes into your subconscious mind, its difficult to throw it out even if U wish. It resides in Ur mind; directs you and orients your thoughts until you reach your goal. As Swami Vivekanandha puts it
" Take up one idea. Make that one idea your life - think of it, dream of it, live on that idea. Let the brain, muscles, nerves, every part of your body, be full of that idea, and just leave every other idea alone. This is the way to success, that is how great spiritual giants are produced"

This would be another motivating poem ;Infact a true story which I read.

Not more than three short years ago
I was abandoned and alone
Without a penny to my name
So very young and so afraid
No proper shoes upon my feet
Sometimes I couldn't even eat
I often cried myself to sleep
But still I had to keep on going
Never knowing if I could take it
If I would make it through the night
I held on to my faith
I struggled and I prayed
And now I've found my way

Chorus:
If you believe in yourself enough
And know what you want
You're gonna make it happen
Make it happen
And if you get down on your
knees at night
And pray to the Lord
He's gonna make it happen
Make it happen

I know life can be so tough
And you feel like giving up
But you must be strong
Baby just hold on
You'll never find the answers
if you throw your life away
I used to feel the way you do
Still I have to keep on going
Never knowing if I could take it
If I would make it through the night
I held on to my faith
I struggled and I prayed
And now I've finally found my way

Chorus

I once was lost
But now I'm found
I got my feet on solid ground
Thank you Lord
If you believe within your soul
Just hold on tight
And don't let go
You can make it
Make it happen

Chorus

ENVISAGING CHENNAI...

2010-04-11T10:07:00.001-07:00

It is strange how images shape our thoughts and take us to the bottom of deeply incised canyons of thinking.

Yes, I'm going to give you a free Horoscope of Chennai City. Gee!! The transit period , when the urbanisation is going to be at its pinnacle;Infrastructure will transcend the limits of existing and visualised! With Skyscrapers getting ready to pierce the Sky,Sophisticated Bridges challenging the Developed countries, Chennai would soon soon be a mini-Texas. The govt of Tamilnadu is planning to open the Buckingham canal again which would enormously increase the benefits reaped through sea-trading.

Imperfect roads, stagnated water, mid-rise buildings.. Hold on ! Perhaps you would see all these archaic symbols of Chennai for very few days. Soon will the things change.. High-rise buildings , non-stop moving traffic,mammoth lounges- Perhaps this would be Chennai for us in 2020. Chennai is sure to achieve a pyrrhic victory.

The horoscope continues...Pals, seeing through the transit period, I wonder if there would dawn a day when we would all become Thomas Hood , pin pointing the current locations and searching for our houses in the future Chennai Map!

"I remember I remember
The school where I had studied,
The broken roads I trod"

There ends the free Horoscope. Friends these words are not just a prediction of future. It was all put forth by a technocrat from L&T . Yes, it was a lucid presentation on the Infrastructre development in Chennai. I was pleasntly surprised when he showed us these images of Chennai. I have a hunch that we would have many Burj-Khalifas and Petronas towers. The Chennai Secretariat which is presently under construction is the best quintessence for our Infrastructural growth.

My spirit flies in feathers, envisaging Chennai at its epitome of Pulchritude...

An Ode to my Solitude

2010-04-02T01:43:00.000-07:00

That was just hours before my Satellite Geodesy assessment , when I was sitting alone in my classroom, staring the empty chairs and gloomy walls , thoughts flashed in my mind.. With one more year to go; To remain as a student of IRS. With my usual diary beside, I started expressing my thoughts. Though not a professional writer , I do write poems occasionally . They may not be fraught with excellent rhythmic phrases, yet go a long way in conveying my emotions.

And here goes my words for my beloved classroom , a block in IRS.

"Besoted in the solitude,
With the minds wandering far and wide,
Cloud of thoughts clobbered me.
The empty chairs humbled before
The silent walls waiting to bid me
Adieu in a couple of months.
In vain do I long for a time machine
The chance of my days to repeat again;
These happier hours will fly at present
yet remain to rehearse in future."

Ha! An assessment after this poem; Taking up a role of a technocrat after being a poet for a short time.

STREAMS OF BRYCE CANYON : A MISSING LINK IN GROUND TRUTH

2010-03-28T09:10:00.001-07:00

Every tale has more than one side or perspective. And so it is with NASA, which studies Earth science from different angles – from satellites, from aircraft, and sometimes from the ground. But somehow, no matter how many ways there are to view a place, there’s nothing better than being there.

Case in point: Bryce Canyon National Park in Utah. The interlocking peaks of the canyon rim can top 9,000 feet – high enough that year-round flurries created this snow-capped winter wonderland captured by photographer James Van Gundy. The spectacular oranges, browns, reds, and yellows of the limestone and the unique rain- and frost-carved stone make the park a destination for more than 1.5 million tourists each year.

Those peaks offer breathtaking views of three states and 200 miles of visibility.

In contrast, a Landsat satellite image of the park, taken in 2006, tells a top-side story of streams and rivers and valleys that stretch out like the fingers of a child’s hand print. A host of new colors emerge, not apparent from the ground view. The greens of coniferous forests. The blues of lakes and the Tropic Reservoir.

GEOINFORMATICS : IN AN ENGINEERING PERSPECTIVE

2010-03-09T11:39:00.000-08:00

Knowing the earth by its dimensions and imaging the natural processes on earth through the geospatial technologies are the prime goals of Geo-Informatics. The tell-tale stories of ancient cartographers and their handmade paper maps, large scale techniques of triangulation, stereoscopic principles and earth observation satellites speak in volumes about Geo-Informatics as a technology. Much water has run under the bridge since then. The potential of this technology has aggrandized from Earth science and cartographers to Geo-Informatics engineers. Construction of geospatial solutions as a conglomeration of scientific principles and Engineering innovations is the need of the hour.

Geomatics engineering is based on the framework of applied mathematic, physics, remotesensing ,computerscience, integration of satellite communication systems , design and management of complex hardware and data system. Probing the earth and its atmosphere from space provides an efficient, cost effective and rapid approach to discover natural resources, understand the climate system and monitor ocean circulation. Hence it requires complete understanding of the physical principles which go behind the remotely sensed images and complex mathematical principles involved in excellent geospatial softwares which process those imageries.

Geomatics engineering is a modern dicipline which integrates acquisition, modelling analysis and management of spatially referenced data. i.e data identified according to locations. Based on the scientific frame work of geodesy, it uses terrestial marine airborne, and sattelite based sensors to acquire spatial and other data. Also it includes the process of transforming spatially referenced data from different sources into common information system with well defined accuracy characteristics.

By and large the nuances of geomatics Engineering has increased manifold. The advent of hyperspectral remote sensing is one of the most significant breakthroughs in Geomatics. The capability of distinguishing different features and describing the same ground objects in various levels of details enhanced greatly.

The contribution of a Geomatics Engineer starts even before the satellite is launched into orbit. It is imperative to decide the sensor configuration and the typical wavelenghts of the sensor which can sense radiometrically and geometrically different features on Earth in a distinct manner. Hence the verdict of the Geomatics Engineer is extremely important while designing the spectral resolution of a sensor. Once the satellite is put into orbit it becomes highly essential to know the pertubing forces due to earth’s asphericity,solar Radiation, Tidal forces and third body perturbations which can alter the image characteristics of the Remote sensing satellites. Here the regular corrections to be made to the imagery for various perturbing effects must be studied and modelling of these variations must be handled by a Geomatics Engineer.

After the satellite starts transmitting data to ground station , scene –wise storage and management of data is carried becomes his responsibilty. The various levels of Geometric and Radiometric corections are then performed. The data is imported into a GIS or image processing software for data analysis and classification. Finally the Geomatics Engineer disseminates the data according to user requirements , there by bringing the process in to its consummation.

But, its ironical that the softwares which were actually introduced to perceive the technology in a better way hinders the real understanding of its principles.The extent of analysis must not be bound by the modules available. Thus what’s needed is to fathom the concepts of Geoinformatics running behind the screen rather than laying our hands just on the ‘mouse clicks’.

Thus, the burgeoning multifacted arena of Ge-Informatics Engineering enables the scientists to achieve credible Geospatial solutions not only for processes happening on Earth but also for umpteen unanswered mysteries in other planets. Proud to be a Geomatics Engineer!

EARTH IN SATURN'S SHADOW

2010-02-24T11:01:00.001-08:00

This beautiful image of Saturn and its rings looks more like an artist’s creation than a real image, but in fact, the image is a composite (layered image) made from 165 images taken by the wide-angle camera on the Cassini spacecraft over nearly three hours on September 15, 2006. Scientists created the color in the image by digitally compositing ultraviolet, infrared, and clear-filter images and then adjusting the final image to resemble natural color. (A clear filter is one that allows in all the wavelengths of light the sensor is capable of detecting.) The bottom image is a closeup view of the upper left quadrant of the rings, through which Earth is visible in the far, far distance.

On this day, Saturn interceded between the Sun and Cassini, shielding Cassini from the Sun’s glare. As the spacecraft lingered in Saturn’s shadow, it viewed the planet’s rings as never before, revealing previously unknown faint rings and even glimpsing its home world. Seen from more than a billion kilometers (almost a billion miles) away, through the ice and dust particles of Saturn’s rings, Earth appears as a tiny, bright dot to the left and slightly behind Saturn.

Although it might appear that Earth is located within Saturn’s outermost rings, that positioning is just an illusion created by the enormous distance between Cassini and Earth. When Cassini took this image, the spacecraft was looking back at Saturn from a distance of about 2.2.million kilometers (about 1.3 million miles). The Sun was millions of additional miles beyond, hidden behind Saturn. On September 15, Earth’s orbit had brought our home planet to a location slightly behind and to the left of the Sun from Cassini’s perspective.

Here is the website to get more enthralled!
http://ciclops.org/view.php?id=2230&js=1

2010-02-23T10:25:00.000-08:00

The STEREO Ahead spacecraft kept a close eye on two active regions on Feb. 12, 2010. The one on the left popped off a small flare. The still shows the bright flash of the flare in UV light at 195 Angstroms. The active region near the center shows a lot of magnetic struggles within it, and it bursts out a small coronal mass ejection (CME) after the arch of particles is seen rising up. Flares are intense explosions on the Sun that blast out radiation into space. CMEs are larger and longer lasting solar storms that carry a larger cloud of particles and magnetic field into space. Both can create what we call "space weather" effects such as power disruptions, satellite problems, and aurora if aimed at Earth.

IMAGE FUSION

2010-02-12T05:32:00.000-08:00

PROBLEM :

HOW DO WE GO ABOUT FUSING A MICROWAVE IMAGE AND OPTICAL IMAGE OF A SAME AREA ?

The conventional style of Georeferencing always exists. But what if we are not microwave specialists and could not identify features just by seeing?
If we go for a path and row we can find only a scene and not a specific point which we would require to georeference an image and thus fuse them. Further its a critical situation if we use a fusing of an Interfereogram.

A new dimension to GPS through SONAR

2010-02-02T10:32:00.000-08:00

GPS does not work underwater-the radio signals on which it depends cannot pass through water. So submariners have yet to benefit from the revolution in navigation that it allows.

Now engineers working for the US Office of Naval Research think they have found a simple way to let submarines and divers get an accurate GPS fix.

A base station is tethered to the sea bed at known depth and known GPS location. A submersible anywhere in the area sends out a sonar request pulse to which the base station replies with a signal which gives its GPS position and depth as well as the bearing angle from which the submersible?s request arrived.

The submersible then uses its own depth, which is easily measured, plus the round trip pulse time and the bearing angle sent by the base, to calculate its own position. Simple.

Reference :
http://www.divespots.com/pdf/DiveSpots_article_uwgps.pdf

NATURE : RESILIENT IN ITS PULCHRITUDE

2010-01-23T21:25:00.000-08:00

The sky Stood staring at me ;

Scattering its Red and Yellow.

Much have i Longed ,

For this unabated exhilaration

There fell my heart for the God made Earth!

When the dew dropped and

The Sun hid itself behind the horizon,

Soon did I realize

The departing trees and smoke emitting chimneys

which refelected the try-catch game

With those coterie of men

who architect the signboard

"A Tree- The Last natural specimen on Earth;

Tresspassers will be prosecuted."

MESOSCALE THERMAL FRONTS AND EVAPORATION RATES

2010-01-15T05:59:00.000-08:00

I would like to brief one of my ideas which would certainly have a great say in limiting climate change if not curb it completely. Any coup for limiting this issue must involve the complete understanding of atmospheric parameters. So my idea also revolves around comprehending certain land and oceanic parameters which can alleviate climate change. Climate change in a broad sense means anomalous behavior of atmospheric parameters due to some natural or anthropogenic activity.

Sea level rise as we all know is a major effect of climate change. Through out my write up I’m going to focus on this oceanic parameter which is the need of the hour. Mesoscale thermal fronts and sinks are areas of thermal discontinuities where absorption of CO2 by ocean from atmosphere is relatively high. I am currently working in a paper where I am trying to map these regions from satellite images like AVHRR and NOAA.

But why these sinks are important? Yes, these regions absorb co2 and increase their boundaries and thereby aggrandizing the total ocean temperature. So as ocean heat increases the evaporation in that region alone starts increasing and the winds driven from that region bring heavy rainfall. So, at one part where there are sinks the rainfall decreases and another part the evaporation is high resulting in heavy showers. This causes heavy cyclones in some regions and draught in other regions. And when the thermal fronts spread, the regions under high rate of evaporation increase drastically, giving rise to more and more cyclones. So we have to control the high rate of evaporation in places of thermal fronts. Hence identification of these places is the prime goal.

1. Map the regions using MODIS thermal bands.
2. Using image processing techniques we can find out the areas of thermal fronts and sinks.
3. On knowing the lat long of those areas we can control the rate of evaporation at those places alone.
4. Cetyl alcohol is found to be the chemical which is strong, flexible to wind and ocean currents. This can be sent through undersea pipelines as we send the liquid co2 into oceans. But the foremost thing here is to monitor the lat long in which it has to be spread. Here comes the geospatial technology.
5. Next we have to validate the results because these chemicals can also have alternative impacts.
6. So we need a marine geospatial system which can monitor the latitude. Longitude, SST and wind speed in that area in daily timescale to see if there is any change in SST after the Cetyl alcohol is sent.
7. This system must comprise a GPS, a thermal sensor for estimation of SST, an antenna for immediate transfer of information to the land system.
8. The land system must have a MARINE GIS application to create buffer around thermal fronts, increase or decrease the buffer once the SST information is transferred, make simulations for increase in Cetyl alcohol content by generating DEM layers.
9. Here Generation of DEM is necessary in order to know the level at which Cetyl alcohol must be supplied. Also DEM must be created fro sea continental shelf region.
10. On the whole it should function as a real time monitoring system.

So in compendium I can say that the whole operation involves Geospatial technology in oceans for limiting climate change.

FROM ELUSIVE LICENSED SOFTWARES TO ENABLING OPEN SOURCE..

2010-01-14T10:39:00.000-08:00

Open source soft ware is a relatively novel concept that has started dominating not only the IT SECTOR but also spatial information system like GIS. In a broad sense open source technology has almost replaced the licensed soft wares with its redistributive and collaborative nature. Nothing in open source sector defines more than how passionately we go about innovating things. But still a fallacious thought which exists about open source is that it requires enormous programming skills than the normal licensed software. But this is not true. There are open source soft wares which are compatible with c and c++. A basic programming knowledge is the need of the hour. When mankind has learnt to fly, build tunnels through mountains and under the sea and transport itself into space at will, open source is not far behind.

Yes, it’s true! A degree of skepticism in my mind about open source was obliterated by this extensive lecture on open source who was instrumental in devising a ‘Business GIS Application’.

It was a normal Friday morning not much to ponder about as our semester started just 4 days before. We were in our GIS labs when we were instructed by our professor to head towards the auditorium. It was exhilaration all around! Of course the very thought of relieved from the normal classes all through the day added to our zeal.

A PhD student from University of Ireland (correct me if I’m wrong), an extensive user of Open source GIS packages Mrs. Easwari Shivanyanam appeared on the dais to share her experiences on the exemplary nature of open source technology in developing a Business GIS Application for a company in Srilanka.

Albeit it may not be possible for me to focus more on the technical side of this workshop , I would like to state the problems which she explained us and the solutions for the same.

PROJECT: DEVELOPMENT OF A BUSINESS GIS APPLICATION WHICH IS COST EFFECTIVE AND ALSO EFFICIENT.

INDUSTRY: RETAIL INDUSTRY

WHY GIS, WHEN WE HAVE A NORMAL BUSINESS DATABASE?

· To ameliorate the problems faced by the sales representatives in reaching the destination.
· A map can speak in volumes than the normal textual content.
· To convey the info to the head office once a product is sold.
· It can be updated in the database immediately.

USES
· To fathom the hotspot analysis in a buffer
· Cluster analysis, Trend analysis of a product over a few years in an area, route updating and land use changes.
· This can facilitate the companies to compare their improvement over the years.
· GPRS enabled mobile printer can be utilized for immediate generation of bills and a facsimile can be transferred to the head office through a palmtop.
· Shortest path algorithms : to guide the sales rep
· Track of the sales rep through out the day.
· A clear map can alleviate ambiguous situations and repeated visits to a particular street.
· It can also be a great use in finding how much distance a sales rep has covered in a day, in a month and so on and what’s his output.

PROBLEM IN THE CASE STUDY

It should be customer specific. In this case the company was highly benefited by the Business application involving GIS as the sales representatives were able to send instant SMS to head office in case of lack of products. Every new shop where the product is sold is updated in the map. The regional manager should be able to keep track of everything sold in his region.

All the maps given were in Map info format (as mentioned in the lecture). No money would be spent on the software development except a single PC. So Open source soft wares were a blessing in disguise! Open street maps were utilized extensively.

SOFT WARES USED: QGIS, POSTGIS WITH POST GRESQL,
R- STATISTICAL PACKAGE.

APPLICATION DESIGN

The basic requirement of the customer was ‘create and edit capability’ of the application. They had also opted for Google map interface. So that was taken as the base map. Further thematic maps were generated. Last but not least a genteel appearance.

Two basic methods used were
1. What if analysis.
2. Optimal route calculation.

The former had a significant use when a polygon had to be removed and the same situation has to be faced. From my understanding I can put it like this…

What if a particular road is blocked and the product has to reach the destination somehow. So an aliter has to be visualized for the destination which is highly possible with GIS in hand.

The afternoon session focused more on the various open source soft wares, brief hints on many. It was an application which juxtaposed many open source soft wares.

Of course it would have really been knotty task in bringing everything to one platform. I have given below a few sites which were mentioned in the lecture session.

· http://www.mapserver.org/
· http://www.postgresql.org/
· OGC
· GDAL
· http://www.spatialreference.org/
· Refraction.net
· TIDAC.CH-(IN CHENNAI) - A company which designed the Tamil Nadu govt. website.
· Unsusthnic.in

Thanks to Mrs. Easwari who motivated us so much andshared so many experiences in this domain. I might have missed out some technical specifications in the lecture. I welcome the points and looking forward eagerly to upload them in this post.

2012: Human-nature battle

2009-12-22T01:54:00.001-08:00

Its yet another warning sounded by our technocrats in the Hollywood. The director has shown a perfect coherence in his scripts. The last part of the film which portrays the tracking of disaster is something praiseworthy. The African Geologist has made his part laudable by his clear diction and body language.

Hey buddies, i don't wish to comment more as i feel that its a must watch movie.

TRACES OF THE PAST

2009-12-02T10:23:00.000-08:00

Have u ever wondered visiting your school after entering your college?? Perhaps 2-3 years later….If u had done it so, these lines can certainly take u down your memory lane; make you exult in the days of excitement, favorite teachers, silly fights, tough punishments...

Two drops down my cheeks …for those days which I can never get back... but only replay…

It was last winter. I had completed my third Semester exams. I was much relieved. I wanted to see my school and my dear teachers. My school has two buildings. First, I entered the building where I had spent hours listening to my teachers till my 9th standard... I was looking out for my favorite English madam. Her name is Mrs. Kamala Kishore. A Dynamic teacher who can attract her students just by her words. Yes, for next few seconds, I had lost myself in those ecstatic moments which I had with my favorite teacher and my eyes started searching her. If not for her imposition, I don’t know if I would be writing the spelling of words like “opportunity”, “business” correctly, even today…

Ya there she is... My eyes spotted her. But this time my eyes deceived me. It was not her. Just then I spotted my Tamil teacher. I went inside her class. She could identify me very well. She remembered my name even after so many years and called me “Vaa Aishwarya eppadi irukka?” My happiness went out of bounds. Ya really those were some halcyon moments. Typically not though always, I used to sit in second bench in that class where I could see my juniors; many identified me; called me “akka ippa neenga Endha College?”

I moved my steps outside the class taking a sweet leave from my Tamil madam. Many new faces. One teacher even thought that I had come to pick up someone. Many of my teachers had resigned. Then, I walked to the main building (as we call it).

That was the path through which I had carried bundles of books for my teachers. All teachers used to like me so much, not only for my academic records, but also for my ‘chubby cheeks’. Even now I remember some teachers call me during lunch hour and pinch my cheeks.

By then it was allmost 3.30. Time for the final bell and evening prayer!!! The choir girls rushed inside for the prayer. That brought a flash of one more nostalgic moment, when I was also a part of school choir group singing the Christmas carols …

I kept my first step. I recalled my heydays and sorrowful fights with my friends in front of the main building. There shouted a voice… “Who r u? You can’t enter now…” That was the watchman for whom I had given company so many days while waiting for my mom. I said,” uncle don’t u remember me?”. That was sad… He couldn’t …

That was the moment when two drops of tears ran down my cheeks. Really, I was disheartened to the core. The path which I had trodden in past several times without any permission now requires permission and specific timings...

I left my nostalgic building with a heavy heart and tears stagnant in my eyes….

Bhava and rasa

2009-10-30T08:52:00.000-07:00

Glad!!! It was a pleasant evening when i ultimately clobbered at the answer for a question which had been lingering in my mind for many days.. What's the prime difference between Bhava and abhinaya(RASA)????
Silly me.. I had been giving my facial expression even without knowing the difference between them...
Cool, so bhava is the mood created by a dancer in the minds of the audience..through her facial expression..
Rasa is the one which the dancer experiences to bring bhava in her audience..
So perhaps it must be rightly called as "NAVA BHAVAS ' and not "NAVA RASAS" as my guru quotes it often...

ARE WE BECOMING BOILED FROGS???

2009-10-22T05:45:00.000-07:00

Hi pals!!!

It was a mellow evening. I was heedlessly tuning my FM to find some intriguing programme. As my hands were continuously switching over the channels, i was flabbergasted to clobber at 103.2 fm. I could hear some muffled voices shouting the words,"CLIMATE CHANGE","SOLAR ENERGY" and many other scientific jargons. Needless to say , to all have been acquainted with me , these phrases they were uttering really caught my attention. My leisured , nomadic mind tardily started focusing on that discussion on the most hot topic of today,"CLIMATE CHANGE". The gripping discussion lasted for a few minutes , but then the website which they mentioned at the end of the programme actuated my ray of hope to look into it. Soon after that my hands stated meddling with the mouse to hit that website of All India Radio. But, I couldnt find this discussion in the Audio archieve of AIR. I embarked on my usual job of tuning the channels . I was again astounded to hear some topics of my interest. Initially i had a perception that it was another programme on Global warming.

To my happiness, it was none other than the same programme in Hindi. Thanks to all my Hindi teachers. I managed to listen to the heated discussion with my petite knowledge in Hindi. Well, friends, I accrede it was really an Acid test for me to cautiously center my attention to each and every word which was uttered. You should have seen me pressing my headphones on my ears, as many words were really abstruse for me to get them clearly.For ,I dont want to be hypocritic...!!!

Ho , finally I jotted down the crux of the discussion. My pals, i realised that my Hindi knowledge has still not faded completely. This programme certainly stirred my sweet memories of Hindi classes, when me and my father would discuss hours together on Dhohas of Kabirdas, Tulsidas. My favourite dhohas flashed in my minds.

Ho cool !!! I will come to the important part of the Aakhashvani programme which was different from the usual friovolous and soporic programmes. Well, i hear you my out of the box thinkers!!! Here is the crux

This programme was broadcasted on the wake of Indo-China aggrement on Climate change. The dicussion brought in to limelight the multi faceted issues of climate change and various methods which we can adopt to limit climate change. Further the adaptation issues which serve as an antidote to climate change were also analysed. The five year agreement which was signed by the Environment and Forest Minister Mr. Jairam Ramesh and the Chinese Minister for National Development and Reforms Commission Mr. Xie Zhehua in New Delhi today calls for cooperation on various issues related to dealing with the impact of Climate Change at variousl levels . This rendezvous stimulated the heat waves in both the countries to focus on this unprecedented challenge of climate challenge.

APPOSITE RATIFICATIONS FOR CLIMATECHANG ERECENTLY PREDICTED BY NASA
1. Anamalous profile of rainfall in the recent years in the tropical countries.
2. Agitation in the underground water levels and thus leading to alleviation of groud water.
3. Aggrandization of urbanisation.

CAUSES
· Excessive use of fertilisers in the fields.
Accretion in fertilisers pollute the ground water.
As ground water moves very slowly and takes a very long time to replenish, any meagre pollution at this strata will have a serious detrimental effect on underground water quality.

EFFECTS
No solid model for the usage of amount of water for crops.
Need for plans to promote ground water replenishment.
Awareness must be created amongst farmers regarding the irrigation processes as a part of adaptation issues.
Protection of soil moisture and vegetal cover by adopting proper irrigation techniques.
Recognition of Drip irrigation models as in Gujarat.
Flood irrigation measures to bolster the cultivation in seasons of erratic rainfall.
Expurgate unneccessary centralised systems.
Butressing decentralised systems to ensure proper co-ordination in different seasons of the year.
Decentralised systems which allay the need of pipelines which are currently used for water transport.
Increase of CO2 emission in the atmosphere due to increased urbanisation.

SOLUTIONS
Fathom Solar energy retrieval methods.
The cost is pretty high in case of solar enegy reconstruction but still it’s a benediction to most of the areas which use non-renewable resouces.
Bio-fuel energy conservation.
Conservation of wetlands (both salt water and fresh water)
These wetlands can trap sediment removal and thus prevent coastal erosion.
Focus on interlinking of rivers for agriculture.
Recycling of micro organisms to provide renewable enegy .
Ecologists are our principle bulwark in sorting this issue.
Their views and opinions have to be given due respect.
Students and reseach scholars in premier institutions like IIT’s and IISC must gather to discuss about the solutions for these issues.
Government must increase the frequency of public transport thus reducing the traffic congestion in the metropolitan cities.
Credible plans to reduce pollution in the city and materilise the novel ideas which can harness solar power .
Solar power can be used where ever possible in place of non-renewable resources.
Coagulation of various technologies to delve in to climate change.
Derelict wastelands should be promoted and put to use.
Preparation of well documented dossiers for management of industrial effluents.
Dynamic plans on recycling techniques.

The programme threw a tangential question that if China was able to implement most of the measures in this domain, India is second to none, so India could make better results to abate climate change. My verdict is as follows: “ India being a tropical country faces multiple challenges in rainfall , so best irrigation measures and agricultural practices must be focussed on. Secondly, we must think on feasible innovations in electrical energy generation from ocean by using Remote sensing strategies,ecosounders and Microwave data. Further solar energy reconstruction must also be given due importance.Thus refinement of these ideas can certainly limit climate change if not avert it totally.

Friends there was a shocking remark in this discussion which left an imprint in my mind. Scientists and technocrats around the world say that the global temperature will increase by 2 degree in the next 10 years. But, then, long back, I read an article in Hindu about the impact of global warming on Agriculture by Prof. Swaminathan. He had mentioned that even 1.5 degrees rise in global temperature may lead to many regional agricultural problems especially in tropical countries like India.

Any natural disaster cannot be averted completely. Nevertheless, we can still limit them to some extent. The longer we wait, the harder the problem will be to solve. So friends, let's start focussing on this issue seriously, for we have to leave this world this sustainable for generations to come. Let's not exhorte them to face a planet which is devoid of many beautiful resources which we enjoyed. Let's help them to relish the same pulchritude of our Mother Earth.

Its now "WE" who have to decide over the question of leaving our planet in either of these two conditions for our future generations....???? !!!!.

DEADLIEST EFFECTS OF GLOBAL WARMING

2009-09-21T01:18:00.000-07:00

Polar ice caps melting

The ice caps melting is a four-pronged danger.
First, it will raise sea levels. There are 5,773,000 cubic miles of water in ice caps, glaciers, and permanent snow. According to the National Snow and Ice Data Center, if all glaciers melted today the seas would rise about 230 feet. Luckily, that’s not going to happen all in one go! But sea levels will rise.

Second, melting ice caps will throw the global ecosystem out of balance. The ice caps are fresh water, and when they melt they will desalinate the ocean, or in plain English – make it less salty. The desalinization of the gulf current will “screw up” ocean currents, which regulate temperatures. The stream shutdown or irregularity would cool the area around north-east America and Western Europe. Luckily, that will slow some of the other effects of global warming in that area!

Third, temperature rises and changing landscapes in the artic circle will endanger several species of animals. Only the most adaptable will survive.

Fourth, global warming could snowball with the ice caps gone. Ice caps are white, and reflect sunlight, much of which is relected back into space, further cooling Earth. If the ice caps melt, the only reflector is the ocean. Darker colors absorb sunlight, further warming the Earth.

Warmer waters and more hurricanes

As the temperature of oceans rises, so will the probability of more frequent and stronger hurricanes. We saw in this in 2004 and 2005.

Increased probability and intensity of droughts and heat waves

Although some areas of Earth will become wetter due to global warming, other areas will suffer serious droughts and heat waves. Africa will receive the worst of it, with more severe droughts also expected in Europe. Water is already a dangerously rare commodity in Africa, and according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, global warming will exacerbate the conditions and could lead to conflicts and war.

Spread of disease

As northern countries warm, disease carrying insects migrate north, bringing plague and disease with them.

Economic consequences

Most of the effects of anthropogenic global warming won’t be good. And these effects spell one thing for the countries of the world: economic consequences. Hurricanes cause billions of dollars in damage, diseases cost money to treat and control and conflicts exacerbate all of these.

PARTICLES MULTI-TASK TO CLIMATE CHANGE

2009-09-04T22:07:00.000-07:00

Particulate, or aerosol, pollution has influenced climate in several ways during the past century. While the net effect is global-cooling, in opposition to the greenhouse gas warming, the aerosol effects include a combination of cooling and warming components. Probably the best understood effect is the direct scattering and absorbing of sunlight by aerosols suspended in the atmosphere, the "direct effect". Bright particles scatter incoming radiation. The most important scattering component is sulfate, which comes from combustion of coal and oil and from industrial activities. Darker particles absorb sunlight and warm the atmosphere where they are suspended. Black carbon is the most important absorbing particle; it comes from incomplete combustion of coal, wood and diesel. Since the scattering effect is larger than the absorbing effect, the overall direct effect over the century is cooling.

Surface air temperature changes from 1890 to 2000, from aerosol direct (top), indirect (middle) and BC-albedo (bottom) effects. Global and [Arctic] mean changes are indicated above each panel.
Pollution aerosols also cool climate by altering cloud properties, known as the "indirect" effect. Cloud droplets form around suspended aerosols. Pollution has increased the number of particles, which makes the cloud droplets smaller and more numerous. These polluted clouds last longer and are brighter. Overall, clouds cool Earth's climate by blocking the surface from incoming sunlight. So the increased cloudiness from pollution has cooled climate over the past century.
A third effect occurs when black carbon (BC) particles land on snow, and the tiny specks of dark material in the upper snow layers absorb heat from the sun and promote melting. This is called the "BC-snow-albedo" effect. Loss of snow or ice makes Earth's surface much darker, so that even more warming and melting occur. Thus the BC-snow albedo effect contributes to warming.
We recently conducted global climate model experiments to distinguish the ways these three aerosol effects have changed climate during the 20th century. The model was run for 1890 conditions and again for year 2000 conditions, and the resulting climates were compared. A first set of experiments made changes in aerosols only. In a second set we also changed greenhouse gases such as CO2 to determine whether the aerosol effects change if greenhouse gases simultaneously warm the climate.
In our study, the biggest aerosol effect on climate came from the effect of aerosol-cloud indirect effect. Over the century, it cooled the surface air temperatures -1°C, with more cooling in the northern hemisphere than in the south. Snow and ice cover increased 1% globally and 4% in the Arctic. Global cloud cover also increased by 0.5%.
The aerosol direct effect cooled the climate over the century by -0.2°C, also more in the north than the southern hemisphere. It also caused a small increase in cloud and snow/ice cover.
Warming from the BC-albedo effect was similar in magnitude to the cooling from the direct effect. The effect was largest in the Arctic, where snow/ice cover declined by 1%.
We found correlations among the aerosol impacts within regions, so that cooler (warmer) temperatures typically correlated with increased (decreased) snow/ice cover and increased (decreased) cloud cover.
If greenhouse gases increased together with aerosols over the century, the potency of the aerosol effects was reduced. One exception was the cloud changes from the indirect effect, which increased 0.5% with or without the greenhouse gas changes. Nevertheless the greenhouse gas warming reduced the indirect effect on surface air temperatures cooling by 20% and on snow/ice cover increase by 50%. Furthermore the greenhouse gas warming generally overwhelmed the changes from the BC-albedo effects.
Since the aerosol impacts were particularly great in the Arctic, we studied the seasonality of the changes there. Aerosols altered the surface air temperature changes most in winter, even though effects on snow/ice and cloud cover were greatest during summer. One explanation for the seasonal offset is that the large summertime snow/ice change alters ground temperatures, and these ground temperature changes are felt more at ground-level during winter when the surface atmospheric layer is most stable.

NOVELTY!!!

2009-09-04T10:16:00.000-07:00

A pleasant thursday evening,balmy air, elated mind i was in a ecstatic state. It was an unexpected holiday the day after. I felt the consummate happiness. I was driving my vehicle in the taramani road amidst the thick cloud of traffic. My thoughts drifted to my favourite topic of climate change,global warming. Umpteen no of queries arised in my mind. I was allmost driving absent minded. The wind was blowing in the east-west direction to the movement of my vehicle. The blown wind stimulated the tiny particles and carried in a meandering fashion. I realised that not only rivers meander , but even wind has that ability.(albeit, not directly)The mighty lounges of IT parks and array of green bushes facing those giant mammoth buildings. Wow!!! what a picturesuque evening. I remembered the story of the small boy who defeated the mighty giant. I felt as if the small green saplings were confronting the aim of those it parks to polute the air. I started wondering about the pigment which was really absorbing those noxious gases released by moving vehicles as pollutants. I was confounded if really the chlorophyll in the trees had the capacity to absorb the co2 from vehicles. The amount of vegetal cover in a place is inversely proportional to temperature. So does it not reinforce the novel idea that there is global cooling. Ho readers, puzzled?? I shall ratify my statements with some apposite words.

The co2 is released by the vehicles.

Nowadays there is an accretion in the motor vehicles.

By and large the release of co2 has also aggrandized.

This is one part of the story. Lets now look into the global perspective.

The trees are in dire need of co2 for their growth.

S o when the co2 in the atmosphere increases, the plant growth gets higher and higher.

As the vegetal cover grows , the temperature in that area allievates.

As a compendium of the discussions , I felt that the higher co2 levels today can only cool the atmosphere and can no way be a gateway to what is called as "global warming"- The one which even the muffled voices in the labs trying to clobber at.

MEMORABLE DAY!!!

2009-08-31T04:55:00.000-07:00

It's quite a long time and after a lull i am back here with some interesting experiences.For those senile critics who lament the death of tradition and culture in the present day world , our kalyani natya kalaalaya can be a rejuvenation. Its the month of august and the festive mood in my bharatham class has begun.This is one such instance in the plethora of fun which we have in our bharatham class.

Early in the saturday morning , my friend's call reminded me of the function(salangai pooja)we had in our bharatham class. Albeit i was happy in spending time with my cute mam and our sir i was a little annoyed by the sea big assignments i had in my college for the following week.Still i actuated myself with the zeal to enjoy the function.As i was deeply engrossed in myblissful memories , i remembered the mammoth task of wearing the saree. I was really tweaking myself to get adjusted to it. The clock struck 3'o clock .I was quite presumptuous about my digi cam .I even had wild and wide plans to image every corner of our class just for me to realise that i had no charge in my 8 mega pixel monster. Ghosh!!!all my plans were in vain.Yet i had few other silly ideas to get one from my friends.I took my mobile, finished my usual prayers before leaving my house and with an air of confidence and complacence i started driving towards my bharatham class.

The weather was was really hypnotizing. Poised saturday evening,balmy breeze,relaxed mind,Darkening clouds.Ho!! my thoughts started wandering so long that i had to really focus myself to drive my vehicle.I was deep into so many nostalgic dreams.whosh!!! very tough to bring me back every time.My class would be roughly 400m from my house.Albeit, i had a battle with my attire, the ambient weather was an antidote.

I reached my destination.As usual, i was the last one to reach. My friends were already there.Air was perfumed with the fragrance of incense sticks.The acoustics of the hall was laudable. I accede that i was quite bemused by the close resemblance of the priest of the function to my teacher's son. I was truly agitated when he spoke to me in telugu when i was busy engrossed in a deep talk with my friend.In the midst of all this, i somehow managed to take a few clippings in my friend's mobile.

The pleasant music played was highly animated.Arrays of small children, all in gorgeous dresses followed by their parents, their catwalk aggrandized the acceleration of the function.And silly me,again lost in my childhood memories.My first day in my bharatham class, my first guru, Me holding my mother's hand and standing in the line during my salangai pooja.Just then the very call from my madam woke me up.

The priest was chanting all those baffling ,ambiguous mantras, everyone was busy and i was amicably moving around just to see myself in the mirror in my saree amidst the august gathering. The pooja was coming to an end.M e and my friend Bhuva were getting ourselves ready for singing .I was presumptuous as i had already prepared my notes for the song. My teacher's son played the mridangam. He is a profound mridangist. Anyway we managed it.

Finally everything was over.The crowd was receding after greeting my teacher for her arduous efforts.Then it was the most awaited moment for me. M e and my mam gave a sigh of relief.We all garnered to eat the most coveted pulidarai (our sir's speciality). We all dispersed after exchanging warm greetings. It was a visual treat to everyone of us. My heartfelt wishes for mam and sir -quintessence of hardwork without whom it would not have been possible.

I was exhausted and retired to bed soon after reaching home.Nice and sweet memories which will linger in my mind forever.

EUREKA!!!

2009-08-23T09:31:00.000-07:00

Ultimately i made it. I saw that movie.The description go beyond words.Something worth seeing.These words really caught my attention"if it dies ,so we die".Kudos to the director and all actors.

SUNSHINE

2009-08-22T01:59:00.000-07:00

Have u wondered abt our earth's soulmate around which she revolves,The Sun? I happen to read the story of a movie named " SUNSHINE".Thanks to Nisha, if not for her blog i would have missed this movie. This is a english movie directed by Dannie Boyle .Its a way out to every soul who rejoice in the world of sci-fi films. This is all about rebooting the faulty sun by sending a Nuke to it. I was really awe struck by the director's picturesque description of the spacecraft-ICARUS-2 which is being sent into space to reignite the Sun which is running out of fuel to perform its glorious action of nuclear fission as it is used by the science maniac.Think , he must have done more reseach on this, to make such a colourful description. Fifty years from now, the sun is dying, and mankind is dying with it. Our last hope: a spaceship and a crew of eight men and women. They carry a device which will breathe new life into the star. But deep into their voyage, out of radio contact with Earth, their mission is starting to unravel. There is an accident, a fatal mistake, and a distress beacon from a spaceship that disappeared seven years earlier. Soon the crew is fighting not only for their lives, but their sanity.

Despite the logical flaws, i hope the movie can make us regurgititate(Ho Nisha!!! thanks for this word ) every second of it। I am unsure if the crew was successful in reigniting thesun but the very story of the movie articulated my will to watch this movie।This reminds of the movie,"THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL" where an alien makes an errand to earth to dehumanize earth as he felt , it was human beings who toxify the blissful planet by their activities. Indeed, its true nowdays.The muffled voices from the melting glaciers of antartica and rising sea level in artic testifies this fact.The story takes up an unexpected turn when the alien is stimulated by a young scientist who cares for him and saves him from the officials who attempt to kill him. Was the alien entangled in the affectionate trap of the scientist or was he firm in his attitude to dstroy the life on earth, is a tangential question which is being answered by the the director in the climax.

TRACK YOUR LOST MOBILE!!!

2009-08-09T00:45:00.000-07:00

Hi friends,
I am now back with my idea to track your missing mobile phones. I am sure that this strategy can allay our concerns for missing mobiles.
Its far ahead of the tracking softwares which we have now in our cell phones.I can say its the customized version of the tracking softwares which we have now.The softwares we have now just gives a warning mesage whenever the sim card is changed.The new number of the sim is being sent to the cell phone number we have mentioned in case of loss of our mobile. This can even cause unneccessary problems as the number can be changed by the owner himself for reasons known to himself . So how to counteract these problems?
A gps receiver attached to the mobile set and not the sim itself can allievate this problem which is raised by the muffled voices from all over the world. As the gps is being attached to the set ,even if the sim is removed the warning is sent. Moreover the gps attached should be configured such that the GPS coordinates of the mobile's current location is also sent . But its really fatuous to a common man who cannot understand the conventions of lat long values being sent . So we have to fuse tthis with a visual display in the guadian's mobile which houses a GIS .Though the range plays a vital role,it can initially be carried out in small scale.B y and large certainly we can extend it to massive scale as the database becomes quite friendly.This gis can show us the location of the mobile on th surface of the earth, the near by police stations,important landmarks near by,shortest distance from the place of the guardian to the location of the mobile.Though this is quite imaginary I would be happy if u post your ideas to bring it in shape.

UNDERWATER ANGELS

2009-08-02T04:54:00.000-07:00

The biogenetic reefs are no longer the exception to the monster-global warming.I was really taken a back when i read the article in Hindu , which spoke in volume about the depleting corals in lakshadweep islands. As per the glacial theory which predicts the subsidence of corals , when the sea level rise , i doubt if these mighty red dazzling calcium deposits of so called planktons are moving towards their doom's day.There are numerous papers on coral reefs written in black and blue by various stalwarts all around the world.Its really pathetic that none could save these underwater angels.I am afraid if their would be a dawn when we see a picture of signboard saying-"The last reef specimen on this planet. So ,navigation in ths area is prohibited."Let's not push them to the list of endangered species.

Lets take the initiative as a geo-informatic engineer.Lets save them with our magic wand of remote snsing.

TREMENDOUS GRAVITY OF BLACK HOLE

2009-07-22T08:24:00.000-07:00

Black holes are bodies which can suck in anything due to its gravity.Every body on this earth has gravitational force.but, the extent of the force matters a lot.The gravity of any entity is attributed to its mass and how far it is from the other.Let's now do this expt.
Take a sheet of paper in your hand.keep your other hand at some distance ,with your palm facing the paper. Do u thnk your hand has got attracted to the paper.If you say no, its wrong.Though you could see your hand at the same distance, there is a tiny gravitational force acting between the body and the paper.But, here the distance moved is very less, that it is not visible to our naked eyes.
Now crush the paper .you could find that space occupied by the paper has reduced.its mass is same. neverthless, there is a gravitational force.but it is larger than before.now that the paper has shrunk in size and has so many cavities,faults etc .This has provided the path for any body in affinity to move even more closer. (ie.into the core of the paper)
This is the same concept happening even in black hole.The star is bigger in size.There is less room for any body to move in when it shrunks in size(with same mass)any object can intrude into its core.

GLIMPSES OF ARCHAEOLOGY

2009-07-15T23:44:00.000-07:00

Through this page , I would like to take my enlightened readers to an oldest archaeological site located near mamallapuram The history of this site dates back to 3b.c.

BENEATH THE SOIL:

Ever since my childhood , i have the habit of gazing at the sky and pondering about the mystery of universe. But, then that i realised,"we have infinite treasures underneath".
After waving hands to our friends in the college campus ,we began our errand to 'SIRUTHAVUR'. Initially it was all silence.But then ,the bus started resonating with the songs ,cheering voices etc.As we crossed the IT corrider of OMR, we were able to see so many premier outstanding companies like orchid chemicals,accensor,vistas etc.

Around 12 noon, to everyone's surprise, suddenly,we could see the darkening of clouds.Much as we expected,we could see it drizzling outside. The bus halted at TIRUPORUR.It was a rugged terrain.We were fortunate enough to be accompanied by our geology madam and an archaeologist.We went on to visit the age old burial grounds which spoke in volumes about the life after death. It was their tradition to bury the body of a dead person along with urns containing maize,rice etc.Many precious rings,iron materials were found by excavation from these sites, which are now being preserved by ARCHAEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF INDIA.We could notice that all these burial spots were oriented towards a water body.As we were marching to our bus, we accidentally saw a green snake which caught everyone's attention.

Our second place of visit was Siruthavur.At present ,so many studies are being carried out on civilization of people in the past.These places are glaring examples for the architecture of people in 3B.C.These places are now being mapped for further interpretation and research. After the lunch , it was a mind-boggling experience.We were enthralled by the beauty of the temple built 1500 years back.(excavated in 2004).This was actually indundated by the tsunami which took place in the past.The results of interpretation are as follows:

The place had a structure much resembling the peedam of a temple.
There was a stick similar to the vel in lord muruga's hand.
It had so many so many structures appearing identical to wells.
The place was approximately 30mtrs from the sea.
The slope of the place was 2 degree.

CALCULATION OF VELOCITY OF WAVES:l
The inundated temple was roughly 30m from the sea.From the generic principles of wave theory, the tsunami waves follow a sinosoidal pattern with very large time period due to WAVE SHOALING.The amplitude of the wave is also very high.
So, by the simple relation between velocity and depth
C=(gd)^0.5
g=acceleration ude to gravity,
d=depth of the sea(in this case it is around 100m) so C=31.308m/s
By the theory of projectile motion,we could find the maximum height reached .

h=50.0097meters
(This is just a rough estimate as i have not taken into account the effects of air friction and earth's rotation in projectile motion)neverthless, once i get the correct relation and formula for thes two parameters , i will update it.

These facts drive home the fact that unless there had been a major disaster like tsunami/flood ,it would have been impossible for the water level in the sea to rise so high to inundate the whole region which was (approx) 30 meters(horizontal distance) from it.It was an interesting fact that the temple was located above a huge hill.This supplements our prediction about the disaster.

Back to the campus:
Our trip came to a jolting halt. Though the trip was only for one day, these memories will linger in my mind forever.
EXTRAPOLATION OF IDEAS:
Interpolations like finding out the climate change in that area ,water table depth etc.Have u ever thought of this??? TSUNAMI DUE TO THE FALL OF ASTEROID IN THE SEA
Lets continue our innovations!!!

SHRINKING AMAZON!!!

2009-07-13T09:24:00.000-07:00

Global warming has become an unprecedented question to the world.its high time for the world to realise that the declarations made on global warming isn't a garden party. a credible action is the need of the hour.recently scientists around the world found yet another proof for increase in earth's temperature.

The records of rainfall in the emblematic south american jungle-amazon rain forest, for the years after 2005(as we know its the hottest year in the history till date)speak themselves about the deprivation in the amount of rainfall.In addition to this ,the leaves show signs of dark stripes , which even prove the higher intake of carbon- di- oxide.This stands as a testimony to the fact that CO2 emission in that area is increasing day by day.

Even under the most optimistic climate scenaris, the destruction of the large parts of the forest is irreversible.Due to the decrease in rainfall, the roots become dry,the parched forest will be converted into a dry land and more susceptable to forest fire which will destroy the still healthy parts of the forest.

ABOUT ME

2009-07-12T08:06:00.000-07:00

Hi,

I am Aishwarya. At present iam doing my B.E-Geoinformatics in Anna University.My branch is considered to be one of the oldest branches of civil ensineering. Within the vast expanse of engineering, i have always been drawn towards the theories of nature and the science behind it.I believe that a scientist's legacy is not judged by the sophisticated technology he uses but the consequence of his work.This multifaceted arena of Earth science engineering has convinced me that by learning about it more, i can gain a vast insight into this magnificient world of engineering. For long i had been yearning to share my ideas in these topics. I created this blog with an intention to share my ideas on the multispectrum of Remote sensing and Astronomy. Through this blog ,I would like to write some credible articles on global warming,climate change ,astrophysics,I also plan to post my queries on these topics.I thank every soul who share his/her views in my blog for days to come.