The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : INTAR meet to focus on better knowledge of tsunami

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Jan 21, 2005

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

INTAR meet to focus on better knowledge of tsunami

By Our Special Correspondent

TIRUPATI, JAN 20. The recent tsunami which rocked South-East Asia has cast a deep shadow on the proceedings at the three-day Colloquium on International Network of Tropical Atmosphere Radars (INTAR-2005) which began in Tirupati on Thursday. The Chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), G. Madhavan Nair, said as much while declaring open the meet being attended by a contingent of 21 atmospheric scientists from abroad besides 60 representing scientific laboratories and Indian universities.

Mr. Nair declared that the meet should focus on knowing more about tsunami as it remained obscure all along as a `rare phenomenon' occuring perhaps once in a century. He said the tsunami factor had underscored the need for an integrated ground, satellite and ocean-based approach to data collection on various parameters of the solar system, ocean and the earth but also the need to put in place a composite national team to evaluate and coordinate disaster management work. The ISRO was not for an isolated approach but for a permanent system.

Early warning

He said barring in the Pacific ocean where an early warning system was put in place, no where else in the world it existed to forecast tsunami-- a complex factor. At a press meet later he wanted that the atmospheric scientists attending the INTAR colloquium should ponder over developing an under-water sensor which could emit signals about possible tsunami eruptions.

On networking the international tropical atmosphere radars, the focal theme of the three-day meet which he earlier inaugurated, Mr. Nair hoped that scientists would come out with concrete proposals on the project.

He said the National MST Radar Facility (NMRF), Tirupati, which is playing catalyst for the international meet along with the SVU's dept of Physics would be playing a key role in international network being contemplated.

The Vice-Chancellor of the SV University presided over the inaugural session. J. Roettger, Max-Planck-Institute, Germany, released the book of abstracts.

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