The Hindu : National : ‘Megha-Tropiques in advanced stage of development’

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‘Megha-Tropiques in advanced stage of development’

Staff Reporter

Bangalore: Megha-Tropiques, a satellite to study tropical weather and climate, is in an advanced stage of development and likely to be launched in December, according to C.B.S. Dutt, programme coordinator of the mission at the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).

Dr. Dutt, speaking to The Hindu after an International Conference on ‘Megha-Tropiques – An Advanced Weather and Climate Research Satellite’ added that the 500 kg satellite will carry sensors to provide information on cloud, water vapour and rainfall characteristics.

The satellite is a joint project of ISRO and French space agency CNES and will be launched using a Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle. “The main aim of mission is to enhance our understanding of the tropical convective system so that we can improve our forecasting of weather and climate conditions such as the monsoons,” he said.

Around 40 scientists from international space agencies in France, U.K., U.S.A., Japan and Brazil attended the meeting. The three-day meeting will deliberate on scientific aspects of Megha-Tropiques and on the retrieval of variables over tropical region. Megha-Tropiques will be capable of studying cloud systems, radiation budget, water vapour profiles and temperature and humidity profiles in our troposphere – every six hours, said Dr. Dutt.

Megha-Tropiques will carry four scientific payloads. The Microwave Analysis and Detection of Rain and Atmospheric Structures is a passive microwave radiometer. It will provide estimation of rainfall, water vapour, and surface wind speed in these systems.

"Megha-Tropiques will be of enormous service"

Vaiju Naravane from Paris adds:

On the eve of a major international conference called ‘Megha-Tropiques – Science and Applications,’ which opened in Bangalore on Monday, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chairman G. Madhavan Nair and his French counterpart Yannick d’Escatha, chairman and CEO of CNES (the French national centre for space research), expressed their satisfaction at what they described as "truly excellent cooperation and a unique convergence of views" between India and France in matters of climatology and space research.

The two-day conference in Bangalore is being attended by 40 scientists belonging to international agencies from France, U.K., U.S., Japan and Brazil as well as 180 Indian scientists.

Megha-Tropiques, which combines the Sanskrit word for cloud with the French word for the tropics, is an ambitious Franco-Indian programme in climatology and space research. The advanced weather and climate research satellite which the two countries are developing together will become operational in early 2010.

In an exclusive interview with The ?Hindu during Mr. Nair’s visit to France a day before the opening of the Bangalore conference, Mr. d’Escatha said: "Megha-Tropiques is an ambitious programme which will be of enormous service to humanity. Once the satellite is in orbit it will be of tremendous value not only to countries in the tropical zones but also to European countries since it will be able to provide data on what we call ‘monsoon boundary conditions' which influence our meteorological systems. We are exceedingly happy with our contact and cooperation with India, which has been exemplary. This year, we celebrate 40 years of working together."

Megha-Tropiques has been conceived as a tool to investigate tropical regions which receive more energy from the sun than they are able to radiate back into space. This excess energy received in the tropics acts as a thermal engine providing circulation in the atmosphere and the oceans. Strongly linked to the hydrological cycle, this energy has immense influence on tropical connective systems. The complex processes that connect solar radiation, water vapour, clouds, precipitation, and atmospheric motion determine the life cycles of connective systems and influence the Indian monsoon in the tropics.

"We need a high frequency observational platform capable of providing more frequent and accurate information. Megha-Tropiques will be capable of studying cloud systems, radiation budget, water vapour profiles and temperature and humidity profiles. We will be able to foretell climate and weather patterns with a much greater degree of accuracy once the satellite is in place," Dr. Nair said.

Another Indo-French joint programme is that of the ISRO satellite Saral (Satellite with ARgos and ALtika) which is being built by the CNES. With signal frequencies in the Ka-band, Saral will enable better observation of ice, rain, coastal zones, land masses (like forests), and wave heights. The ARgos element helps measure temperature and salinity of oceans while ALtika is a system to measure the height of the ocean, waves and tides.

"With Saral we will be able to realise precise, repetitive global measurements of sea surface height, significant wave heights and wind speed for developing operational oceanography. Saral will also give us a better understanding of climate and help us develop forecasting capabilities. This will greatly contribute to the building of a global ocean observing system. The launch of this mission is planned for 2011, with a life of 3 years (2 years for the nominal phase, and one year for the extended phase). This mission is a 50-50 cooperation between CNES and ISRO," Mr. d’Escatha told The ?Hindu. "Saral will replace an ageing Franco-U.S. satellite which will be phased out shortly. When sailors are in distress at sea they use the ARgos system to help locate them. With this, India will become a full member of the ARgos community."

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