| ABOUT NATIONAL MST RADAR FACILITY | ||
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Indian
scientists have carried out pioneering research work in the fields of
astronomy and astrophysics, solar/interplanetary medium, earth's upper
atmosphere/ionosphere, aeronomy/middle atmosphere and weather/climate
phenomena. The nationally coordinated Indian Middle Atmosphere Programme
(IMAP) was implemented during the period 1982-89 with well focussed
campaign experiments with ground based, balloon, rocket and satellite
based techniques. The IMAP programme led to the decision to conduct
in-depth studies of atmosphericdynamical phenomena by developing a versatile
ground based radar technique.
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The
gaseous envelope surrounding the earth is known as the terrestial atmosphere.
By virtue of its composition the atmosphere regulates the temperature
and provides shielding effect from harmful wave lengths of the solar
radiation , thus making the life on earth possible. The division of
the atmosphere is in the form of spherical shells named as the troposhere,
the stratosphere,the mesosphere and the thermosphere and is characterized
by the way temperature varies with height. Statistical description of
atmospheric motions over the earth, their role in transporting the constituents
of the atmosphere and the trasformation of different forms of energy
constitute the subject of atmospheric dynamics and is studied with
sophisticated instumentation systems and analysed using a model of atmospheric
general circulation.
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The
MST Radar is a state of the art instrument capable of providing
estimates of atmospheric parameters with very high resolution on a continuous
basis which are essential in the study of different dynamical processes
in the atmosphere. It is an important research tool in the investigation
of prevailing winds, waves ( including gravity waves) turbulence, and
atmospheric stability & other mesoscale phenomena . A reliable three
dimensional model of the atmosphere over the low latitudes improves
our understanding of the climatic and weather variations..
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Establishment of NMRF | |
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Attaching
great importance to the scientific utilisation of the Indian MST Radar,
the Government of India decided to create an autonomous Scientific Society
called the National
MST Radar Facility (NMRF). This society is affliated
to the Department Of Space. The NMRF was registered on January 11, 1993
under the Indian Societies Act 1860.
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This society is administered by a Governing Council under the chairmanship
of Dr. K. Kasturirangan, Secretary DOS with, Director , NMRF as the
member secretary . The present Director of NMRF is
Prof D. Narayan Rao .The
Governing Council consists of other eminent scientists, representatives
of the National Laboratories and some of the funding agencies.The Governing
Council sets broad policy guidelines to ensure the effective scientific
utilisation of the facility, supported by a Scientific Advisory Commitee
& a Finance Commitee.
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Location Of NMRF | |
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The
scientific requirements dictated that the Indian MST Radar should be
located preferably below 15 degrees North latitude. Hence after careful
consideration of the various constraints, a site at Gadanki Village,
near the temple town of Tirupati in the Chitoor district of Andhra Pradesh
was selected for locating the Indian MST Radar . NMRF is located off
the Chitoor -Tirupati main road in a picturesque landscape spreading
over an area of about 42 acres. Regular train and bus services are operated
between Tirupati and Bangalore/Madras. On request NMRF may provide transport
between Tirupati and Gadanki.
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Library | |
| The NMRF has a library facility with a fair collection of books on space and atmospheric sciences, radars and communications, computer science, electronics, physics, maths and related subjects . Besides NMRF staff, the library is used by the user scientists and research students from various national laboratories and academic institutions. | ||
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Student Training, Winter School, National & International Seminars and Workshops | |
| The National MST Radar Facility (NMRF) provides its faciities and expertise in guidance to students for their Ph.D degree as well as for their project dissertation for degrees such as M.Tech, MCA, M.Sc, B.E and B.Tech. Many students from different universities and institutions have successfully completed their Ph.D degree and project work under this training program . | ||
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NMRF
in collaboration with UGC-SVU centre for MST radar applications jointly
organises "Winter Schools" for training the young researchers
in the field of MST radar applications . So far 3 such schools have
been conducted. The last ( 3rd ) winter school held in March 2001. The
Second Winter School held in December 1997 was an international school
in which 8 scientists from abroad gave lectures along with indian experts.
In addition to 55 indian participants, 15 foreign participants also
attended the school. The next winter school is planned to be held in
January 2001.Hand on training is an integral part of such schools.
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The
National MST Radar Facility (NMRF) organizes and supports various seminars
, symposiums and workshops in its scientific field of interest . NMRF
also invites experts ( even from abroad ) to give lectures and seminars.
NMRF organised the 8th International workshop ( MST 8 ) on various technical
and scientific aspects, at Bangalore in December 1997. Periodically,
user scientist workshops are held, to review the scientific output of
the radar utilization. So far 5 such workshops have been conducted.
In addition, NMRF takes the lead in planning & reviewing special
campaigns. Two such workshops were conducted at NMRF:
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| To review the results of ISTEP WG3 campaign on ionospheric irregularities in April 1998. | ||
| To review the Radiosonde Launch campaign results in January 2000. | ||
| The Last User Scientist workshop was held in March 2001. | ||
