Context:
Recently, Minister of Earth Sciences virtually inaugurated the first phase of the Atmospheric Research Testbed in Central India (ART-CI) in Sehore district in Madhya Pradesh.
Relevance:
Facts for Prelims
Atmospheric Research Testbed (ART)
Establishment and Location:
- The Atmospheric Research Testbed (ART) is established by the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES), at Silkheda.
- Its primary focus is to enhance understanding of processes governing monsoon convection.
Components and Instruments:
- ART-CI (Atmospheric Research Testbed-Central India) features a comprehensive array of remote-sensing and in-situ instruments.
- These instruments provide continuous observations of convection, clouds, precipitation, soil moisture, radiation, and microphysics, capturing major modes of variability.
Phases:
- Phase 1: In the initial phase, ART is established in central India to study convection, land-atmosphere interactions, and precipitation processes.
- Phase 2: The second phase involves setting up ART in the northeast/eastern part of India, focusing on severe thunderstorm processes.
Objectives:
- Enhance understanding of processes governing monsoon convection and land-atmosphere interactions.
- Measure relevant meteorological parameters using state-of-the-art observational systems.
- Organize intense observational campaigns and weather prediction model runs to test hypotheses and improve physical parameterizations related to convection and land surface processes.
- Conduct outreach, training, and dissemination of ART-CI datasets, making it an international facility for observational campaigns and testing physical parameterization schemes.
Instrumentation:
- ART-CI is equipped with nearly 25 high-end instruments, including:
- Aethalometer for aerosol studies.
- Cloud condensation nuclei counter.
- Laser ceilometer to measure cloud sizes.
- Micro rain radar to calculate raindrop size and distribution.
- Additionally, a Ka-band cloud radar and a C-band Doppler weather radar are installed to track the movement of rain-bearing systems over the region.
