ESA identifies ACARR as a Validating Center of AEOLUS Satellite Mission

KOCHI:
The scientists of the Advanced Center for Atmospheric Radar Research (ACARR), Cochin University of Science and Technology will partner with European Space Agency’s (ESA) satellite mission ‘Aeolus’ to study tropical atmospheric changes.

The satellite situated at an altitude of 30 km above the earth’s surface will be disseminating data in real time of less than three hours. The global wind data from space comes as a boon to operational weather forecasting and climate change. Researchers at CUSAT are working to validate and assess the biases and quality snags.

A science team from ACARR that includes Dr. Ajil Kottayil, Dr. Abhilash S, Dr. K. Satheesan, Prajwal K., and Devilka M. V., will be working on validation of Aeolus data using wind data from ACARR’s 205 MHz Stratosphere-Troposphere radar. This study is significant since it assesses the quality of Aeolus over a tropical site, thus improving the usefulness of the dataset. The project will provide an excellent opportunity internationally to showcase CUSAT’s unique radar and its capability. ESA, through its scientific mission Aeolus 1, has recognized the importance of assimilating wind in improving weather forecasts
over the tropics.