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Ecology & Environment
Mahesh

23/10/24 12:06 PM IST

India is building a cloud chamber as part of Mission Mausam

In News
  • India is establishing a first-of-its-kind cloud chamber at the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), Pune.
Cloud chamber
  • A cloud chamber resembles a closed cylindrical or tubular drum, inside which water vapour, aerosols, etc. are injected.
  • Under the desired humidity and temperature inside this chamber, a cloud can develop.
  • The Pune facility will allow scientists to study the seed particles that form cloud droplets or ice particles in a sustained manner.
  • Many countries have basic cloud chambers, which have limited functionalities and scope to perform specific studies.
  • With Mission Mausam, however, India is building a cloud chamber with convection properties, as required to study Indian monsoon clouds. Globally, there are only a handful of convective cloud chambers.
Importance
  • Cloud physics basically involves the study of cloud behaviour during normal and extreme conditions; intra-particle interactions inside a cloud; the formation of rain droplets and ice particles;
  • The influence of moisture added into the atmosphere due to cyclones or low pressure systems; and interactions between different cloud layers, among others.
  • The objective of establishing a convective cloud chamber is to gain a better understanding of cloud physics under conditions commonly affecting Indian weather systems.
  • Thereafter, this knowledge can be used for strategic planning of weather modification.
  • With the establishment of a convective cloud chamber, scientists will have the flexibility to tailor physical and atmospheric parameters to suit environmental requirements that influence the Indian weather and climate.
  • Over the next 18-24 months, the Indian team will mainly focus on developing complex and highly advanced instrumentation and probes that will be deployed when the chamber is ready.
  • The civil construction of the chamber will take place in the coming months.
Source- Indian Express

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