Remote Sensing & Atmospheric Science

• Cloud and Precipitation Physics 

Cloud plays a crucial role in Earth's radiation budget and key component of the hydrological cycle. The formation, evolution and dissipation of cloud are closely linked with aerosols and a serious concern in climate change scinarios. There are several unasweared questions about how the cloud and precipitations are linked and modulated. The thrust of this group to improve the understanding of the precipitation characteristics and its spatio-temporal evolution using satellite and ground based observations, both in tropical regions like India as well in polar regions like Arctic. Understanding of precipitation process not only improve the Quantitative Precipitation Estimation (QPE) from remote sensing observations, but also helps in development of better forecasting models. Doppler weather radar is one of such remote sensing tool which is extensively being used for precipitation remote sensing that are directly benifitted from our research.    

• Polar Meteorology 

The unique atmospheric conditions of the Earth's polar regions are characterized by extreme cold, low moisture, high surface reflectivity (albedo), and strong seasonal temperature variations, including the presence of the polar vortex and ozone-depleting polar stratospheric clouds. Key phenomena include katabatic winds, influenced by dense, cold air, and the complex interaction of space weather with the polar ionosphere. Research in polar meteorology is crucial for understanding global climate change, as the poles act as significant heat sinks and areas of accelerated warming, known as polar amplification, which can also influence weather patterns at lower latitudes. DAASE has established an experimental facility since 2022 at Himadri, Ny Alesund, in the northernmost human settlement to study the precipitation, cloud, atmospheric electricity, lightning and space weather phenomena.   

• Numerical Weather Prediction and Climate-informatics 

Extreme weather events are major concern to the society and more so as the climate change increases the number of such events and associated fatalities all over the world. Numerical weather prediction (NWP) are physics based model to diagonize and forecast the weather phenomena. We actively use WRF models for studying the extreme weather conditions as well on developing improved parameterization schemes. On the other hand, there is an active research going on to develop AI/ML techniques for better predictions of the extreme weathers such as cyclone, thunderstorms, turbulence and lightning  combining satellite and NWP models.  

• Synthetic Aperture Radar

  • • Polarimetric SAR

    • PolInSAR

    • Tomography

• Radar Meteorology

Radar meteorology is a branch of atmospheric science that uses radar technology to study and forecast weather phenomena. By transmitting electromagnetic waves and analyzing the signals reflected by atmospheric targets—such as raindrops, snow, and hail—meteorologists can determine the location, movement, and intensity of precipitation. Investigating the size, shape, and phase (e.g., rain, snow, hail) of hydrometeors in different weather systems, including tropical cyclones and convective storms provides microphysical insights of the physical process . Developing more accurate rainfall estimation algorithms that mitigate errors from varying raindrop size distributions and signal attenuation, especially in heavy rain and thus improving Quantitative precipitation estimation (QPE) is one of the major thrust of the group. Other major research is on Improving calibration, attenuation correction, and removal of non-meteorological echoes from data.

• Remote sensing in Earth Observation

Hyperspectral, microwave and optical - all has their own advantages and disadvantages in Earth observations study. Some of the major areas where DAASE faculty are involved in -  change detections, classification, Forestry, Agriculture and Disaster management using both Drone as well satellite data. 

FACULTY