Research Interests

Satellite remote sensing in glaciology (Estimates of Surface Velocity, Ice thickness, and Ice volume)
SAR image processing and applications
UAV survey and applications on Glaciology and Snow.
UAV for Polar Ice sheets

Field Activities (2018-ongoing)

Active team lead - Plan and execute field investigations in Indian Himalayas. and part of Antarctica Expedition from India (Summer 2023-2024)

GPR and DNSSS Survey:

Carried out, a) GPR and GNSS survey on glaciers and, b) GNSS survey and field measurements on snow parameters (depth, density, and reflectance measurements)

- Snow: Sissu and Dhundi regions, Himachal pradesh
- Glaciers: Gepang Gath and Panchinala-A
- Antarctica: Maitri station

UAV :

Carried out UAV survey (flight planning to data processing) and extraction of maps (ortho images, digital elevation models) for below locations.

- Snow: Manali and Sissu regions, Himachal Pradesh
- Glacier: Panchinala-A, Hamtah
- Antarctica: Maitri station

UAV at Antarctica:

Carried out UAV survey (flight planning to execution) as a part of 3 member team under the umbrella of National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research (NCPOR), 43rd Indian Scientific Expedition to Antarctica (43-ISEA). We stayed at Maitri station and conducted research successfully in the period of November 2023-February 2024.

Publications

Ramsankaran, RAAJ., Navinkumar, P.J., Dashora, A. and Kulkarni, A.V., 2021. UAV-based survey of glaciers in Himalayas: Challenges and recommendations. Journal of the Indian Society of Remote Sensing, 49(5), pp.1171-1187. DOI: 10.1007/s12524-020-01300-7
Vishwakarma, B.D., Ramsankaran, RAAJ., Azam, M., Bolch, T., Mandal, A., Srivastava, S., Kumar, P., Sahu, R., Navinkumar, P.J., Tanniru, S.R. and Javed, A., 2022. Challenges in understanding the variability of the cryosphere in the Himalaya and its impact on the regional water resources. Frontiers in Water, 102. DOI:10.3389/frwa.2022.909246
Siddhi Garg, Perumal Jayaraman Navinkumar, Ajay Godara, Rakesh Sahu, Dhiraj Kumar Singh, RAAJ Ramsankaran (2023). Remote sensing the evolution of debris-covered Panchi Nala-A glacier, India (1971-2021) from satellites and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles. Regional Environmental Change, 23, 103. DOI:10.1007/s10113-023-02096-1

Conference(s)

P J Navinkumar and RAAJ Ramsankaran (2023). Early 21st century glacier ice volume changes in the Teesta basin, Eastern Himalayas. XXVIII General Assembly of the International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics (IUGG), 11-21 July, 2023, Berlin, Germany. DOI: doi.org/10.57757/IUGG23-3305