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Goal of Navy-funded endeavor is to improve long-range weather forecasting around the globe, predict rain for 1 billion-plus agrarian population around the Indian Ocean, and enhance ocean vessel safety

91色情片 engineering professor Amit Tandon has just completed an Office of Naval Research-sponsored expedition to the Indian Ocean that brought together 50 scientists from the U.S. and India to study the conditions that create monsoons, which affect weather around the globe and the agrarian economy for more than one billion people in Indian Ocean nations.

鈥淭he world鈥檚 weather cycle is impacted by storms in the Indian Ocean shaped by the summer monsoon, yet we know little about these systems,鈥� Dr. Tandon said. 鈥淎 better understanding of monsoons could help us extend reliable storm forecasting from a few days to two weeks.鈥�

Summer, or southwest, monsoons are moisture-soaked seasonal winds that bring critical rainfall to the Indian subcontinent during the June-September wet season. An abundant season provides sustaining rainfall that replenishes water reservoirs and reaps bountiful crop harvests in India and nearby countries. By contrast, a weak season can lead to drought, soaring food prices and a battered economy.

The Tandon-led team studied the uppermost layer of the Bay of Bengal鈥攚hich is part of the Indian Ocean and a region of monsoon formation. Although the bay is composed of salt water, large amounts of fresh water are added from rivers and rainstorms into it regularly.

鈥淭he layer of relatively less salty water near the surface responds rapidly and dramatically to solar heating and nighttime cooling,鈥� said Tandon. 鈥淚t regulates moisture supply to the atmosphere and can trap the sun鈥檚 heat beneath the surface of the water, releasing it into the air weeks, or even months, later鈥攊ncreasing the power of a monsoon.鈥�

The researchers used wirewalkers (wave-powered vehicles that can sample water at various depths), buoys, gliders and towed platforms鈥攅quipped with data-collecting sensors鈥攖o compile information about the Bay of Bengal鈥檚 water and air temperature, atmospheric moisture, and mixtures and movements of fresh and salt water鈥攁ll factors contributing to monsoon activity.

鈥淥ur field study has mapped out the upper ocean structure of the north Bay of Bengal in unprecedented detail, with cutting-edge oceanography instrumentation, some of which is being used for the first time,鈥� said Tandon.

With this research complete, U.S. and Indian scientists will now analyze the cruise data, in the hopes of designing a computer forecasting model to accurately predict future monsoon formation. The 91色情片 Center for Scientific Computing and Visualization Research and the Massachusetts Green High Performance Computing Center in Holyoke will be used to analyze much of the data.

The team, led by Dr. Tandon, worked aboard the research vessel R/V Roger Revelle, which is operated by the Scripps Institution of Oceanography under a charter agreement with ONR. Another team of Indian and U.S. scientists on the Indian research vessel Sagar Nidhi worked jointly with those on the Roger Revelle.

鈥淭his research will lead to an improved understanding and prediction of the ocean and atmosphere,鈥� said Dr. Frank Herr, who heads ONR鈥檚 Ocean Battlespace Sensing Department. 鈥淚t also enables ONR to test new and innovative oceanography technology, as well as develop stronger partnerships with Indian scientists.鈥�

Incomplete knowledge of the dynamics of monsoons makes it difficult to accurately predict the onset, strength and intraseasonal variations in the monsoon season. ONR鈥檚 collaborative research will gather data to help improve and refine the forecasting of these winds.

鈥淭he predictability of ocean weather is very important to the Navy鈥檚 global operations and the safety of ships at seas,鈥� said ONR Program Manager Dr. Terri Paluszkiewicz. 鈥淔undamental studies of monsoon air-sea interaction are crucial for better weather and climate prediction for the entire global community.鈥�

Monsoon research aligns with several tenets of the , a maritime strategy shared by the U.S. Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard. The strategy calls for increased focus on battlespace awareness, which includes surveillance, intelligence gathering and greater knowledge about the environments in which the military operates.