India’s tsunami warning centre working well

Posted on April 2, 2011 by Rashid Faridi

After the December 26, 2004 tsunami, the Government of India invested heavily in putting together state-of-the-art infrastructure, information technology and resources to set up the Tsunami Early Warning Centre at the Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS) in Hyderabad. And, this centre is working well, according to Indian Express report.Any quake that’s above 6.5 on theA Richter scale could trigger a tsunami and when that happens, Kumar gets anything between a few seconds to a few minutes to react, depending on the location of the quake. “In the case of the March 11 earthquake on the East Coast of Honshu, Japan, we were able to generate a tsunami report within seven minutes of the event. Our model showed that there was no threat of a tsunami in the Indian Ocean but it would hit the Japanese coast within minutes,” Srinivasa said, showing a simulated map of the quake and tsunami that hit Japan.

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Posted in India, Japan Tsunami, Natural Calamities | Leave a comment

Spanish Scientists Think They have Found Fuel of the future

Posted on March 31, 2011 by Rashid Faridi

In a forest of tubes eight metres high in eastern Spain scientists hope they have found the fuel of tomorrow: bio-oil produced with algae mixed with carbon dioxide from a factory.Almost 400 of the green tubes, filled with millions of microscopic algae, cover a plain near the city of Alicante, next to a cement works from which the C02 is captured and transported via a pipeline to the “blue petroleum” factory.The project, which is still experimental, has been developed over the past five years by Spanish and French researchers at the small Bio Fuel Systems (BFS) company.

The microalgae reproduces at high speed in the tubes by photosynthesis and from the CO2 released from the cement factory.Every day some of this highly concentrated liquid is extracted and filtered to produce a biomass that is turned into bio-oil.The  great advantage of the system is that it is a depollutant — it absorbs the C02 which would otherwise be released into the atmosphere.

Source:AFP

Posted in Alternative Energy, BIODIVERSITY, inventions | Leave a comment

Let’s save water..!!

Posted on March 31, 2011 by Rashid Faridi

Dear Readers
Found this post and found it interesting.
I am reblogging it to share it with you all.
Enjoy
Rashid

Let’s save water..!! March 22 is World Water Day. Puncha and Panchi learn a lot about water..!!   “Panchi… Your bucket is full! Turn off this tap.. You are wasting water,” Amma shouted at Panchi who was out watering the plants in her garden using her toy bucket, but had started playing with her puppy. Oops… I’ve forgotten Amma…” Panchi came back running with her puppy. “We have water.. But do you know how many children around the world suffer from not having c … Read More

via Window to Nature

Posted in Environment, Reblogged, water | Leave a comment

Indian Remote Sensing satellites under-utilised: CAG

Posted on March 29, 2011 by Rashid Faridi

Three of the seven remote sensing satellites of India, engaged in collective thematic data used for planning in disaster management and areas like agriculture, have underperformed, according to a report by Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG).CAG claimed that satellites were launched without any planning, leading to a lot of wastage. It criticised the National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC) for not making any assessment of the data needed.

The auditors have recommended that NRSC should increase the price of the data and scrap its outdated policy on the use of the archived data. The report found that the NRSC is still reluctant to sell the out dated data. Several institutions need such material for training purposes. It has also been asked to prepare a marketing policy to sell its products and plan according to the needs of private users so that some returns were ensured.

Seven remote sensing satellites in operation during 2003-08 include: IRS-1C, IRS-P3, IRS 1D, Oceansat 1 P-4, Resourcesat-1-P6, Cartosat 1-P5 and Cartosat-2 P7. Out of these IRS-P3, 1C and P4 remained under utilised by as much as 50 per cent. The financial loss is big considering the fact that more than INR 2,000 crore were spent on these satellites. In its defence, NRSC claimed that P3 was only an experimental satellite while P4 had witnessed “onboard spacecraft power constraints”, a technical defect.

Apart from the government, the remote sensing images are also sold to private entities. But the revenue through these sales was not able to grow as customer base was not expanded. The report claimed that the data was not being sold at international rates.

The seven indigenous satellites were not the only source for data for NRSC, it also relies on foreign satellites like Landsat, NOAA, ERS and Quick Bird of the US, the report observed.

Source(s):

Geospatial World, New Indian Express

Posted in India, Remote Sensing 101, Satellites | 1 Comment