Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre

About: Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre is a facility organization based out in Thiruvananthapuram, India. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Aerosol & Ultimate tensile strength. The organization has 2092 authors who have published 3058 publications receiving 47975 citations. The organization is also known as: VSSC.

High altitude (∼4520 m amsl) measurements of black carbon aerosols over western trans‐Himalayas: Seasonal heterogeneity and source apportionment

Abstract: [1] The first ever, year-round measurements of aerosol black carbon (BC) over the western part of trans- Himalayas are reported from Hanle (∼4520 m above mean sea level). The daily mean BC concentrations varied from as low as 7 ng m−3 to as high as 296 ng m−3 with an annual average of 77 ± 64 ng m−3, indicating significant BC burden even at free- tropospheric altitudes. Variation with in the day as well as from day to day were highly subdued during winter season (December to February) while they used to be the highest in Spring (March to May). In general, the less frequently occurring high BC values contributed more to the annual and seasonal means, while 64% of the values were below the annual mean. Seasonally, highest BC concentration (109 ± 78 ng m−3) occurred during Spring and lowest (66 ± 42/66 ± 62 ng m3) during Summer/Winter season(June to August/December to February). Diurnal variations in general were very weak, except during Spring and Summer when the effects of convective boundary layer dynamics is discernible. Back trajectory clustering and concentration weighted trajectory (CWT) analyses indicated that, most time of the year the sampling location is influenced by the advection from West and Southwest Asia, while the contribution from the Indo-Gangetic Plains (IGP) remained very low during Spring and Summer. The seasonal and annual mean BC at Hanle are significantly lower than the corresponding values reported for other Himalayan stations, while they were quite higher than those reported from the South Pole and pristine Antarctic environments.

Declining pre-monsoon dust loading over South Asia: Signature of a changing regional climate

Abstract: Desert dust over the Indian region during pre-monsoon season is known to strengthen monsoon circulation, by modulating rainfall through the elevated heat pump (EHP) mechanism. In this context, an insight into long term trends of dust loading over this region is of significant importance in understanding monsoon variability. In this study, using long term (2000 to 2015) aerosol measurements from multiple satellites, ground stations and model based reanalysis, we show that dust loading in the atmosphere has decreased by 10 to 20% during the pre-monsoon season with respect to start of this century. Our analysis reveals that this decrease is a result of increasing pre-monsoon rainfall that in turn increases (decreases) wet scavenging (dust emissions) and slowing circulation pattern over the Northwestern part of the sub-continent.

Characterization of low dielectric constant polyaniline thin film synthesized by ac plasma polymerization technique

Abstract: Polyaniline thin films were prepared by ac plasma polymerization technique. Capacitance, dielectric loss, dielectric constant and ac conductivity of these films were investigated in the frequency range from 100 Hz to 1 MHz and in the temperature range from 300 to 373 K. Capacitance and dielectric loss decreased with frequency and increased with temperature. This type of behaviour was found to be in good agreement with an existing model. The ac conductivity σ(ω) was found to vary as ωs with the index s≤1. Annealing of polyaniline thin films in high vacuum at 373 K for 1 h was found to reduce the dielectric loss. FTIR studies reveal that the aromatic ring is retained in the polyaniline thin films, which enhances the thermal stability of the polymer films.

Simulation of South Asian aerosols for regional climate studies

Abstract: [1] Extensive intercomparison of columnar and near-surface aerosols, simulated over the South Asian domain using the aerosol module included in the regional climate model (RegCM4) of the Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP) have been carried out using ground-based network of Sun/sky Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) radiometers, satellite sensors such as Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) and Multiangle Imaging Spectroradiometer (MISR), and ground-based black carbon (BC) measurements made at Aerosol Radiative Forcing over India (ARFI) network stations. In general, RegCM4 simulations reproduced the spatial and seasonal characteristics of aerosol optical depth over South Asia reasonably well, particularly over west Asia, where mineral dust is a major contributor to the total aerosol loading. In contrast, RegCM4 simulations drastically underestimated the BC mass concentrations over most of the stations, by a factor of 2 to 5, with a large spatial variability. Seasonally, the discrepancy between the measured and simulated BC tended to be higher during winter and periods when the atmospheric boundary layer is convectively stable (such as nighttime and early mornings), while during summer season and during periods when the boundary layer is convectively unstable (daytime) the discrepancies were much lower, with the noontime values agreeing very closely with the observations. A detailed analysis revealed that the model does not reproduce the nocturnal high in BC, observed at most of the Indian sites especially during winter, because of the excessive vertical transport of aerosols under stable boundary layer conditions. As far as the vertical distribution was concerned, the simulated vertical profiles of BC agreed well with airborne measurements during daytime. This comprehensive validation exercise reveals the strengths and weaknesses of the model in simulating the spatial and temporal heterogeneities of the aerosol fields over South Asia.