In a major achievement, young Weather Scientist Vivek Kumar from Meteorological Centre in Ranchi (MCR) returned here on Monday after completing the prestigious 36th Antarctica Expedition on the North Pole.
A day long workshop was organized at the Ranchi Meteorological Centre during which Kumar shared his experiences and how they managed to survive during the 14 month long expedition managed by the Government of India.
“Vivek Kumar is the first ever scientist from Ranchi to attend the prestigious Antarctica Expedition on the North Pole for whom a welcome ceremony was organized here during which he shared his experiences with us,” said Director of Meteorological Centre in Ranchi BK Mondal. Kumar stayed in the Antarctica from November 2016 to December 2017, he added.
Kumar during the workshop gave a details on the research done by the Indian team at the Antarctica during his expedition putting their lives in danger. It will prove to be a great help to all of us at Ranchi Meteorolgical Centre,” said Mondal. Very few Scientists get selected for the expedition and it is an achievement for all of us here that Kumar was selected for the same, he added.
“Due to the harsh living conditions, only young scientists get selected for the expedition where research is done under adverse conditions. Kumar has really done a commendable job,” said Mondal.
Climate change is the thrust area of the 36th Indian Scientific Expedition to Antarctica. The main objective of this expedition is to install stakes on ice for Differential Global Positioning System (DGPS) measurements around Bharati and Maitri to validate glacier surface velocity derived from satellite data to estimate thickness of snow over land and sea ice using Ground Penetrating Radars (GPR's) and also to verify conditions of snow over sea and land ice.