Scintillometer Installed at Tamil Nadu Rice Research Institute

A scintillometer, an optical instrument used to measure heat and moisture exchange between the land surface and the atmosphere, was installed at the Tamil Nadu Rice Research Institute (TRRI), Aduthurai, in mid-October.

Key Highlights

• The instrument enhances the TRRI Critical Zone Observatory (CZO), which already tracks weather parameters, soil moisture, and direct air–surface fluxes.
• Established under Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU) with support from the National Centre for Earth Science Studies (NCESS), the TRRI-CZO became fully operational in 2022.
• It is one of three such observatories in India and the only one in Tamil Nadu.

Function

• The scintillometer works by transmitting a light beam between two fixed points.
• Turbulent air fluctuations, known as scintillations, alter the beam’s path.
• Analysis of these fluctuations provides direct estimates of sensible heat flux, an important variable in surface energy balance and climate studies.

Source: TH