earth science

Research Moored Array for African-Asian-Australian Monsoon Analysis and Prediction

Research Moored Array for African-Asian-Australian Monsoon Analysis and Prediction is a earth science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Research Moored Array for African-Asian-Australian Monsoon Analysis and Prediction rather than just read about it. In short: The Research Moored Array for African-Asian-Australian Monsoon Analysis and Prediction (RAMA) is a system of moored observation buoys in the Indian Ocean that collects meteorological and oceanographic data. The data collected by RAMA will greatly enhance the ability of scientists to understand climatic events and predict monsoon events.

Key takeaways

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Reference excerpt

The Research Moored Array for African-Asian-Australian Monsoon Analysis and Prediction (RAMA) is a system of moored observation buoys in the Indian Ocean that collects meteorological and oceanographic data. The data collected by RAMA will greatly enhance the ability of scientists to understand climatic events and predict monsoon events. Climatic and oceanic events in the Indian Ocean affect weather and climate throughout the rest of the world (such as El Niño, hurricanes, and United States weather), so RAMA will support weather forecasting and climate research worldwide. Although widely supported internationally, the system has only been partially implemented (as of 2012) due to pirate activity off the coast of Somalia.

Aims and objectives Although the data coverage for the Indian Ocean has been poor, it has not been non-existent. Satellites have been taking measurements, but those measurements require validation in situ. Some nations, like India and Australia, operate national ocean observing programs. Researchers have mounted observing equipment on ships of opportunity to take measurements. Also, the Argo float system has taken data in the Indian Ocean. What RAMA will contribute is large scale, long term data with high temporal resolution. High temporal resolution will allow rapid changes to be captured. With the installation of RAMA, the Indian Ocean will have a basin-wide observing system similar to TAO/TRITON in the Pacific Ocean and PIRATA in the tropical Atlantic. RAMA will complete the worldwide network of tropical ocean observing buoys, which will help with modeling and forecasting. The data RAMA collects will facilitate the study of "ocean-atmosphere interactions, mixed layer dynamics, and ocean circulation related to the monsoon on intraseasonal to decadal time scales."

Scale When complete RAMA will have 46 moored buoys, each of which is designed to be serviced annually. 38 are to be surface buoys and eight are subsurface ones. There are four types of moored buoys:

Surface moorings equipped with instruments to measure air temperature, relative humidity, wind velocity, downwelling shortwave radiation, rainfall, sea surface temperature, conductivity, and pressure. Sea surface temperature and conductivity can be used together to calculate salinity. Enhanced surface moorings with extra instruments to "more precisely define surface heat, moisture, and momentum fluxes" in addition to downwelling longwave radiation and barometric pressure. Five subsurface Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler buoys to measure current velocity between 300–400 meters deep and 30–40 meters deep. They would provide faulty measurements in waters shallower than 30–40 meters because of backscatter from the ocean surface. Three subsurface, deep ocean moorings to measure currents between 1000 meters and 4000 meters deep. Data obtained from the buoys is beamed to the Global Telecommunications System using the Service Argos Satellite Relay System. From there, it is distributed to agencies that require that information, such as weather centers. All of the data is free to access.

Progress By the end of 2008, 22 of the 46 buoys were in position, and the system was expected to be fully implemented by 2012. However, pirate activity off the coast of Somalia has jeopardized the completion of the project. Shipping insurers require special insurance to enter the piracy regions, which cover a large portion of the Indian Ocean. As of July 2011, 30 of the 46 moored buoys were established, but "13 of the remaining 16 are in the insurer's exclusion zone". Some buoys have even been shot at. While satellite data can still give enough information to make monsoon predictions, climate system studies will be affected by the gap in information.

Data provided Despite the system being incomplete, it has already begun providing valuable data. Farmers in Australia were able to use the data provided by RAMA to prepare for a bad growing season in 2008. It has also helped correct improper satellite measurements of surface heat flux.

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Research Moored Array for African-Asian-Australian Monsoon Analysis and Prediction

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Research Moored Array for African-Asian-Australian Monsoon Analysis and Prediction claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In earth science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Research Moored Array for African-Asian-Australian Monsoon Analysis and Prediction before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Research Moored Array for African-Asian-Australian Monsoon Analysis and Prediction ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Research Moored Array for African-Asian-Australian Monsoon Analysis and Prediction

In research: Research Moored Array for African-Asian-Australian Monsoon Analysis and Prediction appears in earth science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Research Moored Array for African-Asian-Australian Monsoon Analysis and Prediction in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Research Moored Array for African-Asian-Australian Monsoon Analysis and Prediction is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Buoyage, Oceanographic instrumentation, Physical oceanography, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Research Moored Array for African-Asian-Australian Monsoon Analysis and Prediction outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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Frequently asked questions

What is Research Moored Array for African-Asian-Australian Monsoon Analysis and Prediction in simple terms?

Why does Research Moored Array for African-Asian-Australian Monsoon Analysis and Prediction matter?

Because it connects several earth science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Research Moored Array for African-Asian-Australian Monsoon Analysis and Prediction?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Research Moored Array for African-Asian-Australian Monsoon Analysis and Prediction.