partial lunar eclipse
Colombo, Lankapuvath, June 23) -
There will be a partial lunar eclipse on June 26th 2010 visible to the regions covering eastern Asia, Australia, the Pacific and America.
The eclipse begins at 2.27 p.m. on 26th day time with the moon entering into the penumbra of the earth's shadow (less dark shadow) and ends up at 7.50 p.m. Sri Lanka standard time.
The visible part of the eclipse begins at 3.47 p.m. with the moon enters into the Umbra - the dark part of the earth’s shadow and ends up when the moon leaves the Umbra at 6.30 p.m. Since it occurs during the day time, the eclipse is not properly visible to Sri Lanka.
However, the people in the eastern part of Sri Lanka may have a glimpse of it at the eclipse end around 6.30 p.m. when the moon is rising from the eastern horizon said Dr. Chandana Jayaratne, Senior Lecturer in Physics, University of Colombo and Consultant to the Space Applications Division of the Arthur C Clarke Institute for Modern Technologies
Editorial (ISLAND)
Pay dons better, make them work harder
June 24, 2010, 6:02 pm
Universities in this country are perennially on the boil. Academics, non academics and students seem to take turns to ensure that they are more closed than open. Hardly a day passes without the news of a university being closed indefinitely somewhere mostly due to student violence or some other trouble.
This time around, university teachers are on the warpath. They are demanding that their salary anomalies be rectified immediately in keeping with a presidential directive to that effect. President of the Federation of University Teachers’ Association (FUTA) Prof. Sampath Amaratunga says President Mahinda Rajapaksa gave a written assurance to university teachers before the presidential election last January that their salaries would be increased by Rs. 25,000 in April.
April has come and gone but there are no signs of the promised pay hike being granted, university teachers say. That is the way with political promises made in adversity. They are seldom honoured after the ‘promising’ politicians get elected.
University teachers deserve decent salaries as what they are drawing are not sufficient. President Rajapaksa has called upon Sri Lankan professionals working in foreign countries to return and help rebuild the country of their birth. This is the correct approach. If the country is to be developed, an end must be put to the so-called brain drain and her expats encouraged to return home and contribute to national development.
But, the government does not seem to be doing enough to either stop the brain drain or to lure the expats back. Throw pea nuts and you will get monkeys! If the government needs to hire the best brains for national development, it must be ready to pay them better salaries. After all, even those who lack educational qualifications to become janitors in the State sector draw huge salaries and enjoy fabulous perks by virtue of being Members of Parliament.
Sri Lankan universities are already experiencing a dearth of qualified academics and some of them have become empty shells thanks to the government policy of opening universities hastily without caring a damn about how to equip them. That the most important resource in a university is its academic staff goes without saying. Good teachers are hard to come by and it is the responsibility of the State to look after those who have chosen to stay in this country without leaving for greener pastures.
Similarly, there are serious lapses on the part of university teachers. Although they are demanding better salaries, there are some bad eggs among them. It is well known that some of them are more involved in NGO work than teaching and guiding students. As for research, universities hardly conduct any. But, we have senior lecturers doing ‘consultancies’ for the private sector. The FUTA ought to turn the search light inwards and ask itself whether its members are carrying out their duties diligently. We have reason to believe that some of them do not deserve the salaries they are given.
The government is planning to establish branches of foreign universities here. In such an eventuality, local universities are likely to lose their academics to the new universities because they will have no alternative but to vote with their fee out of sheer frustration.
Therefore, in our opinion, university teachers must be paid the salary hike they have been promised. But, the government must ensure that they work harder. No country can aspire to development without having a good university system. The government boasts of a plan to make Sri Lanka the knowledge hub of Asia within the next few years and whether it will be able to achieve that lofty goal with the national universities remaining what they are is the question.
Weheragala Reservoir diversion - history is re-written
Lionel WIJESIRI
“We forget that the water cycle and the life cycle are one.”
I was reminded of the above quote by Jacques Cousteau, the famous French scientist who studied all forms of life in water, as I was watching the 2.030 metres long Weheragala Dam built across the Menik Ganga in the Yala National Park. For once, Cousteau was proved wrong. Our great King Parakramabahu did not forget the value of water when he proclaimed that not a single drop of water should flow to the sea without utilization. The Weheragala Reservoir project, per se, a brainchild of President Mahinda Rajapaksa, is based on this premise. This reservoir has been built in keeping with the aspirations of King Parakramabahu as part of ‘Mahinda Chintanaya’ concept.
Lunugamvehera reservoir. Courtesy: Media Unit, Irrigation Department
Mahinda Chintanaya does not stop there. In addition to Weheragala project, there are six other schemes to complete shortly. The Deduru Oya and Rambukan Oya projects are already started. The uniqueness of all these projects is that neither foreign aid nor foreign personnel will be utilized.
Challenges
Each year, a surplus of water from the Menik Ganga, uncontrollably flows into the sea, inundating and causing much havoc and devastation to life and property in transit. This vast, unutilized water resource will be trapped by a dam of 2030 metres long and collected into Weheragala Reservoir with a capacity of 75 million cubic-metres. Water from this reservoir will be conveyed to Lunugamvehera reservoir through an environmentally friendly shallow contour canal of 23 kms and it would carry a capacity of 65 million cubic metres of water annually. Lunugamvehera is a multi-purpose reservoir, which was constructed in 1987 by damming the Kirindi Oya under the Kirindi Oya Irrigation and Settlement Project.
I met Eng. W.M. Gunadasa, Chief Project Engineer, at the site of the dam. He was involved in the project from the start and talked about the various challenges he and his team of workers had to face to make the project a reality. He said a number of benefits will flow down to the people once the project is commissioned. The scheme will develop an area of 5700 hectares, and uplift the livelihoods of 5,600 farming families engaged in paddy and minor crop cultivation. Four thousand one hundred hectares of land would be brought under paddy cultivation. The farming community in Weerawila, Debarawewa, Thanamalwila and Pannegamuwa will have the ability of cultivating both the Yala and Maha Kanna. Therefore the present risk of cultivation of the 6,000 hectares of land extent in the new area under the Lunugamvehera reservoir would be minimized. There are several minor tanks in the vicinity of Kataragama. All these tanks do not hold water for successful cultivation of both seasons and this diversion will ensure water for these tanks during both seasons to stabilize cultivation.
One of the major problems at the Kataragama area is the supply of water for drinking and bathing during the festival season when Menik Ganga goes dry. During the months of July and August there is hardly any flow in Menik Ganga at Kataragama and the National Water Supply and Drainage Board finds it difficult to supply water even for drinking. The Weheragala diversion ensures continuous flow throughout the year and this would benefit not only devotees and residents of Kataragama, but fauna and flora along Menik Ganga between Kataragama and Yala.
Local expertise
The utilization of solely indigenous know-how, expertise and resources in the project, is another unique and salient feature to be noted. Similar projects in the past have been undertaken by foreign contractors at comparatively high costs, resulting in the loss of valuable foreign exchange to the country. The budgeted cost of the project which started in 2006 was around Rs. 2900 million whereas it is now estimated under Rs. 2000 million by completion.
The project has generated around 750 job opportunities for the villagers, in the neighbouring areas of Kataragama, Hambantota, Weerawilla, Tanamalwilla and Tissamaharama. An allocation of Rs.275 million has been set aside as wages for the whole project. More engineers, too, have been recruited.
The project took slightly over two years to complete. Considered in the perspective of its local funding and skills, it was a good achievement. I asked Director General of Irrigation, Eng. H.P.S. Somasiri what factors accounted for the success.
“Total commitment from top to bottom. That is the secret. Minister, Chamal Rajapaksa was right behind us throughout the project and ensured funds were available without interruption. Coupled with that fact and a willing team of workers made us complete the project within the targeted deadline”. Somasiri also had a word of gratitude to Eng. A.D.S. Gunawardena, ex-Secretary of the Ministry of Irrigation, for the hard work he had put in to move the project off the ground and maintain the momentum at steady speed.
Eng. Ivan de Silva, the present Secretary of the Ministry of Irrigation said that the main objective of the Government’s irrigation projects is not only to supply the farming community with sufficient water for their cultivation but also to assist them to grasp and implement the high-tech agricultural systems such as drip system of irrigation. For example, drip irrigation has proved to be a success in terms of increased yield in a wide range of crop including paddy.
Its ability of small and frequent irrigation applications have created interest because of decreased water requirements, increased production and better quality produce.
When asked about local expertise, Eng. de Silva said, “Our engineers have developed considerable expertise in the irrigation sector and have proven they can match the international standards. As a matter of Government policy, as far as possible, in future projects we will seek and use local talent.”
As I turned back from the site, a subtle thought crossed my mind. Throughout the history we were deeply rooted in an agriculture based economy. And, still we are! Modern irrigation system networks will make a substantive contribution to the development of an efficient agriculture sector and take us back to the glory of King Parakramabahu era. That is the gist of the ‘Mahinda Chintanaya’ concept.
Weheragala reservoir project is just one giant step towards the realization of that concept.
Goce satellite views Earth's gravity in high definition
By Jonathan Amos
Science correspondent, BBC News, Bergen
It is one of the most exquisite views we have ever had of the Earth.
This colourful new map traces the subtle but all pervasive influence the pull of gravity has across the globe.
Known as a geoid, it essentially defines where the level surface is on our planet; it tells us which way is "up" and which way is "down".
It is drawn from delicate measurements made by Europe's Goce satellite, which flies so low it comes perilously close to falling out of the sky.
Scientists say the data gathered by the spacecraft will have numerous applications.
One key beneficiary will be climate studies because the geoid can help researchers understand better how the great mass of ocean water is moving heat around the world.
The new map was presented here in Norway's second city at a special Earth observation (EO) symposium dedicated to the data being acquired by Goce and other European Space Agency (Esa) missions.
Europe is currently in the midst of a huge programme of EO development which will see it launch some 20 missions worth nearly eight billion euros before the decade's end.
The Gravity Field and Steady-State Ocean Circulation Explorer (Goce) is at the front of this armada of scientific and environmental monitoring spacecraft.
Imaginary ball
Launched in 2009, the sleek satellite flies pole to pole at an altitude of just 254.9km - the lowest orbit of any research satellite in operation today.
The spacecraft carries three pairs of precision-built platinum blocks inside its gradiometer instrument that sense accelerations which are as small as 1 part in 10,000,000,000,000 of the gravity experienced on Earth.
This has allowed it to map the almost imperceptible differences in the pull exerted by the mass of the planet from one place to the next - from the great mountain ranges to the deepest ocean trenches.
Two months of observations have now been fashioned into what scientists call the geoid.
"I think everyone knows what a level is in relation to construction work, and a geoid is nothing but a level that extends over the entire Earth," explained Professor Reiner Rummel, the chairman of the Goce scientific consortium.
"So with the geoid, I can take two arbitrary points on the globe and decide which one is 'up' and which one is 'down'," the Technische Universitaet Muenchen researcher told BBC News.
In other words, the map on this page defines the horizontal - a surface on which, at any point, the pull of gravity is perpendicular to it.
Put a ball on this hypothetical surface and it will not roll - even though it appears to have "slopes". These slopes can be seen in the colours which mark how the global level diverges from the generalised (an ellipsoid) shape of the Earth.
In the North Atlantic, around Iceland, the level sits about 80m above the surface of the ellipsoid; in the Indian Ocean it sits about 100m below.
1. Earth is a slightly flattened sphere - it is ellipsoidal in shape
2. Goce senses tiny variations in the pull of gravity over Earth
3. The data is used to construct an idealised surface, or geoid
4. It traces gravity of equal 'potential'; balls won't roll on its 'slopes'
5. It is the shape the oceans would take without winds and currents
6. So, comparing sea level and geoid data reveals ocean behaviour
7. Gravity changes can betray magma movements under volcanoes
8. A precise geoid underpins a universal height system for the world
9. Gravity data can also reveal how much mass is lost by ice sheets
The geoid is of paramount interest to oceanographers because it is the shape the world's seas would adopt if there were no tides, no winds and no currents.
If researchers then subtract the geoid from the actual observed behaviour of the oceans, the scale of these other influences becomes apparent.
This is information critical to climate modellers who try to represent the way the oceans manage the transfer of energy around the planet.
But a geoid has many other uses, too. Having a global level underpins a universal system to compare heights anywhere on Earth.
In construction, for example, it tells engineers which way a fluid would naturally want to flow through a pipeline.
Animated map of gravity around the world. Courtesy of Esa.
Geophysicists will also want to use the Goce data to try to probe what's happening deep within the Earth, especially in those places that are prone to quakes and volcanic eruptions.
"The Goce data is showing up new information in the Himalayas, central Africa, and the Andes, and in Antarctica," explained Dr Rune Floberghagen, Esa's Goce mission manager.
"This is, in one sense, not so surprising. These are places that are fairly inaccessible. It is not easy to measure high frequency variations in the gravity field in Antarctica with an aeroplane because there are so few airfields from which to operate."
Goce's extremely low operating altitude was expected to limit its mission to a couple of years at most. But Esa now thinks it may be able to continue flying the satellite until perhaps 2014.
Unusually quiet solar activity has produced very calm atmospheric conditions, meaning Goce has used far less xenon "fuel" in its ion engine to maintain its orbit.
Ultimately, though, that fuel will run out and the residual air molecules at 255km will slow the satellite, forcing it from the sky.
GRAVITY FIELD AND STEADY-STATE OCEAN CIRCULATION EXPLORER
The 1,100kg Goce is built from rigid materials and carries fixed solar wings. The gravity data must be clear of spacecraft 'noise'
The 5m-by-1m frame incorporates fins to stabilise the spacecraft as it flies through the residual air in the thermosphere
Goce's accelerometers measure accelerations that are as small as 1 part in 10,000,000,000,000 of the gravity experienced on Earth
The UK-built engine ejects xenon ions at velocities exceeding 40,000m/s; the engine throttles up and down to keep Goce at a steady altitude
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Puttalam wind power plant to add to National Grid
Wednesday, 30 June 2010 17:10
(Colombo, Lankapuvath, June 30) - Puttalam Wind Power Plant will be commissioned another 10 megawatts on July 05th (Monday). With the commissioning of this plant another 10 megawatts will be added to the National Grid.
Investment of this project is US $40 million. The investment is made by two private companies, Segawantivu Wind Power (Pvt) Ltd and Vidathamunai Wind Power (Pvt) Ltd.
Power and Energy Minister Patali Champika Ranawaka said that the development of renewable energy sector would play a vital role in fulfilling the country’s power demand.
A power capacity of 10 megawatts had been released to the National Grid recently from the stage one of the project, he said
The Minister also said that partnership in private sector of the renewable energy field has helped enhance the national power capacity with a more environment-friendly approach.
The Power and Energy Ministry will soon set up five wind power plants in the areas where wind power velocity is high to fulfill the wind power requirements. The site clearance and other infrastructure facilities had been provided by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Sri Lanka to expedite providing a solution to these problems.
Meanwhile, the Government has decided to declare Kalpitiya as a wind power potential zone in the country.
