Kalpathi Ramakrishna Ramanathan, Indian meteorologist (Kalpathi Village, Palghat, Kerala State 28 February 1893 – 31 December 1984)

ACHIEVEMENTS

Performed important discoveries on the vertical thermal structure of atmosphere (1933)

Devised ways of correcting observations for atmospheric scattering by aerosols (1940s)

Worked out the first diagram portraying the zonal vertical thermal structure of the Earth’s atmosphere

Showed that the tropopause is low over the polar regions and high above the equatorial zone

First to publish diagram showing the distribution of upper air temperatures over the world up to 25 km in summer and winter

Discovered quasi biennial oscillations of total ozone in the tropics

Discovered the dependence of ozone distribution on meteorological phenomena such as jet streams and their location, tropopause discontinuities and inter-latitudinal air exchange

Discovered on whole ozone relationship with the circulation of the atmosphere

Established the nocturnal and seasonal variations of the green and red lines of oxygen, and the effect of the solar flares on the green emissions

Estimated the role of secondary and higher order scattering on twilight

Studied the effect of electron-ion collision in the F-region of the ionosphere on the absorption of cosmic radio noise and the effect X-rays from discrete galactic sources to the lower ionosphere

Discovered the existence of atmospheric general systems in the ionospheric regions also 

OFFICES/HONORS

President, International Association of Meteorology (1951-4)

President, International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics (1954-7)

President, International Ozone Commission (1960-7)

IMO Prize, World Meteorological Organization (1959)