IASTA Meeting & International Conference on
Aerosols, Clouds & Indian Monsoon
15 - 17 November, 2004
Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur

Editorial

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 Atmospheric aerosols from both natural and anthropogenic sources have been gaining increased attention in the recent times as they directly affect the regional and global climate. Aerosols are also believed to have an indirect effect on climate by changing cloud properties. Ever-increasing impact of the anthropogenic activities on the climate is the major concern of today. The Indo-Gangetic basin in the northern India is one of the most populous regions in the world where the increased pollution has been found to affect the monsoon rainfall, human health and climatic conditions. In the recent past the whole basin has faced serious drought conditions with practically no monsoon rain. The change in the climatic conditions is also felt by millions of people when their daily life gets disturbed in the winter because of dense fog. Some investigations suggest a strong correlation between the changes in land cover and atmospheric pollution and resulting climatic conditions that require the attention of scientific community.

 The major objective of the conference is to bring aerosol scientists on one platform to review the new developments and scientific advancements, and to discuss the changing climatic and weather conditions in view of the increasing anthropogenic activities. The main theme of this Conference has been categorized in 8 technical sessions each representing a sub-theme covering 13 invited papers and 99 contributed papers from India and abroad. The studies carried out and future studies under National (ISRO Geosphere Biosphere and DST Atmospheric science) and International (INDOEX and Atmospheric Brown Clouds) programs will be reviewed. The highlight of the Conference will be a Panel Discussion, which will throw up ideas of promoting Atmospheric Science in institutes of higher learning in India.

 The present bulletin consists of 111 extended abstracts which represent the current state of the art of aerosol studies in India, Asia and also across the globe. The studies deal with the ground, field and laboratory measurements, theoretical modeling, satellite observations and data analysis.

 The inaugural address on “Air Pollution, Atmospheric Brown Clouds and the Indian Monsoon” by Dr. V. Ramanathan will give the participants a chance to appreciate the seriousness of this future global problem with particular reference to the Indian subcontinent. Invited talk by Drs. Brent Holben, Teruyuki Nakajima, Rachel Pinkar, Sundar Christopher, P.C.S. Devara, K. Krishnamoorthy, A. Jayaraman, Pratim Biswas, Sanjay Limaye, Gufran Beig, Shyam Lal, S. N. Pandis, S. Chanda and M. M. Sarin will give a chance to the young scientists to stimulate thoughts for the future.

 We are grateful to the Indian Aerosol Science and Technology Association for choosing IIT Kanpur to host IASTA-2004 meeting and this Conference, and giving full support whenever needed. We acknowledge the sponsors, namely AICTE, ISRO, DST, BRNS and CSIR for providing financial support to organize this International Conference. We hope that this Conference will generate fruitful interactions and possible future collaborations amongst the participants coming from different institutions within India and abroad.

 

Sachchida Nand Tripathi

Convener, Technical Programme

Vinod Tare & Ramesh P Singh

Conveners

November 15, 2004

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For Further Queries contact: Dr Vinod Tare