Abstract:
ARIES, acronym for Aryabhatta Research Institute of
Observational Sciences, located in the Central
Gangetic Himalayan (CGH) region is emerging as one
of the unique sites for climate change studies. The
long-term, in situ, precise measurements of aerosols
and trace gases obtained from this region provide
valuable inputs for climate studies. Atmospheric scientists
from ARIES are actively involved in nearsurface
measurements for meteorology, aerosols and
trace gases as well as vertical profiling. The Institute
is also providing the observational infrastructure and
research support to three major projects of the Indian
Space Research Organization, Geosphere Biosphere
Programme, which basically deals with the measurement
of aerosols, trace gases and boundary-layer experiments.
The upcoming stratosphere–troposphere
radar and high-power micro-pulse lidar observational
facilities will be utilized for the continuous vertical
profiling of winds, aerosol and cloud properties at a
very fine resolution in time and space. Apart from
this, atmospheric scientists of ARIES also have active
national and international research collaborations.
The important results obtained from these research
activities are highlighted and upcoming major observational
facilities in the field of atmospheric sciences
are discussed. They clearly demonstrate the importance
of the unique geographical location of ARIES
for climate change studies in the CGH region. These
measurements and routine meteorological observations
provide the necessary atmospheric corrections to
the astrophysical observations taken using optical
telescopes located at the site.
