Dear Colleague :
On the request of the Indian National Science Academy, I have taken over as core Co- ordinator at the National level, for the project BAHC (Biological Aspects of Hydrological Cycle) as a part of IGBP (International Geosphere Biosphere Programme). My mandate is to energise BAHC related research activities in the form of Workshop, brain-storming session etc.in the Country.
As per IGBP Core Project Documents, the objectives of BAHC are: to determine biospheric controls of the hydrological cycle through field measurements and models of energy and water fluxes in the soil-vegetation-atmosphere system, at temporal and spatial scales ranging from vegetation patches to global circulation model grid cells; and to develop data bases describing interactions between the biosphere and the physical Earth system, and to test/validate simulations of such interactions.The research plan for BAHC contains four research foci as follows:
Focus 1: Development, Testing and Validation of 1-dimensional Soil-Vegetation- Atmosphere Transfer (SVAT) Models.
Focus 2: Regional-Scale Studies of Land-Surface Properties and Fluxes: Experiments, Interpretation and Modelling.
Focus 3: Diversity of Biosphere-Hydrosphere Intreactions: Temporal and Spatial Variability.
Focus 4: The Weather Generator Project.
Through this note, I am inviting your attention to the possibilities of being actively involved in BAHC - IGBP Projects in India; while your suggestions on specific research projects in relation to the Foci of BAHC are welcome, it will help me a great deal if you can inform me of the nature of activities currently being pursued by you, that has bearing on BAHC and your thinking on the Core-Project. Please feel free to comment on the viability of the four Foci in the Indian contest and give constructive suggestions for various measurements to be done in the BAHC Project. Also, I would like to find out weather you will participate in a Workshop, if one is organised by me in 1995-96 on BAHC, subject to funds being made available for this purpose. I look forward to hear from you.Kindly circulate it to your colleagues.
Please contact Prof. V. Subramanian, SES/JNU.
