Ground and satellite based measurements of spectral optical properties of aerosols have been carried out at Dehradun (DDN) in the Indo-Gangetic Plain (IGP) and Kavaratti (KVT) at Lakshadweep in southern Arabian Sea during pre-monsoon season (March–May) 2012. The measurements illustrate distinct seasonal impact on aerosol properties with maximum dust loading during May in conjunction with anthropogenic aerosols over DDN and marine aerosols over KVT.

The present study reports on the abundance of reactive nitrogen (NH3 and NO2) at two sites, i.e. Okhla (urban site) in Delhi and Mai (rural site), located in the nearby state: Uttar Pradesh. The measurements were carried out during the period from October, 2012 to September, 2013 on a monthly basis.

The sustenance of food and nutritional security are the major challenges of the 21st century. The domestic food production needs to increase per annum at the rate of 2% for cereals and 0.6% for oilseeds and pulses to meet the demand by 2030. The Indo-Gangetic Plains (IGP) and the black soil regions (BSR) are the two major food production zones of the country. Since irrigation potetential is limited and expansion of irrigated area is tardy, rainfed agriculture holds promise to satisfy future food needs.

Innovative methods are increasingly important to utilize existing soil information and in this context spatial soil information systems play an important role. Soil is an important component of land use planning as it acts both as a source and sink of energy for many functions of the land. In general, all living and non-living things on earth get their energy for functioning from the soil in the form of nutrients, water and air.

The objective of this study is to evaluate the ability of a European chemistry transport model, ‘CHIMERE’ driven by the US meteorological model MM5, in simulating aerosol concentrations [dust, PM10 and black carbon (BC)] over the Indian region. An evaluation of a meteorological event (dust storm); impact of change in soil-related parameters and meteorological input grid resolution on these aerosol concentrations has been performed. Dust storm simulation over Indo-Gangetic basin indicates ability of the model to capture dust storm events.

5921–5941One seventh of the world's population lives in the Indo-Gangetic Plain (IGP) and the fertile region sustains agricultural food crop production for much of South Asia, yet it remains one the most under-studied regions of the world in terms of atmospheric composition and chemistry. In particular, the emissions and chemistry of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that form surface ozone and secondary organic aerosol through photochemical reactions involving nitrogen oxides are not well understood.