PhD Topics- Climate Studies Programme

S.N. Research Topic Description Faculty Email

1 Energy-use emissions, Atmospheric aerosols have important Chandra chandra@iitb.ac.in,
air-quality and effects on human health and less Venkataraman, P. sunthar@che.iitb.ac.in
atmospheric warming. understood effects on regional climate. In Sunthar
the project, the candidate will assess
benefits to both air-quality and
atmospheric warming from present-day
emissions (from residential, agricultural
burning, brick kilns, transport, etc.) and
future emissions (BAU and with strategic
mitigation) from energy use. The study
will use a new emission inventory from
this group and involve atmospheric
simulations with a regional chemical
transport model model (STEM-2K1 or
CMAQ), driven with WRF meteorology.
The benefits of clean combustion
technologies (biofuel stoves, brick kilns
and others) and reduced agricultural field
burning will be assessed.
2 Studies in energy end- Energy efficiency has been recognised as Anand anand@iitb.ac.in,
use and consumer one of the important tools for climate Patwardhan, a.b.rao@iitb.ac.in,
behavior. change mitigation. Despite obvious Anand Rao, truptimishra@iitb.ac.in
benefits, the penetration of energy Trupti Mishra
efficient appliances faces many barriers
including regulatory, technological,
financial and behavioural. Mechanisms
for addressing the regulatory,
technological and financial barriers to
energy efficiency have been devised and
are being implemented. An important
aspect in energy efficiency is to study the
role of consumer behaviour in purchase
and usage of appliances. While programs
such as appliance labelling aim to alter
consumer decision on purchase, they have
not yet been able to achieve the desired
objectives. Further, large scale programs
to alter the usage patterns have not been
tried yet. The project will aim at
improving the understanding of consumer
purchase and use decisions with regard to
energy end-use devices and the impact
that this would have on energy use and
demand. This should contribute towards
more effective policies for enhanced end-
use efficiency.
3 Improving The assessment of vulnerability and Anand anand@iitb.ac.in,
methodologies for resilience is an important input to Patwardhan and skarmakar@iitb.ac.in
assessing vulnerability planning adaptation to climate change. Subhankar
and resilience. Most studies in the literature report the Karmakar
direct damages associated with climate-
related hazards, such as mortality and
insured property loss. However, in many
instances, and particularly in developing
countries, indirect damages may be as or
more important than the direct damages.
These include, for example, loss of
economic services due to damage to
infrastructure, loss of livelihood assets,
disruption in social services etc. Many of
these are changes in flows of economic
goods and services, rather than changes to
the stock of natural and built capital. The
project will build on existing work to
identify appropriate proxy variables for
such indirect damages. Aspects such as
resilience, recovery and adaptive capacity
may be characterized using such
variables, and provide a more
comprehensive characterization of
climate risk.
4 Assessing climate- One of the important conclusions of the Anand anand@iitb.ac.in
related changes in IPCC AR4 was that many natural systems Patwardhan,
sectors and systems. (such as glaciers and natural and managed Subhankar
ecosystems) were being affected by Karmakar
regional climate changes, particularly
temperature increases. However, there is
a notable lack of geographic balance in
data and literature on observed changes,
with marked scarcity in developing
countries. The project will attempt to
document and characterize changes in
natural and managed systems, such as
fisheries, agricultural systems and other
ecosystem attributes. The focus will be on
potentially climate-sensitive systems, and
will require the collection of appropriate
proxy data. The analysis of the changes
and their attribution to anthropogenic and
climate-related factors will form a part of
the project.
5 Centrifuge model The increasing infrastructure instability is B. V. S. viswam@civil.iitb.ac.in,
studies on geosynthetic- an important issue in relation to the Viswanadham, eldho@civil.iitb.ac.in
wrap around revetments influences of global climate change in T.I. Eldho
for shore protection for urban areas. A serious issue pertaining to
climate change this is the dual nature of damage triggered
adaptability. by events combined with climate change
and natural hazards. In recent years, new
threats to coastal areas have emerged as a
consequence of climate change and the
rising sea level, which both result from
global warming. As flexible construction
elements behave advantageously with
respect to cyclic hydrodynamic loads and
morphological seabed changes.
Therefore, alternative shore protection
structures, especially for sandy coasts,
that include the application of
geosynthetics solution are of interest to
replace traditional materials and systems,
such as those constructed from rock or
concrete blocks. One alternative solution
is a geosynthetic wrap-around revetment
(GWR) structure. GWRs are sand slopes
that are reinforced with a geosynthetic:
the material is wrapped and encapsulated
with geosynthetics to create a flexible
revetment.
Hence in the proposed research work, the
motivation behind the study is to study
the stability and deformation behaviour of
GWR at the onset of different wave
heights using a large beam centrifuge
facility available at IIT Bombay and the
data generated through this work can help
in arriving at guidelines for climate
change adaptability solutions.
6 Studies on instability of Seal level raise due to climate change B. V. S. viswam@civil.iitb.ac.in /
foundations and engenders a rise in ground water level Viswanadham viswam@iitb.ac.in
superstructures caused (GWL), which induces foundation
by rising ground water instability of substructures by: (1)
levels due to climate decreasing bearing capacity; (2) fostering
change. settlement of the ground and foundations;
and, in a worst-case scenario, (3) floating
foundations and buildings. A rising GWL
influences the ground, substructures, and
superstructures. Several case studies were
reported citing the ill effects of rising
GWL on different types of sub-structures.
As a part of developing solutions for
climate change adaptability, in this it is
envisaged to understand the rate of
change of GWL on the foundation of
substructures instability through model
tests and finite element analyses. Finally,
 methodologies shall have to be proposed
for mitigating the increasing probability
of instability triggered by variations of
GWL, which are particularly serious in
coastal regions because of sea-level-raise
as a result of global warming.

7 Estimation of energy use For centuries, agro-climatic conditions Anand Rao, a.b.rao@iitb.ac.in,
and emissions of GHGs have defined the type of energy used Bakul Rao, bakulrao@iitb.ac.in
and short-lived climate which has now changed in favour of Chandra
agents from rural fossil fuels. Change in the energy sources Venkataraman
sources and agricultural and the agricultural practices have
practices. resulted in GHGs emissions. An
inventorization of various sources of
GHG emissions along with the practices
in rural India influencing the emissions
will be carried out for different agro-
climatic conditions. An estimation of the
GHG emissions for the different agro-
climatic conditions of the country and an
assessment of the mitigation potential
will be carried out.
8 Clean Development The purpose of CDM for non-Annex 1 Anand Rao and a.b.rao@iitb.ac.in,
Mechanisms in the countries, including India, was to assist in Bakul Rao bakulrao@iitb.ac.in
Context of Rural achieving sustainable development.
Development. Sectors such as Land use, Land-use
Change and Forestry (LULUCF), Rural
Εnergy and Electricity, Waste and
Agriculture cater to the rural arena and
can foster sustainable rural development
as well as better adaptation to climate
change in the long term. An indepth
analysis of the experiences in CDM for
rural development, the financial,
institutional and policy constraints and
challenges in achieving the purpose of
CDM will be carried out.
9 Climate Change and All four dimensions of food security Anand Rao and a.b.rao@iitb.ac.in,
Food Security for India. namely the availability, accessibility, Bakul Rao bakulrao@iitb.ac.in
utilization and system stability are
affected by climate change. Assessments
of the impact of climate change on the
food and agriculture sector have focused
on the availability aspect namely crop
failure and decline in the crop yields.
The accessibility and the utilization
aspect of food security depend on the
socio-cultural conditions including
affordability, food preferences, nutritional
 value. For a populous country like India
which is affected by climate change in
many ways the threats to food security is
multidimensional. A holistic analysis of
the food systems along with study of the
policies of the state to address the issue
will be carried out.

10 Assessment of The main aim of this project is to study Rajkumar S. Pant rkpant@aero.iitb.ac.in
inefficiencies in Indian the Air Traffic Management (ATM)
Air Traffic Management system being followed in India, and to
(ATM) Systems to identify the presence of inefficiencies in
ensure Greener the existing system resulting in
Aviation. environmental impacts. In an ideal
situation, all aircraft would fly their
optimal trajectories comprising the most
direct route between source and
destination, at their most fuel-efficient
altitude and speed. This would lead to
lowest fuel burn and NOx & CO2
emissions, as well as reducing many other
environmental impacts, viz., noise and air
quality. However, since the primary
function of an ATM system is to maintain
safe separation, between aircraft, many
times aircraft are made to fly less than
efficient trajectories, which results in a
greater environmental impact. Thus,
improvements to the ATM system which
allow more efficient flight profiles at
equivalent or improved levels of safety
offer the potential for better
environmental performance.
11 Scaling models of Most atmospheric pollutants, specifically P Sunthar and p.sunthar@iitb.ac.in
dispersions of regional aerosols, have a residence time of order Chandra chandra@iitb.ac.in
emissions. of few days to few years and can impact Venkatraman
the local (urban) to regional (Indian
Subcontinent) climate on the time scale of
decades (This is in contrast to methane or
CFCs, which have a life time from 10 to
100 years and can have influence over
several centuries over the entire earth).
Most of these pollutants have their origin
due to human activities (mainly in the
land region). It is therefore important to
study how these are transported from
their origin to upper levels of atmosphere
and how they are laterally spread. What
impacts the current level of pollution can
have on regional climate over next few
 decades? In this study we propose to
study aerosol dispersion in terms of
simple scaling models for pollutant
dispersion. Scaling models are
mathematical approximations for the full
governing equations obtained using
limiting or asymptotic behaviour of the
equations in certain regimes of the
parameters. The most important impact of
a scaling model could be in providing
useful indicators for long term climate
change forecasts and therefore for policy
decisions or interventions.
12 Decision support Development of emission scenarios, B K Mohan, chandra@iitb.ac.in,
systems for spatio- under different assumptions of energy use Paravatham bkmohan@csre.iitb.ac.in
temporal distributed and development, is important for input Venkatachalam,
energy use and to atmospheric models and for regulatory Chandra
emissions from different and policy studies. Sectors of relevance Venkataraman
sectors in India. include power generation, industrial,
transport, domestic and others. The study
will involve development of a spatial
decision support system for energy use
and emission scenario generation for
India, in hindcast and forecast modes, at
multiple resolution levels. Query based
decision making will be enabled at
district, state and national levels.
13 A study on sector wise Climate change will have wide-ranging Trupti Mishra truptimishra@iitb.ac.in ,
climate change effects on the environment, and on socio- and Anand anand@iitb.ac.in
vulnerability economic and related sectors, including Patwardhan
assessment. water resources, agriculture and food
security, human health, terrestrial
ecosystems and biodiversity and coastal
zones. Developing countries are
particularly vulnerable to climate change
because of the sensitivity of their fragile
environments; small changes in climate
can cause large environmental changes.
With an economy closely tied to its
natural-resource-base and climate-
sensitive sectors such as agriculture,
water, and forestry, India faces a major
threat because of the projected changes in
climate. Crucial sectors in India like
agriculture, water resources, health,
sanitation, and rural development are
likely to be affected by climate change.
The present project focus will be on
assessing the impact in term of distinctive
types of vulnerabilities: physical,
economic, infrastructure and social across
different sector of the economy.
14 Risk assessment of This project aims for risk assessment of M. Janga Reddy, mjreddy@civil.iitb.ac.in
climate change impacts climate change impacts on agricultural J. Adinarayana
on agricultural production in India. In recent studies, it is
production. projected that global warming may have
significant impacts on conditions
affecting agriculture, including
temperature, carbon dioxide,
precipitation, evapotranspiration and the
interaction of these factors. Climate
change and agriculture are interrelated
processes. Risk assessment of the effects
of global climate changes on agriculture
might help to properly anticipate and
adapt farming to maximize agricultural
production. The study will develop novel
methodologies to assess the associated
risks and effective solutions. The
simulation data of large scale global
climate models (GCM/ RCM) will be
used for long term planning and climate
teleconnection data for short term
planning and management. First, the
study will be conducted in agriculture
intensive regions of Godavari river basin,
and then it will be extended to other
regions.
15 Adapting to Climate Climate Variability has been a constant D.Parthasarathy ben.dp@iitb.ac.in,
Variability: Agricultural factor for adaptation for farmers and dp@hss.iitb.ac.in
Sector in India. peasants in most parts of India.
Temporality, seasonality, and quantity of
rainfall in specific contexts of soil fertility
and irrigation, have affected productivity,
yields, agricultural options, technology
adoption and diffusion, and livelihood
options. A study of how peasants and
farmers adapt to climate variability
especially in the context of current
climate change related transitions. Will be
carried out especially focusing on arid
and semi-arid zones.
16 Integrated Flood Climate change has considerable impact Eldho T.I. and Eldho@civil.iitb.ac.in,
Assessment for Coastal on rain fall and sea level variations. In Subimal Ghosh subimal.ghosh@gmail.com
Urban Cities and the this project, an integrated approach of
Climate Change flood assessment for coastal urban cities
Impacts. like Mumbai is proposed by considering
rainfall-runoff and sea level raise due to
climate change. For coastal urban
flooding models will be developed and
integrated with climate models for the
effect of rainfall and sea level raises. The
integrated model will predict the effects
of climate change for future scenarios.
17 Integrated Water Due to the climate change, there will be Eldho T.I. and Eldho@civil.iitb.ac.in,
Management for River considerable effects on the agriculture. Subimal Ghosh subimal.ghosh@gmail.com
basin/ Agricultural The main impacts will be water related
Watersheds Considering issues. In this project, an integrated
the Climate Change approach of hydrological models, GIS
Impacts. and remote sensing with climate impact
models will be developed. The model will
be able to predict the climate impacts on
watersheds for long term predictions.
Lumped/ physically based models will be
used for hydrological predictions.
Various climate change models will be
investigated to see the rainfall pattern for
climate change. Few specific case studies
will be carried out river basin/ watershed
scale.
18 Soil Moisture Feedback The proposed study aims to model land Subimal Ghosh subimal.ghosh@
to Micro-Climate atmosphere interaction in an integrated and Y S Rao gmail.com
modeling approach, where, a regional
climate model will be coupled with a
land-surface model. The hypothesis,
which will tested in the proposed work is
the following: Wet soil moisture
condition over any large region, should
be associated with relatively large
boundary layer moist static energy, which
favors the occurenec of rainfall. This will
be tested either in statistical framework or
with WRF-CLM coupled run for a large
river basin. The soil moisture data will be
extracted from remote-sensing data.
19 Energy and GHG This would involve end-use modelling of Ragan Banerjee, rangan@iitb.ac.in,
emissions: Scenarios for different disaggregated industries and Chandra chandra@iitb.ac.in
the Industrial sector in analyse the potential for energy efficient Venkataraman
India and renewables (steel, cement, etc). A
modeling framework using
MARKAL/TIMS would be used to
generate alternatives till 2035/ 2050
20 Carbon footprinting - Over half the world's people now live in Anand truptimishra@iitb.ac.in ,
developing urban carbon urban areas; cities, especially megacities Patwardhan, anand@iitb.ac.in,
and energy profiles (over 10 million population) are, on the Trupti Mishra, bakulrao@iitb.ac.in
one hand, major sources of greenhouse Bakul Rao
gas and other harmful waste products
and, on the other hand, sites of large
opportunities to reduce these substances.
Moreover, controlling emissions could
lead to desirable benefits beyond climate
change mitigation, such as improved
health, visibility, and vehicular traffic;
and reduced costs of waste disposal. City
profiles of energy and carbon can provide
useful and actionable information for city
and regional governments and planners.
Longitudinal and cross-sectional studies
of emission profiles can provide valuable
insights into the dynamics of emissions,
the interaction of urban form and growth
and emission characteristics, and possible
points of intervention that would increase
the sustainability of future urban centers.