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> home > programs & activities > fellowship & visiting scientists > Dr. Rupa Kumar Kolli Round 11 START Visiting Scientist As a START Visiting Scientist, Dr. Kolli visited the Centre for Sustainability and Global Environment (SAGE) in Madison, Wisconsin, where he advanced his research on land and water resources in South Asia. Dr. Kolli’s work at SAGE focused on collecting data and information for an integrated regional assessment of the interactions between climate change and land and water systems. His research project made important new contributions into the study of the role of land-use and land cover changes in regional climate change. The South Asian subcontinent is home to roughly a fifth of the world’s population, in spite of only comprising three percent of the world’s land mass. The region is highly dependent on summer monsoons; hence, knowledge of future monsoon variability brought about by global change is of great concern for regional food security. Since climate change can profoundly influence the ability to ensure continued food security for the region’s growing population, it is essential to pursue an integrated regional assessment of cause-and-effect between climate change and ecological and human systems. This assessment also complements the initiatives being actively promoted by international programs such as the IGBP, LUCC, and the Millennium Assessment. Dr. Rupa Kumar Kolli’s parent organization, the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), is one of India’s leading climate change research facilities; the institute hosting his visit, the Center for Sustainability and the Global Environment (SAGE) at the University of Wisconsin, is also on the frontline of climate change research. The visit’s overarching aim was to facilitate research efforts by establishing a working relationship with a frontline research group specializing in land-use and land cover change issues, and developing a longstanding programmatic linkage. In addition to the partnership objective, Dr. Kolli was able to obtain hands-on experience using sophisticated computer models developed at SAGE. These include IBIS (the Integrated Biosphere Simulator), a comprehensive computer model of the Earth’s terrestrial ecosystems; and HYDRA (the HYDrological Routing Algorithm), which simulates the flow of water through groundwater systems, rivers, lakes, and wetlands. During Dr. Kolli’s visit, both models were set up for the South Asian domain. The research exchange laid the groundwork for a number of research papers and continued collaboration through new proposals. The visit further introduced a new and exciting research area to Dr. Kolli, which has lead to new opportunities for international cooperation. Download his full report: PDF |
