Vinayak Sinha works as a Professor at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Mohali which is located in the state of Punjab, India since November 2022, having worked earlier as Assistant professor from 2010 to 2015 and Associate Professor from 2016 till November 2022 at the same institute in India, which is an Institute of National Importance as per an act of the Indian Parliament. He completed his Bachelors in Science (BSc with Honours in Chemistry) and Master in Science (MSc: specialization in organic chemistry of natural products) in 2002 from Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning, Prasanthinilayam and subsequently completed a Master of Technology (M. Tech) in Analytical Chemistry from the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi in 2004. He completed his doctoral studies and postdoctoral research at the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry in Mainz, Germany from 2004-2007 (PhD) and from 2007-2010 (postdoctoral research). He is currently an expert member of the United Nation’s World Meteorological Organization (WMO) Environmental Pollution and Atmospheric Chemistry Scientific Steering Committee (EPAC SSC), the International Commission on Atmospheric Chemistry and Global Pollution, and the International Global Atmospheric Chemistry (IGAC), a Global Reserach Project under Future Earth. He has previously served as the first Indian Co-chair (2017-2020) and a Scientific Steering Committee (SSC) Member (2015-2020) of the Integrated Land Ecosystem-Atmosphere Processes Study, another Global Research Project under Future Earth. In addition he has served as Editor (Subject: Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics) for Earth System Science Data, and as a member of the Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC) of Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences (ARIES, Nainital), Member of the Program Advisory and Monitoring Committee in Atmospheric Chemistry for the Ministry of Earth Sciences in India, Co-chair of working group (WG1) of the Atmospheric Composition in the Asian Monsoon (ACAM) a SPARC/IGAC activity and has contributed to the Third Ozone Assessment Report (TOAR). In 2018 he was featured among Asia’s leading scientist by the Asian Scientist magazine and in 2016 was awarded the National Academy of Science and Elsevier SCOPUS’s NASI-SCOPUS Young Scientist Award 2016: in the subject area of Earth, Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences for excellence in research. As the Convener and Founder Head he contributed significantly to establishing the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at IISER Mohali. His current research is focused on ensuring more sustainable interactions with our environment through evidence-based understanding of emissions, atmospheric chemistry and air quality feedbacks as well as source apportionment of gases and fine mode aerosol in megacities through field studies. The investigations combine experimental tools such as proton transfer reaction mass spectrometers, gas chromatography and spectroscopic techniques with satellite remote sensed data, chemical box models and chemical transport models for comprehensive understanding. He set up the state-of-the-art IISER Mohali Central Atmospheric Chemistry facility in the north-west Indo-Gangetic Plain where atmospheric composition and meteorology measurements for >100 chemical and physical parameters including VOCs at ultra-trace level (ppt-ppb) are being made continuously since 2011. Ozone chemistry, hydroxyl radical reactivity, molecular chemical fingerprinting of air-pollution sources, volatile organic compounds, mass spectrometric measurements of atmospheric chemical composition and development of India-wide VOC emission inventories using measured emission factors and updated activity data are some of his group’s recent contributions.

Social Media Links

Google.Scholar: https://scholar.google.co.in/citations?user=-y7uA8YAAAAJ&hl=en
Twitter: https://twitter.com/air9_vs
Orcid: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5508-0779
IISERmohali: https://web.iisermohali.ac.in/faculty/vinayak/

Our current research is focused on improving fundamental process based understanding of emissions-atmospheric chemistry-air quality and climate and their feedbacks over South Asia. Ozone formation chemistry and the sources, sinks of ambient gases (including green house gases and ammonia) are key focus areas. The experimental work involves use of sophisticated mass spectrometric, gas chromatographic and spectroscopic techniques whereas the theoretical work involves use of chemical box models and chemical transport models such as the weather research and forecast model with online chemistry for such investigations. Our group set up and operates an online atmospheric chemistry observatory in the north-west Indo Gangetic Plain since August 2011. This facility makes continuous measurements of atmospheric composition and meteorology for more than 100 ambient air constituents and climate variables, and is the only one to be so equipped and maintained in India. This laboratory was the first in India to bring proton transfer reaction mass spectrometry (PTR-MS) technology to India for applications in atmospheric chemistry and environmental studies. The instrument is capable of quantifying highly reactive volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that are chemical tracers and precursors of aerosol and surface ozone in real-time at parts per trillion (ppt) level and has led to insightful new field studies in Mohali, Kathmandu and Delhi. The overall scientific approach combines field, laboratory and satellite data for studies relevant to atmospheric chemistry, air quality and climate over the Indian region, as per need. Some recent topics where our studies have contributed with strategic new knowledge and better process based understanding for critical environmental issues of our times include: Atmospheric chemistry impacts of agricultural crop residue burning on ambient atmospheric reactivity and air quality (e.g. Chandra and Sinha 2016, Kumar et al. 2016, Kumar et al., 2018) Assessing closure of budget of reactive gaseous emissions in pollution plumes and identification of missing reactive emissions (e.g. Kumar et al. 2018) Source apportionment of air pollutants using chemical fingerprinting of sources and real time ambient measurements (e.g. Sarkar et al., 2016, Sarkar et al. 2017, Kumar et al. 2020) Screening of plant species for biogenic reactive volatile compounds to assess those suitable for urban forestry and to study their climate and air quality impacts (e.g. Vettikat et al., 2020) Assessing the impact of the odd-even traffic rule like interventions on air quality (e.g. Chandra et al., 2018) Compilation of biogenic and anthropogenic emission inventories over India using measured emission factors and emission activity in collaboration with Dr. Baerbel Sinha’s group (e.g. Sharma et al., 2019) Development and validation of low cost reactive gas samplers (e.g. Chandra et al., 2017).

(i) Mr. M. Shabin (PhD STUDENT)

Shabin completed BS-MS dual degree in Chemistry from IISER Mohali in 2017. He joined the group for MS thesis in 2016 and has been a PhD scholar since January 2019. He is working on improving our understanding of the chemistry and sources and sinks of Criegee intermediates as oxidants and non-methane hydrocarbons in the atmosphere. He is an expert on measurements of hydrocarbons using the technique of thermal desorption gas chromatography equipped with flame ionization (TD-GC-FID) detectors.

Publications:
Shabin, M., Kumar, A., Hakkim, H., Rudich, Y., Sinha, V., Sources, sinks, and chemistry of Stabilized Criegee Intermediates in the Indo-Gangetic Plain, Science of the Total Environment, 896, 165281, 2023.

Kumar, A., Sinha, V., Shabin, M., Hakkim, H., Bonsang, B., and Gros, V.: Non-methane hydrocarbon (NMHC) fingerprints of major urban and agricultural emission sources for use in source apportionment studies, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 12133–12152, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-12133-2020, 2020.

Conference Contribution

Parkar, V., Datta, S., Hakkim, H., Kumar, A., Shabin, M., Sinha, V., and Sinha, B., Polyalthia longifolia (False Ashoka) is an ideal choice for better air quality at kerbside locations, EGU General Assembly, EGU2020-922, 2020.

Kumar, A., Sinha, V., Shabin, M., Yadav, P., Hakkim, H., Gros, V., Sarda-Esteve, R., Bonsang, B., and Baisnee, D., Speciation of 49 C2-C10 NMHCs during the post-harvest paddy residue fire emission period in the N.W. Indo Gangetic Plain using Thermal Desorption Gas Chromatography Flame

(ii) Mr. Raj Singh (PhD STUDENT)

Raj is working on sources and measurements of volatile organic compounds. He did his MSc in Environmental Science from Delhi University prior to joining IISER Mohali.

Publications:

Chaudhary, P., Singh, R., Shabin, M., Sharma, A., Bhatt, S., Sinha, V., Sinha, B. Replacing the greater evil: Can legalizing decentralized waste burning in improved devices reduce waste burning emissions for improved air quality?, Environmental Pollution, 311, 119897, 2022.

MS Students:

1) Mr. Gurmanjot Singh

He is working on source profiling of pollution sources and just started his thesis work in summer of 2023.

Project JRF Students:

1) Varkrisha M.

He is working on the sources and chemistry of VOCs as part of the RASAGAM project since 2023.

PhD STUDENTS

1) Name: Dr. Chinmoy Sarkar (Status: Completed; 2012-2015); Thesis Title: Measurement and source apportionment of reactive volatile organic compounds (VOC) in South Asia. After PhD was awarded the prestigious Kalam-Fulbright Climate postdoctoral fellowship and is now working at University of California, Davis, USA.

2) Name : Dr. Vinod Kumar (Status: Completed; 2013-2017); Thesis Title: Impact of Open Fires on Atmospheric Chemistry over the North-West Indo-Gangetic Plain Quantified Using Multi-Year OH Reactivity and Trace Gas MeasurementsAfter PhD was awarded the prestigious Alexander von-Humboldt postdoctoral fellowship and worked at the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry, Mainz, Germany in Satellite remote sensing division from 2018 to 2022 and has now joined the European Meteorological Satellite Agency on a permanent position as Research Scientist based in Germany.

3) Name: Dr. Prafulla Bogarrapu Chandra (Status: Completed; 2013-2018); Thesis Title: Measurements of reactive Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) and their emissions in agricultural and urban atmospheric environments of Indo-Gangetic Plain (IGP). After PhD was awarded a postdoctoral fellowship and worked at the University of Washington, Bothell, USA. for 2 years after which he joined as Assistant Professor (Chemistry department) at the Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning, Andhra Pradesh. India where he has been working since 2020.

4) Name: Dr. Abhishek Mishra (Status: Completed; 2015-2021): Thesis Title: Emissions, diurnal variability and modelling of biogenic volatile organic compounds: Currently working as Scientist in Bihar Mausam Seva Kendra, Patna, Planning and Development Department, Government of Bihar, India.

5) Name: Dr. Haseeb Hakkim (Status: Completed 2021): Thesis Title: Detection and quantification of trace gases in ambient air and vehicular exhaust: decoding the urban atmosphere; Currently working as Postdoctoral Scientist at IISER Mohali under RASAGAM project.

6) Name: Dr. Ashish Kumar (Status: Completed 2021); Thesis Title: NMHC source fingerprints, emissions, and ambient variability over North India quantified using thermal desorption-gas chromatography-flame ionization detection (TD-GC-FID). Currently working as Postdoctoral Scientist at Department of Chemistry, University of York, United Kingdom.

MS Theses Students
(i) Mr. Apurv Saxena (2011-2012).
(ii) Mr. Vinod Kumar (2012-2013).
(iii) Mr. Yash Maurya (2013-2014).
(iv) Ms. Harshita Pawar (2014-2015).
(v) Mr. Haseeb Hakkim (2014-2015).
(vi) Ms. Bharti Sohpaul (2016-2017).
(vii) Mr. Mohammed Shabin (2016-2017).
(viii) Mr. Abhishek Verma (2017-2018).
(ix) Mr. Kalik Kumar (2017-2018).
(x) Mr. Lejish Vettikat (2018-2019).
(xi) Ms Priya Yadav (2018-2019).
(xii) Ms Deepali Sehgal (2019-2020).
(xiii) Mr. Saurabh Ramteke (2019-2020).
(xiv) Ms Hiral Gandhi (2020-2021).
(xv) Mr Saurabh Annadate (2020-2021).

Postdocs:

1) Dr. Anita (worked with me on DST project during 2017-2018;
2) Dr. Praneeth (worked as Institute Postdoc at IISER Mohali with me during 2018 – 2019 and currently working as Assistant Professor in SRM University, Sikkim.
3) Dr. Hakkim (working currently as postdoc in MOES sponsored research project)

Publication metrics as on 17.08.2023:
h-index on Google Scholar: 33; Total citations: 4122; Last 5 years (2017-2022): 2801
Number of papers > 50 citations = 29; i-10 index= 62
h-index on SCOPUS: 32; and Total citations: 3017

Peer Reviewed Journal Publications
Year wise:2023: 6; 2022: 5; 2021: 10; 2020: 6; 2019: 4; 2018: 3; 2017: 5; 2016: 4;2015: 4;2014: 4; 2013: 2; 2012: 5; 2011: 2; 2010: 2; 2009: 3; 2008: 2; 2007: 2
Impact factor of the peer reviewed journals: Atmos. Chem. Phys = 6.13 (27 Papers); Env Sci Tech = 9.1 (4 Papers); Science of the Total Environment = 9.8 (5 Papers); Environmental Pollution = 9.9 (2 Papers); Chemosphere = 7.1 (3 Papers); Atmos. Meas. Tech = 4.2 (6 Papers); Int. J. Mass. Spec. = 1.66 (3 Papers); Acta Ethologica = 1.1 (1 Paper); Current Science = 0.76 (3 Papers); Scientific Reports = 4.01 (2 Papers); Environment International = 9.6 (1 Paper); Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres = 4.2 (1 Paper); Elementa: Science of the Anthropocene: 3.52 (2 Papers); Atmospheric Environment  = 4.01 (5 Papers); Geophysical Research Letters = 5.2 (1 Paper); Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society = 9.1 (1 Paper); Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America = 11.1 (1 Paper)

 

Asterix (*) indicates publications as the corresponding author

• Shabin, M., Kumar, A., Hakkim, H., Rudich, Y., Sinha, V.*, Sources, sinks, and chemistry of Stabilized Criegee Intermediates in the Indo-Gangetic Plain, Science of the Total Environment, 896, 165281, 2023.
• Pandey, D., Sharps, K., Simpson, D., Ramaswami, B., Cremades, R., Booth, N., Jamir, C., Buker, P., Sinha, V., Sinha, B., Emberson, L.D., Assessing the costs of ozone pollution in India for wheat producers, consumers, and government food welfare policies, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 120(32), pp. e2207081120, 2023.

• Ghude, S.D., Jenamani, R.K., Kulkarni, R., Wagh, S., Dhangar, N.G.,  Parde, A.N., Acharja, P., Lonkar, P.,Govardhan, G., Yadav, P., Vispute, A., Debnath, S., Lal, D.M., Bisht, D.S., Jena, C., Pawar, P.V., Dhankhar, S.S., Sinha, V., Chate, D.M., Safai, P.D., Nigam, N., Konwar, M., Hazra, A., Dharmaraj, T., Gopalkrishnan, V., Padmakumari, B., Gultepe, I., Biswas,M., Karipot, A.K., Prabhakaran, T., Nanjundiah, R.S., Rajeevan, M., WiFEX Walk into the Warm Fog over Indo-Gangetic Plain Region, Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society,  104(5), pp. E980–E1005, 2023.
• Khokhar, M.F., Anjum, M.S., Salam, A., Sinha, V., Naja, M., Kirpa, R., Tanimoto, H., Crawford, J.H., Mead, M.I., Recurring South Asian smog episodes: Call for regional cooperation and improved monitoring, Atmospheric Environment, 295, 119534, 2023.
• Mahandran, V., Hakkim, H., Sinha, V., Jain, M., Fruit scent as an indicator of ripeness status in ‘bat fruits’ to attract ‘fruit bats’: chemical basis of chiropterochory, Acta Ethologica, 26(1), pp. 1–11, 2023.
• Pawar, P. V., Ghude, S. D., Govardhan, G., Acharja, P., Kulkarni, R., Kumar, R., Sinha, B., Sinha, V., Jena, C., Gunwani, P., Adhya, T. K., Nemitz, E., and Sutton, M. A., Chloride (HCl ∕ Cl−) dominates inorganic aerosol formation from ammonia in the Indo-Gangetic Plain during winter: modeling and comparison with observations, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 41–59, 2023.
• Patnana, D.P., Chandra, B.P., Chaudhary, P., Sinha, B., Sinha, V., Optimized LC-MS/MS method for simultaneous determination of endocrine disruptors and PAHs bound to PM2.5: Sources and health risk in Indo-Gangetic Plain, Atmospheric Environment, 290, 119363, 2022.
• Chaudhary, P., Singh, R., Shabin, M., Sharma, A., Bhatt, S., Sinha, V., Sinha, B. Replacing the greater evil: Can legalizing decentralized waste burning in improved devices reduce waste burning emissions for improved air quality?, Environmental Pollution,  311, 119897, 2022.
• Meidan, D., Brown, S.S., Sinha, V., Rudich, Y., Nocturnal Atmospheric Oxidative Processes in the Indo-Gangetic Plain and Their Variation During the COVID-19 Lockdowns, Geophysical Research Letters, 49(7), e2021GL097472, 2022.
• Hakkim, H, Kumar, A., Sinha, B. and *Sinha, V., Air pollution scenario analyses of fleet replacement strategies to accomplish reductions in criteria air pollutants and 74 VOCs over India, Atmospheric Environment: X, Volume 13, 100150, 2022.
• Acharja, P., Ali, K., Ghude, S.D., Sinha, V., Sinha, B., Kulkarni, R., Gultepe, I., Rajeevan, M.N., Enhanced secondary aerosol formation driven by excess ammonia during fog episodes in Delhi, India, Chemosphere, 289, 133155, 2022.
• Kumar, V. and *Sinha, V., Season-wise analyses of VOCs, hydroxyl radicals and ozone formation chemistry over north-west India reveal isoprene and acetaldehyde as the most potent ozone precursors throughout the year, Chemosphere, 131184, 2021.
• Kumar, A., Hakkim, H., Sinha, B. and *Sinha, V., Gridded 1 km × 1 km emission inventory for paddy stubble burning emissions over north-west India constrained by measured emission factors of 77 VOCs and district-wise crop yield data, Science of The Total Environment, 789, 148064, 2021.
• Kumar, A., Hakkim, H., Ghude, S.D., and *Sinha, V., Probing wintertime air pollution sources in the Indo-Gangetic Plain through 52 hydrocarbons measured rarely at Delhi & Mohali, Science of the Total Environment, 801, 149711, 2021.
• Hakkim, H., Kumar, A., Annadate, S., Sinha, B., *Sinha, V., RTEII: A new high-resolution (0.1° × 0.1°) road transport emission inventory for India of 74 speciated NMVOCs, CO, NOx, NH3, CH4, CO2, PM2.5 reveals massive overestimation of NOx and CO and missing nitromethane emissions by existing inventories, Atmospheric Environment: X, 11, 100118, 2021.

• Mishra, A.K., Sinha, B., Kumar, R., Barth, M., Hakkim, H., Kumar, V., Kumar, A., Datta, S., Guenther, A. and *Sinha, V., Cropland trees need to be included for accurate model simulations of land-atmosphere heat fluxes, temperature, boundary layer height, and ozone, Science of The Total Environment, Vol 751, 141728, 2021.
• Puri, G.D., Meena, S.C., Sinha, V., Hazarika, A., Hakkim, H., Sharma, A., Kamal K., Dogra, N., Quantitative assessment of nitrous oxide levels in room air of operation theaters and recovery area: An observational study, Indian Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 25(3), 147–151, 2021.
• Wang, W., Qi, J., Zhou, J., Yuan, B., Peng, Y., Wang, S., Yang, S., Williams, J., Sinha, V., and Shao, M.: The improved comparative reactivity method (ICRM): measurements of OH reactivity under high-NOx conditions in ambient air, Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 2285–2298, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-2285-2021, 2021.
• De Smedt, I., Pinardi, G., Vigouroux, C., Compernolle, S., Bais, A., Benavent, N., Boersma, F., Chan, K.-L., Donner, S., Eichmann, K.-U., Hedelt, P., Hendrick, F., Irie, H., Kumar, V., Lambert, J.-C., Langerock, B., Lerot, C., Liu, C., Loyola, D., Piters, A., Richter, A., Rivera Cárdenas, C. I., Romahn, F., Ryan, R. G., Sinha, V., Theys, N., Vlietinck, J., Wagner, T., Wang, T., Yu, H., and Van Roozendael, M.: Comparative assessment of TROPOMI and OMI formaldehyde observations against MAX-DOAS network column measurements, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21(16), 12561–12593, 2021.
• Lerot, C., Hendrick, F., Van Roozendael, M., Alvarado, L. M. A., Richter, A., De Smedt, I., Theys, N., Vlietinck, J., Yu, H., Van Gent, J., Stavrakou, T., Müller, J.-F., Valks, P., Loyola, D., Irie, H., Kumar, V., Wagner, T., Schreier, S. F., Sinha, V., Wang, T., Wang, P., and Retscher, C.: Glyoxal tropospheric column retrievals from TROPOMI, multi-satellite intercomparison and ground-based validation, Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14(12), 7775–7807, 2021.
• Khaiwal, R., Singh, T., Sinha, V., Sinha, B., Paul, S., Attri, S. D. and Mor, S., Appraisal of regional haze event and its relationship with PM2.5 concentration, crop residue burning and meteorology in Chandigarh, India, Chemosphere, Vol 273, 128562, 2021.
• Mishra, A.K. and *Sinha, V., Emission drivers and variability of ambient isoprene, formaldehyde and acetaldehyde in north-west India during monsoon season, Environmental Pollution, Vol. 267, 115538, 2020.
• Vettikkat, L., *Sinha, V., Datta, S., Kumar, A., Hakkim, H., Yadav, P., and Sinha, B., Significant emissions of dimethyl sulfide and monoterpenes by big-leaf mahogany trees: discovery of a missing dimethyl sulfide source to the atmospheric environment, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 375–389, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-375-2020, 2020.
• Kumar, A., *Sinha, V., Shabin, M., Hakkim, H., Bonsang, B., and Gros, V.: Non-methane hydrocarbon (NMHC) fingerprints of major urban and agricultural emission sources for use in source apportionment studies, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 12133–12152, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-12133-2020, 2020.
• Kumar, V., Beirle, S., Dörner, S., Mishra, A. K., Donner, S., Wang, Y., Sinha, V., and Wagner, T.: Long-term MAX-DOAS measurements of NO2, HCHO, and aerosols and evaluation of corresponding satellite data products over Mohali in the Indo-Gangetic Plain, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 14183–14235, 2020.
• Kulkarni,S.H., Ghude, S.D., Jena, C., Karumuri, R.K., Sinha, B., Sinha, V., Kumar, R., Soni, V.K., Khare, M., How Much Does Large-Scale Crop Residue Burning Affect the Air Quality in Delhi?, Environmental Science & Technology, DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.0c00329, 2020.
• Kreher, K., Van Roozendael, M., Hendrick, F., Apituley, A., Dimitropoulou, E., Frieß, U., Richter, A., Wagner, T., Abuhassan, N., Ang, L., Anguas, M., Bais, A., Benavent, N., Bösch, T., Bognar, K., Borovski, A., Bruchkouski, I., Cede, A., Chan, K. L., Donner, S., Drosoglou, T., Fayt, C., Finkenzeller, H., Garcia-Nieto, D., Gielen, C., Gómez-Martín, L., Hao, N., Herman, J. R., Hermans, C., Hoque, S., Irie, H., Jin, J., Johnston, P., Khayyam Butt, J., Khokhar, F., Koenig, T. K., Kuhn, J., Kumar, V., Lampel, J., Liu, C., Ma, J., Merlaud, A., Mishra, A. K., Müller, M., Navarro-Comas, M., Ostendorf, M., Pazmino, A., Peters, E., Pinardi, G., Pinharanda, M., Piters, A., Platt, U., Postylyakov, O., Prados-Roman, C., Puentedura, O., Querel, R., Saiz-Lopez, A., Schönhardt, A., Schreier, S. F., Seyler, A., Sinha, V., Spinei, E., Strong, K., Tack, F., Tian, X., Tiefengraber, M., Tirpitz, J.-L., van Gent, J., Volkamer, R., Vrekoussis, M., Wang, S., Wang, Z., Wenig, M., Wittrock, F., Xie, P. H., Xu, J., Yela, M., Zhang, C., and Zhao, X.: Intercomparison of NO2, O4, O3 and HCHO slant column measurements by MAX-DOAS and zenith-sky UV-Visible spectrometers during the CINDI-2 campaign, Atmos. Meas. Tech., 13(5), 2169-2208, 2020.
• Hakkim, H., *Sinha, V., Chandra, B. P., Kumar, A., Mishra, A. K., Sinha, B., Sharma, G., Pawara, H., Sohpaul, B., Ghude, S. D.,  Pithani, P., Kulkarni, R., Jenamani, R. K., Rajeevan, M., Volatile organic compound measurements point to fog-induced biomass burning feedback to air quality in the megacity of Delhi, Science of The Total Environment, 689, 295-305, 2019.
• David, L. M., Ravishankara, A. R., Brewer, J.F., Sauvage, B., Thouret, T., Venkataramani, S. and Sinha, V., Tropospheric ozone over the Indian subcontinent from 2000 to 2015: Data set and simulation using GEOS-Chem chemical transport model, Atmospheric Environment, 219, 117039, 2019.
• Pallavi, Sinha, B. and Sinha, V., Source apportionment of volatile organic compounds in the north-west Indo-Gangetic Plain using positive matrix factorisation model, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 15467–15482, 2019.
• Sharma, G., Sinha, B.,Pallavi, Hakkim, H., Chandra, B. P.,Kumar, A. and Sinha, V., Gridded emissions of CO, NOx, SO2, CO2, NH3, HCl, CH4, PM2.5, PM10, BC and NMVOC from open municipal waste burning in India, Environ. Sci. Technol., 53, 9, 4765-4774, 2019.
• Mills, G., Pleijel, H., Malley, C. S., Sinha, B., Cooper, O. R., Schultz, M. G., Neufeld, H. S., Simpson, D., Sharps, K., Feng, Z., Gerosa, G., Harmens, H., Kobayashi, K., Saxena, P., Paoletti, E., Sinha, V. and Xu, X., Tropospheric Ozone Assessment Report: Present-day tropospheric ozone distribution and trends relevant to vegetation, Elem Sci Anth., 6, 47, 2018.
• Chandra, B.P., *Sinha, V., Hakkim, H., Kumar, A., Pawar, H., Mishra, A.K., Sharma, G., Pallavi, Garg, S., Ghude, S.D.,  Chate, D.M., Prakash P., Kulkarni, R., Jenamani, R.K., and Rajeevan, M.: Odd-even traffic rule implementation during winter 2016 in Delhi did not reduce traffic emissions of VOCs, carbon dioxide, methane and carbon monoxide, Current Science, 114, 6, 1318-1325, 2018
• Kumar, V., Chandra, B. P. , *Sinha, V., Large unexplained suite of chemically reactive compounds present in ambient air due to biomass fires, Scientific Reports, 8, 626, 2018.
• Chandra, B. P. , *Sinha, V., Hakkim, H. and Sinha, B., Storage stability studies and field application of low cost glass flasks for analyses of thirteen ambient VOCs using proton transfer reaction mass spectrometry, International Journal of Mass Spectrometry, 419, 11-19, 2017.
•  Novelli, A., Hens, K., Ernest, C. T., Martinez, M., Nölscher, A. C., Sinha, V., Paasonen, P., Petäjä, T., Sipilä, M., Elste, T., Plass-Dülmer, C., Phillips, G. J., Kubistin, D., Williams, J., Jos Lelieveld, V. and Harder, H, Identifying Criegee intermediates as potential oxidants in the troposphere, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 7807-7826, 2017.
•  Sarkar, C., *Sinha, V., Sinha, B., Panday, A. K., Rupakheti, M. and Lawrence, M. G., Source apportionment of NMVOCs in the Kathmandu Valley during the SusKat-ABC international field campaign using positive matrix factorization, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 8129-8156, 2017.
• Ghude, S. D., Bhat, G. S., Prabhakaran, T., Jenamani, R. K., Chate, D. M., Safai, P. D., Karipot, A. K., Konwar M., Pithani, P., Sinha, V., Rao, P. S. P., Dixit, S. A., Tiwari, S., Todekar, K., Varpe, S., Srivastava, A. K., Bisht, D. S., Murugavel, P., Ali, K., Mina, U., Dharua, M., Jaya Rao, Y., Padmakumari, B., Hazra, A., Nigam, N., Shende, U., Lal, D. M., Chandra, B. P., Mishra, A. K., Kumar, A., Hakkim, H., Pawar, H., Acharja, P., Kulkarni, R., Subharthi, C., Balaji, B., Varghese, M., Bera, S. and Rajeevan, M., Winter fog experiment over the Indo-Gangetic plains of India, Current Science, 112, 4, 2017.
• Schultz, M. G., Schröder, S., Lyapina, O., Cooper, O. R., Galbally, I., Petropavlovskikh, I.,  Schneidemesser5, E. R., Tanimoto, H., Elshorbany, Y.,  Naja9, M., Seguel, R. J., Dauert, U., Eckhardt, P., Feigenspan, S., Fiebig, M., Hjellbrekke, A. G., Hong, Y. D., Kjeld, P. C., Koide, H., Lear, G., Tarasick, D., Ueno, M., Wallasch, M.,  Baumgardner, D., Chuang, M. D., Gillett, R., Lee, M., Molloy, S., Moolla, R., Wang, T., Sharps, K., Adame, J. A., Ancellet, G., Apadula, F., Artaxo, P., Barlasina, M. E., Bogucka30, M., Bonasoni, P., Chang, L., Colomb, A., Cuevas-Agulló, A., Cupeiro, M., Degorska, A., Ding, A., Fröhlich, M., Frolov, M., Gadhavi, H., Gheusi, F., Gilge, S., Gonzalez, M. Y., Gros, V., Hamad, S. H., Helmig, D., Henriques, D., Hermansen, O., Holla, R., Hueber, J., Im, U., Jaffe, D. A., Komala, N., Kubistin, D., Lam, KS, Laurila, T., Lee, H., Levy, I., Mazzoleni, C., Mazzoleni, L., R., McClure-Begley, A., Mohamad, M., Murovec, M.,   Navarro-Comas, M., Nicodim, F., Parrish, D., Read, K. A., Reid, N., Ries, L., Saxena, P., Schwab, J. J., Scorgie, V., Senik, I., Simmonds, P., Sinha, V., Skorokhod, A. I., Spain, G., Spangl, W., Spoor, R., Springston, S. R., Steer, K., Steinbacher, M., Suharguniyawan, E., Torre, P., Trickl, T., Weili, L., Weller, R., Xiaobin, X., Xue, L.  and Zhiqiang, M., Tropospheric Ozone Assessment Report: Database and Metrics Data of Global Surface Ozone Observations, Elem Sci Anth., 5, 58, 2017.
• Kumar, V., Sarkar, C., and *Sinha, V., Influence of post harvest crop residue fires on surface ozone mixing ratios in the N.W. IGP analyzed using two years of continuous in-situ trace gas measurements, Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, 121, 7, 2016.
• Sarkar, C.,*Sinha, V., Kumar, V., Rupakheti, M., Panday, A., Mahata, K. S., Rupakheti, D., Kathayat, B., and Lawrence, M. G., Overview of VOC emissions and chemistry from PTR-TOF-MS measurements during the SusKat-ABC campaign: high acetaldehyde, isoprene and isocyanic acid in wintertime air of the Kathmandu Valley, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 3979-4003, 2016.
• Chandra, B. P. and*Sinha, V., Contribution of post-harvest agricultural paddy residue fires in the N.W. Indo-Gangetic Plain to ambient carcinogenic benzenoids, toxic isocyanic acid and carbon monoxide, Environment International 88, 187-197, 2016.
• Garg, S., Chandra, B., P., Sinha, V.,  Sarda-Esteve, R., Gros, V., and Sinha, B., Limitation of the Use of the Absorption Angstrom Exponent for Source Apportionment of Equivalent Black Carbon: a Case Study from the North West Indo-Gangetic Plain, Environmental Science & Technology, 50(2), 814–824, 2016.
• Hansen, R. F., Blocquet, M., Schoemaecker, C., Léonardis, T., Locoge, N., Fittschen, C., Hanoune, B., Stevens, P. S., Sinha, V., and Dusanter, S.: Intercomparison of the comparative reactivity method (CRM) and pump-probe technique for measuring total OH reactivity in an urban environment, Atmos. Meas. Tech., 8, 4243-4264, 2015.
• Sinha, B., Sangwan, K. S., Maurya, Y., Kumar, V., Sarkar, C., Chandra, B., P. and Sinha, V., Assessment of crop yield losses in Punjab and Haryana using two years of continuous in-situ ozone measurements, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 15, 9555-9576, 2015.
• Zannoni, N., Dusanter, S., Gros, V., Sarda Esteve, R., Michoud, V., Sinha, V., Locoge, N., and Bonsang, B.: Intercomparison of two comparative reactivity method instruments inf the Mediterranean basin during summer 2013, Atmos. Meas. Tech., 8, 3851-3865, doi:10.5194/amt-8-3851-2015, 2015.
• Misztal, P. K., Hewitt, C. N., Wildt, J., Blande, J. D., Eller, A. S. D., Fares, S., Gentner, D. R., Gilman, J. B., Graus, M., Greenberg, J., Guenther, A. B., Hansel, A., Harley, P., Huang, M., Jardine, K., Karl, T., Kaser, L., Keutsch, F. N., Kiendler-Scharr, A., Kleist, E., Lerner, B. M., Li, T., Mak, J., Nölscher, A. C., Schnitzhofer, R., Sinha, V., Thornton, B., Warneke, C., Wegener, F., Werner, C., Williams, J., Worton, D. R., Yassaa, N., and Goldstein, A. H.: Atmospheric benzenoid emissions from plants rival those from fossil fuels, Sci. Rep., 5, 2015.
• Kumar, V., *Sinha, V., VOC-OHM: A new technique for rapid measurements of ambient total OH reactivity and volatile organic compounds using a single proton transfer reaction mass spectrometer, Int. J. of Mass Spectrom., 374, 55-63, 2014.
• Adame, J. A., Martinez, M., Sorribas, M., Hidalgo, P. J., Harder, H., Diesch, J.-M., Drewnick, F., Song, W., Williams, J., Sinha, V., Hernandez-Ceballos, M. A.,Vila-Guerau de Arellano, J., Sander, R., Hosaynali-Beygi, Z., Fischer, H., Lelieveld, J., and De la Morena, B.: Meteorology during the DOMINO campaign and its connection with trace gases and aerosols, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 14, 2325-2342, 2014.
• *Sinha,V., Kumar,V., and Sarkar,C.: Chemical composition of pre-monsoon air in the Indo–Gangetic Plain measured using a new PTR-MS and air quality facility: high surface ozone and strong influence of biomass burning, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 14, 5921-5941, 2014.
•  Hens, K., Novelli, A., Martinez, M., Auld, J., Axinte, R., Bohn, B., Fischer, H., Keronen, P., Kubistin, D., Nölscher, A. C., Oswald, R., Paasonen, P., Petäjä, T., Regelin, E., Sander, R., Sinha, V., Sipilä, M., Taraborrelli, D., Tatum Ernest, C., Williams, J., Lelieveld, J., and Harder, H.: Observation and modelling of HOx radicals in a boreal forest, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 14, 8723-8747, 2014.
• Sarkar C., Kumar, V., *Sinha, V: Massive emissions of carcinogenic benzenoids from paddy residue burning in North India, Current Science, Volume 104 (12) , pp. 1703-1709, 2013.
•  Andrés-Hernández, M. D., Kartal, D., Crowley, J. N., Sinha, V., Regelin, E., Martínez-Harder, M., Nenakhov, V., Williams, J., Harder, H., Bozem, H., Song, W., Thieser, J., Tang, M. J., Hosaynali Beigi, Z., and Burrows, J. P.: Diel peroxy radicals in a semi-industrial coastal area: nighttime formation of free radicals, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 13, 5731-5749, doi:10.5194/acp-13-5731-2013, 2013.
• *Sinha, V., Williams, J., Diesch, J. M., Drewnick, F., Martinez, M., Harder, H., Regelin, E., Kubistin, D., Bozem, H., Hosaynali-Beygi, Z., Fischer, H., Andrés-Hernández, M. D., Kartal, D., Adame, J. A., and Lelieveld, J.: Constraints on instantaneous ozone production rates and regimes during DOMINO derived using in-situ OH reactivity measurements, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 12, 7269-7283, 2012.
•  Nölscher, A. C., Sinha, V., Bockisch, S., Klüpfel, T., and Williams, J.: Total OH reactivity measurements using a new fast Gas Chromatographic Photo-Ionization Detector (GC-PID), Atmos. Meas. Tech., 5, 2981-2992, doi:10.5194/amt-5-2981-2012, 2012.
•  Nölscher, A.C., Williams, J., Sinha, V., Custer, T., Song, W., Johnson, A. M., Axinte, R., Bozem, H., Fischer, H., Pouvesle, N., Phillips, G., Crowley, J. N., Rantala, P., Rinne, J., Kulmala, M., Gonzales, D., Valverde-Canossa, J., Vogel, A., Hoffmann, T., Ouwersloot, H. G., Vilà-Guerau de Arellano, J., and Lelieveld, J.: Summertime total OH reactivity measurements from boreal forest during HUMPPA-COPEC 2010, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 12, 8257-8270, 2012.
•  Dolgorouky, C., Gros, V., Sarda-Esteve, R., Sinha, V., Williams, J., Marchand, N., Sauvage, S., Poulain, L., Sciare, J., and Bonsang, B.: Total OH reactivity measurements in Paris during the 2010 MEGAPOLI winter campaign, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 12, 9593-9612, 2012.
• van Stratum, B. J. H., Vilà-Guerau de Arellano, J., Ouwersloot, H. G., van den Dries, K., van Laar, T. W., Martinez, M., Lelieveld, J., Diesch, J.-M., Drewnick, F., Fischer, H., Hosaynali Beygi, Z., Harder, H., Regelin, E., Sinha, V., Adame, J. A., Sörgel, M., Sander, R., Bozem, H., Song, W., Williams, J., and Yassaa, N.: Case study of the diurnal variability of chemically active species with respect to boundary layer dynamics during DOMINO, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 12, 5329-5341, doi:10.5194/acp-12-5329-2012, 2012.
• Williams, J., Crowley, J., Fischer, H., Harder, H., Martinez, M., Petäjä, T., Rinne, J., Bäck, J., Boy, M., Dal Maso, M., Hakala, J., Kajos, M., Keronen, P., Rantala, P., Aalto, J., Aaltonen, H., Paatero, J., Vesala, T., Hakola, H., Levula, J., Pohja, T., Herrmann, F., Auld, J., Mesarchaki, E., Song, W., Yassaa, N., Nölscher, A., Johnson, A. M., Custer, T., Sinha, V., Thieser, J., Pouvesle, N., Taraborrelli, D., Tang, M. J., Bozem, H., Hosaynali-Beygi, Z., Axinte, R., Oswald, R., Novelli, A., Kubistin, D., Hens, K., Javed, U., Trawny, K., Breitenberger, C., Hidalgo, P. J., Ebben, C. J., Geiger, F. M., Corrigan, A. L., Russell, L. M., Ouwersloot, H. G., Vilà-Guerau de Arellano, J., Ganzeveld, L., Vogel, A., Beck, M., Bayerle, A., Kampf, C. J., Bertelmann, M., Köllner, F., Hoffmann, T., Valverde, J., González, D., Riekkola, M.-L., Kulmala, M., and Lelieveld, J.: The summertime Boreal forest field measurement intensive (HUMPPA-COPEC-2010): an overview of meteorological and chemical influences, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 11, 10599-10618, 2011.
• Mogensen, D., Smolander, S., Sogachev, A., Zhou, L., Sinha, V., Guenther, A., Williams, J., Nieminen, T., Kajos, M. K., Rinne, J., Kulmala, M., and Boy, M.: Modelling atmospheric OH-reactivity in a boreal forest ecosystem, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 11, 9709-9719, 2011.
• *Sinha, V., Williams, J., Lelieveld, J., Ruuskanen, T., Kajos, M., Patokoski, J., Hellen, H., Hakola, H, Morgensen, D., Boy, M., Rinne, J., Kulmala, M., OH reactivity measurements within a boreal forest: Evidence for unknown reactive emissions, Environmental Science and Technology, doi: 10.1021/es101780b, 2010.

 

• Millet, D.B., Guenther, A., Siegel, A., Nelson, B., Singh, H.B., de Gouw, J., Warneke, C., Williams, J., Eerdekens, G., Sinha, V., Karl, T., Flocke, F., Apel, E., Riemer, D., Palmer, P., Barkley,M., Global atmospheric budget of acetaldehyde: 3D model analysis and constraints from in-situ and satellite observations, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 10, 3405-3425, 2010.
• *Sinha, V., T. G. Custer, T. Kluepfel, and J. Williams: The effect of relative humidity on the detection of pyrrole by PTR-MS for OH reactivity measurements. Int. J. Mass Spectrom., 282, 108, 2009.
• Eerdekens, G., Yassaa, N., Sinha,V., Aalto, P., Aufmhofff, H., Arnold, F., Fiedler, Kulmala, M., Williams, J., VOC measurements within a boreal forest during spring 2005: on the occurrence of elevated monoterpene concentrations during night time intense particle concentration events, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 9, 8331–8350, 2009.
• Eerdekens, G., Ganzeveld, L. , de Arellano, J., Klüpfel,T., Sinha, V., Yassaa, N., Williams, J., Harder, H., Kubistin, D., Martinez M., Lelieveld J.:  Flux estimates of isoprene, methanol and acetone from airborne PTR-MS measurements over the tropical rainforest during the GABRIEL 2005 campaign. Atmos. Chem. Phys., 9, 4207–4227, 2009.
• Sinha, V., Williams, J., Crowley, J., Lelieveld J., The Comparative Reactivity Method – A new tool to measure the total OH Reactivity of ambient air: Atmos. Chem. Phys., 8, 2213-2227, 2008.
• Ganzeveld, L., Eerdekens, G., Feig, G.,  Fischer, H., Harder, H., Königstedt, R., Kubistin, D., Martinez, M., Meixner, F., Scheeren, H., Sinha, V., Taraborrelli, D., Williams, J., de Arellano, J., Lelieveld, J., Surface and Boundary Layer Exchanges of Volatile Organic Compounds, Nitrogen Oxides and Ozone during the GABRIEL Campaign. Atmos. Chem. Phys., 8, 6223 – 6243, 2008.
• Sinha, V., Williams, J., Crutzen P.J., Lelieveld J., Methane emissions from boreal and tropical forest ecosystems derived from in-situ measurements: Atmos. Chem. Phys. Discuss., 7, 14001-14039, 2007.
• Sinha, V., Williams, J., Meyerhofer, M., Riebesell, U., Paulino, A. I., and Larsen, A., Air-sea fluxes of methanol, acetone, acetaldehyde, isoprene and DMS from a Norwegian fjord following a phytoplankton bloom in a mesocosm experiment: Atmos. Chem. Phys., 7, 739-755, 2007.

• IDC208 Introduction to Environmental Sciences (UG Level)
• EES406 Introduction to Atmospheric and Climate Sciences
• IDC632 Introduction to Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics
• IDC633 Introduction to Environmental Sciences (PG level)
• CHM 212 Core Chemistry Laboratory Course as Co-Instructor
• IDC635 Aerosol Measurement Techniques
• IDC 305 Selected Analytical Techniques IDC 602 Seminar course

BLUE EYE IN THE SKY AT IISER MOHALI



“Blue” eye in the IISER Mohali campus sky: The state of the art atmospheric chemistry and air quality facility (sampling inlets are on extreme left the facility is on the extreme right)

India’s first Proton Transfer Reaction Mass Spectrometer (PTR-MS):



IISER Mohali has set up India’s first integrated proton transfer reaction mass spectrometer (PTR-MS) cum ambient air quality facility. This facility will enable frontier research in the area of atmospheric chemistry, climate and air quality by comprehensive long term chemical characterization of ambient air with high time resolution at a site in the northern Indo Gangetic plain.

One of the instruments in the facility capable of measuring volatile organic compounds at parts per trillion level sensitivity in less than a second.

The meteorology, topography and emission pattern in the densely populated Indo Gangetic plain is very different from the rest of the world and provides a unique “tropospheric reactor” for atmospheric chemistry, air quality and climate interaction investigations. The causal relationship of chemical emissions on climate can be summarily represented as follows:

Emissions into the atmosphere => Impacts composition of atmosphere directly, and indirectly by oxidation to aerosol and carbon dioxide (in multiple steps) => Impacts radiation, activity of cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) and chemistry of the atmosphere => Impacts health and climate
Through this state of the art measurement facility, in addition to regular monitoring of primary air pollutants such as ozone, nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide , sulphur dioxide, respirable suspended particulate matter (PM 2.5) and suspended particulate matter (PM 10) at high temporal resolution (1 minute), simultaneous high time resolution measurements (few seconds) of a suite of ambient volatile organic compounds that act as the precursors of ozone and secondary organic aerosol will also be available for the first time in India, enabling characterization of in-situ instantaneous ozone production rates and fine mode aerosol (PM 2.5) formation potential to be constrained. Although air quality stations in India have monitored the criteria air pollutants, unavailability of sophisticated instruments such as PTR-MS had prevented quantification of the most reactive precursors of ozone and secondary organic aerosol (e.g. isoprene, acetaldehyde, styrene, trimethyl benzene) that are known to be present in urban ambient air. The facility has started compiling a dataset for ambient levels of harmful organic gases such as acetonitrile for the first time in India. As state of the art research is one of the primary objectives, for criteria air pollutants the recommendations of the Ministry of Environment and Forests, India in respect of specified analytical techniques has been followed and careful quality assurance is ensured through regular calibrations and maintenance checks.

This facility will serve multiple purposes, namely 1) help address uncertainties in atmospheric chemistry, air quality and climate science from such an important region of the world through quality assured long term high time resolution research data and its analysis 2) enthusing students to take up research in a high priority research area of the nation through world class training on sophisticated analytical instrumentation 3) serving the local community by providing information about the daily regional air quality and exceedance levels of criteria air pollutants.

A Snap Shot of One Day (02.11.2011) of Measurements Showing Diel Profiles of Primary Air Pollutants and Select Volatile Organic Compounds Present in the Ambient Air of IISER Mohali

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