Geosciences Events

Frontiers in Geosciences Research Conference - 2025

Frontiers in Geosciences Research Conference (FGRC) 2025. Physical Research Laboratory (PRL), Ahmedabad, successfully hosted the Frontiers in Geosciences Research Conference (FGRC) 2025 from February 5-7, 2025, bringing together leading scientists, early-career researchers, and students to discuss cutting-edge advancements and future directions in geosciences research in India. The conference served as a vibrant platform for knowledge exchange, fostering collaborations and pushing the frontiers of scientific inquiry. FGRC 2025 witnessed the participation of approximately 250 researchers from 76 institutes and universities across India, ranging from young master's and Ph.D. students to distinguished senior scientists.The conference featured engaging keynote lectures, invited talks, and contributed presentations, covering a wide spectrum of geoscience disciplines, including solid earth studies, climate change, marine and terrestrial biogeochemistry, aerosol chemistry, hydrological sciences, oceanography, earth surface processes, and modern modeling and analytical techniques. The Secretary, Department of Space and Chairman, ISRO extended his message and best wishes for the success of the event, while PRL’s Council Chair delivered an inaugural address online, commending the initiative and suggesting further improvements. The conference was formally inaugurated by Prof. Anil Bhardwaj, who emphasized PRL’s contributions to national and global geoscience research and highlighted the growing significance of interdisciplinary approaches. Renowned climate scientist Prof. B. N. Goswami delivered the keynote address, offering insightful perspectives on the present and future changes in the Indian monsoon system, their potential consequences, and the necessary actions for scientists and policymakers.The technical sessions covered emerging research themes, with presentations from both senior and early-career researchers. The event also provided a valuable platform for young researchers to showcase their work, with the best papers receiving awards. FGRC 2025 at PRL was a resounding success, reaffirming the institute’s commitment to scientific excellence and interdisciplinary geoscience research. Future FGRC events will continue to expand the horizons of geoscientific exploration and innovation, further strengthening India's position in global geoscience research.

Frontiers in Geosciences Research Conference (FGRC) 2025. Physical Research Laboratory (PRL), Ahmedabad, successfully hosted the Frontiers in Geosciences Research Conference (FGRC) 2025 from February 5-7, 2025, bringing together leading scientists, early-career researchers, and students to discuss cutting-edge advancements and future directions in geosciences research in India. The conference served as a vibrant platform for knowledge exchange, fostering collaborations and pushing the frontiers of scientific inquiry. FGRC 2025 witnessed the participation of approximately 250 researchers from 76 institutes and universities across India, ranging from young master's and Ph.D. students to distinguished senior scientists. The conference featured engaging keynote lectures, invited talks, and contributed presentations, covering a wide spectrum of geoscience disciplines, including solid earth studies, climate change, marine and terrestrial biogeochemistry, aerosol chemistry, hydrological sciences, oceanography, earth surface processes, and modern modeling and analytical techniques. The Secretary, Department of Space and Chairman, ISRO extended his message and best wishes for the success of the event, while PRL’s Council Chair delivered an inaugural address online, commending the initiative and suggesting further improvements. The conference was formally inaugurated by Prof. Anil Bhardwaj, who emphasized PRL’s contributions to national and global geoscience research and highlighted the growing significance of interdisciplinary approaches. Renowned climate scientist Prof. B. N. Goswami delivered the keynote address, offering insightful perspectives on the present and future changes in the Indian monsoon system, their potential consequences, and the necessary actions for scientists and policymakers. The technical sessions covered emerging research themes, with presentations from both senior and early-career researchers. The event also provided a valuable platform for young researchers to showcase their work, with the best papers receiving awards. FGRC 2025 at PRL was a resounding success, reaffirming the institute’s commitment to scientific excellence and interdisciplinary geoscience research. Future FGRC events will continue to expand the horizons of geoscientific exploration and innovation, further strengthening India's position in global geoscience research.

Short Course on Isotopes in Nature (SCIN-2024), 7 – 9 March 2024. A three-day workshop on “Short Course on Isotopes in Nature” (SCIN-2024) was organized by the Geosciences Division of Physical Research Laboratory from 7 – 9 March 2024. The workshop was specifically designed for students and researchers in their early research careers (MSc and early PhD). The short course included various lectures on the basics of applications of isotopes in probing various earth system processes and their timings. The major objective of the SCIN-2024 was to bring these students and early-career researchers on a common platform to introduce them to various applications of stable and radioisotopes in earth science studies. The course covered all aspects of isotope geochemistry, from very basic principles to advanced applications. The course content included basics of elements/isotopes, geochronology, radiogenic and stable isotope geochemistry, cosmogenic radionuclides, Nucleosynthetic processes, and data analysis in Earth Sciences. Visits to various analytical facilities of the Geosciences Division were also arranged for the course participants as a part of the SCIN-2024. In total, PRL hosted 50 MSc and PhD students from various universities and institutes from different parts of India during SCIN-2024.

Frontiers in Geosciences Research Conference (FGRC-2023). The 2nd Frontiers in Geosciences Research Conference (FGRC-2023) was conducted at PRL from 1-3 February, 2023. The primary objectives of the conference was to bring the Geoscience community of India on a common platform for dissemination of recent scientific findings, planning the future course of Geosciences research in India, enhancing collaborations and knowledge exchange and jointly addressing societal issues using modern technology. The conference witnessed an overwhelming participation of four generations of Geoscience researchers from all over India. In this conference there were more than 300 participants from nearly 88 different universities and institutes, which included research scholars, post-doctoral fellows, and scientists. They all presented their work with great enthusiasm and interacted with each other to develop future collaborations. The inaugural session was graced by Shri A. S. Kiran Kumar (Chairman PRL Council of Management) along with Prof. Anil Bhardwaj (Director, PRL). FGRC-2023 started with a plenary lecture by Dr. V.K. Gahalaut (CSIR-NGRI). Additionally, there were invited talks on various topics by eminent scientists. The sessions covered various aspects of Geoscience research ranging from the core of the Earth to atmosphere on different spatial and temporal scales. The key highlights of the major themes are :• Solid Earth Geochemistry and Geochronology - Isotopic and geochemical studies of Bundelkhand and Bastar cratons, peridotites from Ladakh region, origin and migration of Paleo-Brahmaputra, early geodynamic processes and oxidation events. • Marine and Terrestrial Biogeochemistry + Oceanographic Processes - Ventilation of the Oxygen Minimum Zone and dissolved manganese distribution in the Arabian Sea, Carbon sequestration efficiency of ureolytic bacteria using Stable isotopes, soil carbon dynamics, preservation of soil organic carbon using Machine Learning approach. • Climate of the Past, Present and Future - results covering time range from modern to the geological past (Ediacaran-Cambrian transition interval), various archives viz. limestone, marine, and lacustrine sediment cores and sequences, soil sediments, and speleothems. Among computational techniques, down-scaling of the data using machine learning and remote sensing of tree species was presented. • Hydrogeology and Hydrometeorology - Submarine groundwater discharge, isotopic variability of precipitations, cold and thermal springs, landslide hazard zonation, Sr isotopes and Arsenic contamination in groundwater, groundwater dynamics, subsurface dielectric properties, high-mountain hydrology and atmospheric vapour in Aravalli. • Land, Ocean, Atmosphere Interactions - Vapour isotopes during typhoons, paleocenography during late quaternary, nutrient supply in north Indian ocean, black carbon in Antarctica, Tsunami early warning, surface heat flux during earthquakes, himalayan weathering, trace gas and ozone chemistry and sulphur isotope studies. Six students won best presentation award in different themes; we extend our congratulations to them. The winners are: • Abhishek Kumar Pandey from IISER Bhopal - Solid Earth Geochemistry and Geochronology • Deepak Kumar Rai from PRL Ahmedabad- Marine and Terrestrial Biogeochemistry • Tapas Kumar Mishra from CSIR-NIO Goa - Oceanographic Processes • Sunil Kumar Das from IIT Bhubaneswar - Climate of the Past, Present, and Future • Swagatika Chakra from PRL Ahmedabad- Hydrogeology and Hydrometerology • Shreya Keshri from IISER Pune - Land ocean atmosphere interactions

Frontiers in Geosciences Research Conference (FGRC-2021).Geosciences Division of PRL organized its first annual Frontiers in Geosciences Research Conference FGRC-2021 during 27-28 September 2021 via an online mode (on BlueJeans platform). The objectives of the conference were to highlight the recent advances in understanding various Earth System processes and their linkages through new studies and results. Besides, the other primary aim of this conference was to create a long-term platform for geoscientists of India to jointly address scientific and societal issues and increase collaborative research among researchers from various institutes/universities in India. Going forward, the conference will become an annual event, being organized every year preferably through in-person attendance. The conference was officially inaugurated by Prof. Anil Bhardwaj, Director PRL who welcomed the conference participants and discussed the legacy and contribution of PRL scientists in the field of geosciences. The inaugural address was delivered by Shri A. S. Kirankumar, Chairman, PRL Council. The delegates were further welcomed by Prof. R. D. Deshpande, Chairman, Geosciences Division, PRL, who also provided the opening remarks for the conference inauguration. The conference was divided into four broad scientific themes: (i) Solid Earth and Earth Surface Processes, (ii) Marine and Terrestrial Biogeochemistry, (iii) Paleoclimate and Isotope Hydrology and (iv) Aerosols, Air Quality and Ocean-Atmosphere Coupling. Each session was initiated with a plenary talk by an eminent scientist in their research field. The plenary talks during the conference were delivered by Prof. J. S. Ray (NCESS, Thiruvananthapuram), Prof. Sunil K. Singh (NIO Goa), Prof. R. D. Deshpande (PRL, Ahmedabad) and Prof. S. N. Tripathi (IIT Kanpur). Following these plenary talks there were three invited talks in each session, delivered by renowned researchers working in Earth system sciences. Further, several researchers delivered contributary oral talks in the conference. In total, there were 43 oral presentations in the conference. In addition to these, there were two Flash talk sessions (one on each day of the conference), mostly by MSc/MTech and PhD students affiliated to various universities and institutes in India. These participants also contributed with posters on their scientific work, which were displayed on the conference website. Based on the presentation and scientific content of the posters and flash talks, best presentations (n=4) were awarded with cash prize and certificate. In total, there were 54 poster and flash talk presentations at the conference. The penultimate session of the conference was a career guidance program which was aimed primarily for MSc/MTech and PhD students, postdocs and early career researchers to highlight to them various challenges faced in research and opportunities available in India and abroad. The conference was officially closed in the final session in which various highlights of the conference were discussed by the delegates. Further, several ideas were explored by the delegates/participants to improve the next version of the conference. The closing remarks were provided by …………..In total, 193 participants registered for the conference, and 100 scientific papers were presented as plenary/invited talks, contributory talks and poster/flash talks. With the success of the inaugural Frontiers in Geosciences Research Conference (FGRC-2021), we look forward to the next version of the conference.