Wed, May 21, 2025

CSIR Fourth Paradigm Institute

(Formerly CSIR Centre for Mathematical Modelling and Computer Simulation)

A constituent laboratory of Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR).

Ministry of Science and Technology, Government of India.

Solid Earth Modelling

Global Positioning System (GPS) based Geodesy had become capable of yielding sub-cm precision in location by the early 1990s and the possibility of it being used to determine crustal strain rates in India was recognised at C-MMACS in 1993 following the Khillari earthquake. Research at C-MMACS has since yielded fairly well constrained figures for the velocity of the Indian plate and the partitioning of strain from Kanya-Kumari to Ladakh in the trans-Himalyas. Over the years C-MMACS has also taken up the arduous task of setting up GPS stations in remote locations in the country to generate the required data base, and to extend application of GPS technology to other areas.

Solid Earth Modelling group is focused on precise GPS based quantification and modelling of inter, co- and post-seismic surface deformation in Indian subcontinent. In addition to this, the group works on modeling and simulation of ground motion for deterministic seismic hazard, site specific ground motion from scenario earthquakes and crustal and mantle structure by lithosphere modeling. The current topics of research are:

  •     Crustal Deformation
  •     Estimation of Precipitable water vapour using GPS
  •     Earthquake hazard assessment
  •     Site effects and and microzonation
  •     Lithosphere modelling

Climate and Environmental Modelling

Capacity to model and forecast climate and environmental processes at different spatio-temporal scales has the potential to revolutionize our approach and ability to address many issues that concern us closely. It was to address these issues in an integrated manner and to generate a capability for multiscale forecasting that CEMP was initiated.

The Climate and Environmental Modelling Programme CEMP) addresses multi-disciplinary modelling issues in combining climate simulation, process modelling (energy, disease, crop etc) in a hierarchical (global to regional models) and multi-scale (downscaling, neural networks etc) modelling platform. The current topics of research are:

  •     Climate Simulation
  •     Monsoon Simulation
  •     Cyclone Simulation
  •     Extreme Events
  •     Process models
  •     Algorithms
  •     Agricultural Systems Modelling

Multiscale Modeling and Simulation

A fundamental barrier in advancing multiscale weather and climate prediction is the limited capability of contemporary models to represent the multiscale organization of precipitating convection. To overcome this, a multiscale modeling and simulation framework, which replaces the conventional cloud parameterizations with a cloud-resolving model (CRM) in each grid column of a GCM, constitutes a new and promising approach. This can provide for global coverage, two-way interactions between the CRMs and their parent GCM and explicit simulation of cloud processes and their interactions with aerosol, radiation and surface processes.

Multiscale Modeling and Simulation Group seeks to develop and apply this framework in various disciplines including weather and climate change. The current research areas in this field are:

Carbon Cycle and Ocean Modelling

A detailed knowledge of the carbon cycle is an important component in the study of our changing climate. At C-MMACS we have endeavoured to investigate and integrate several components of the carbon cycle – oceanic, terrestrial and atmospheric along with a synthesis of modelling and measurements to elucidate the key processes in the climate system.

The capability to model the complete carbon cycle and its climatic feedback will enable us to make informed choices about climate change mitigation. At C-MMACS we have carried out a comprehensive study of this by integrating high precision data with sophisticated models of the oceanic circulation, carbon cycle, transport and inversion for robust flux estimation.

For the first time in India, carbon flux has been estimated by inverting the data from CO2 measurement stations at Hanle and Pondicherry which has reduced the posteriori uncertainties of these estimates significantly. The group focuses on in-house developed ocean biogeochemistry model which integrates physics, chemistry and biology of the marine system. The current topics of research are:

  •     Carbon cycle modelling and measurements for climate change mitigation
  •     Ocean biogeochemical modelling 

Computational Mechanics

Sophisticated mathematical modelling aided by powerful computing and visualization has the potential to provide the cutting-edge to industry; generation of cost-effective solutions, process optimization and product design are some of the areas where modelling and simulation can play critical to enabling role. The C-MMACS Computational Industrial Mechanics Programme (CIMP) seeks to develop and apply tools of mathematical modelling and computer simulation in diverse areas of engineering.

Computational Mechanics Group contributed in development of FINEART an indigenous finite element software code jointly with few other CSIR Laboratories. Molecular Simulation study of Carbon Nanotube and work on Lattice-Boltzmann method, which is eminently suited to parallel computation, has been initiated. The work on periodically forced suspensions is also of significance. Sophisticated mathematical modelling aided by powerful computing and visualization has the potential to provide the cutting-edge to industry in a number of areas. The current topics of research are:

  •     Computational nano-mechanics
  •     Finite element modelling
  •     Numerical algorithms
  •     Optimization and visualization
  •     Nonlinear Dynamics