The Institute of Atmospheric Physics (IAP) is a research institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS). It is located in Beijing, China. IAP was founded in 1958 by the CAS president Mr. Guo Moruo and vice president Mr. Qian Sanqiang. The first director was Dr. Lin Daoxuan and the current director is Dr. Zhou Tianjun.
IAP conducts basic research in atmospheric physics and chemistry, cloud-aerosol-precipitation-climate interactions, atmospheric radiation and remote sensing, numerical modeling of atmospheric processes, as well as their applications to environmental problems such as air pollution, climate change and weather modification.
IAP has played an important role in China’s atmospheric sciences research community since its founding over 50 years ago. Many renowned scientists have worked or are still working at IAP, including five CAS academicians: Qian Sanqiang, Zhu Kezhen, Zhang Guangdou, Ding Yihui and Zhen Donglai; three “hundred talents program” professors: Fu Congbin, Liu Xiaohong and Su Wei; four winners of the National Natural Science Award: Chen Fahu, Li Muping , Wang Tao and Zhang Qiong; one winner of State Technological Invention Award: Mao Jiawen; one world meteorological organization (WMO) outstanding scientist award recipient: Zhu Kezhen; one foreign member of Royal Society (UK): Paul Crutzen ; two foreign members of French Academy of Sciences：Paul Crutzen、Claude Allègre ;one IEEE Fellow : Yao Tandong . Under their guidance and leadership IAP has become a world-class center for atmospheric sciences research with numerous achievements both nationally and internationally recognized .
Some representative accomplishments include: developing the first general circulation model (GCM) in China , which laid a foundation for simulating climate change on global scale with high resolution models ; discovering that human activities had significantly accelerated stratospheric ozone depletion since 1970s which provided evidence to support international efforts to control anthropogenic halocarbon emissions ; providing critical input data for IPCC’s 5th assessment report on climate change mitigation strategies ; proposing a novel mechanism for Tibet Plateau’s impact on Asian summer monsoon variability which helps explain why this region is sometimes referred to as “the Third Pole” due to its importance in global climate system . These are just a few examples from many other important findings made by IAP researchers over the years that have contributed to our understanding of Earth’s atmosphere .