In November 1997, the Indonesian Government -- under siege from El Nino and extreme conditions brought on by fires exacerbated by agricultural practices, land clearing and development -- called a conference in Jakarta to address the country's drought problems and forest fires.
At the Government's invitation, Dr Nigel Tapper, environmental scientist and meteorologist in Monash's Geography and Environmental Science department, delivered the keynote address on environmental disasters associated with the El Nino phenomenon.
The work of Dr Tapper's team has been crucial in predicting air quality and pollution levels throughout the region. Air quality stations in seven locations -- from West Sumatra to Brunei, Timor, Jabiru and Darwin -- collate data from samples collected every six days over a 24-hour period.
The particulates in the samples are analysed to determine their source, whether from industrial or agricultural activities, mining, quarrying, fire or natural sources such as sea salt. From this information, the Monash team can then trace the nature of the air quality in remote parts of Indonesia.
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