From April 5 to 7, the Russian-American Academic Seminar on Black Carbon "Workshop on BLACK CARBON 2016" was held in Kemerovo

The seminar was held in accordance with the Agreement on Scientific Cooperation between the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS) and the National Academy of Sciences (NAN) of the United States of April 4, 2013, as well as the Protocol on Scientific Cooperation between the Russian Academy of Sciences and the U.S. National Academy of Sciences of April 27, 2015. Sessions of the seminar are scheduled to be held in Moscow, Kemerovo and Novosibirsk from April 4 to April 8, 2016.

The basic organization for the Seminar in Kemerovo was the Federal Research Center for Coal and Coal Chemistry of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences (FIC UH SO RAS).

The seminar's scientific programme included plenary lectures and oral presentations on the following areas:

1. Problems of black carbon emissions in the environment: properties, sources, education, impacts and mitigation opportunities
2. Processes of transfer of "black carbon" in the atmosphere (including cross-border), identification of different types and forms of "black carbon": results, modeling
3. Possible effects of climate impacts: impact on albedo, cloud formation, regional climate change and weather conditions
4. Impact on human health and experience of reducing their level, including medical and economic aspects
5. Proposals to further clarify the scientific uncertainties associated with "black carbon"
6. Black carbon problems in coal-mining regions
7. Fires and flare emissions as a source of black carbon and carbon aerosols in nature

In total, more than 80 scientists, as well as representatives of state structures and coal processing plants from 10 Russian cities took part in the seminar. The U.S. delegation included nine scientists and three representatives of the U.S. Embassy. 49 reports were heard and discussed at the meetings, including 9 presented by US scientists, 13 from Novosibirsk, 8 from Kemerovo, 8 from Moscow, 3 from Tomsk, 2 from Apatit, 2 from Novokuznetsk, 1 from Omsk, 1 from Biyska, 1 from Novouralsk, 1 from St. Petersburg.

In addition to the staff of the FIC UH SO RAS, leading scientists and specialists of such institutes as the Institute of Catalysis were invited to participate in the seminar. G.K. Boreskova SO RAS, Institute of Chemical Kinetics and Burning them. V.V. Vojvodsky SO RAS, Novosibirsk Institute of Organic Chemistry. N.N. Vorozhtsova SO RAS, the Institute of Atmospheric Optics of SO RAS, the Institute of Hydrocarbon Processing Problems of SO RAS, as well as a number of institutes of industrial companies of other cities.

On the final day of the Seminar, a tour of the city of Kemerovo was organized for the participants, as well as a visit to the Red Gorka Museum.