Seasonal and Interannual Variability of Trace Gases in the Tropical and Extra-tropical Boundary Layer

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Natural and anthropogenic emissions from Southeast Asia and the maritime continent exert an important influence on atmospheric composition, climate and air quality. Changes in climate will most likely lead to changed emissions from the terrestrial and marine biospheres. In addition, emissions of air pollutants from Southeast Asia are driven by strong industrial growth and development, a trend likely to continue into the foreseeable future. Understanding these processes and their impacts is a crucial chemistry/climate question. Our aim is to improve quantitative understanding of the atmospheric impacts, on a range of spatial (from local to global) and temporal (from days to years) scales, of emissions of short-lived halocarbons and hydrocarbons in SE Asia and the maritime continent. We propose to establish a climatology of atmospheric concentrations of natural and anthropogenic halocarbons in the tropical boundary layer at five ground stations in Taiwan, Malaysia, Northern Australia and New Zealand from 2008 to 2011. Shorter-term measurements with a roving instrument will be made during research cruises and at other existing sites used by our colleagues at the University of Malaya. In collaboration with marine biologists we will investigate the factors influencing emissions and concentrations under a range of climate conditions. In a second phase, we will measure a range of hydrocarbons at the tropical sites. These measurements will then be used with numerical models to test and improve modelled emission estimates and to investigate their impact on tropospheric oxidative capacity, air quality and regional and global climate.