Improved understanding of air quality and the carbon cycle using integrated space-based observations of atmospheric composition

利用大气成分的综合天基观测提高对空气质量和碳循环的了解

• 批准号: RGPIN-2019-06804
• 负责人: Jones, Dylan
• 金额: $ 2.19万
• 依托单位: University of Toronto
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2020
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2020-01-01 至 2021-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=716462
• 关键词: Improved; understanding; air; quality; carbon

Human activity has produced dramatic changes in the composition of the atmosphere, with profound implications for climate and air quality. During the past two decades, space agencies around the world have invested in new satellite instruments to better measure these changes in atmospheric composition. The proposed research program will integrate this growing wealth of space-based atmospheric composition data, using novel chemical data assimilation techniques, to better assess the impact of human activity on air quality and climate. One aspect of the proposed work will focus on integrating observations from multiple satellites to obtain an improved description of tropospheric ozone. Tropospheric ozone is a powerful greenhouse gas and near the surface it is a major pollutant that is harmful to vegetation and animals. The distribution of tropospheric ozone is strongly influenced by chemical sinks and local emissions of precursor gases, and a key focus of the work will be to exploit the constraints on tropospheric ozone chemistry from the multiple satellite observations to better estimate ozone-induced damage to crops and vegetation, providing the first global observation-based estimate of ozone-induced vegetation damage. The proposed research program will also integrate observations of atmospheric CO2 from recently launched satellites to quantify regional sources and sinks of CO2, for which robust estimates are required for reliable projections of climate change. Another aspect of the work will be to combine space-based observations of solar-induced fluorescence (SIF) with atmospheric CO2 data to inform our understanding of the biospheric processes (gross primary productivity and respiration) driving the exchange of carbon between terrestrial ecosystems and the atmosphere, and of how changes in climate impact these processes. The proposed work will also examine the impact of pollution on the frequency of extreme precipitation events in Southeast Asia, a region with a large fraction of the global population and which is vulnerable to changes in water resources. The proposed research program is interdisciplinary and will provide students and postdoctoral fellows a unique training experience. There is increasing recognition that a more integrated and interdisciplinary approach is needed to address many of the environmental challenges that we face as a society. The research program will help ensure that the next generation of climate scientists in Canada possesses the diversity of knowledge required to address these challenges.

人类活动使大气成分发生了戏剧性的变化，对气候和空气质量产生了深远的影响。在过去的二十年里，世界各地的航天机构都投资了新的卫星仪器，以更好地测量大气成分的这些变化。拟议的研究计划将利用新的化学数据同化技术整合这些日益丰富的天基大气成分数据，以更好地评估人类活动对空气质量和气候的影响。拟议工作的一个方面将侧重于综合来自多颗卫星的观测，以改进对流层臭氧的描述。对流层臭氧是一种强大的温室气体，在地表附近是一种对植被和动物有害的主要污染物。对流层臭氧的分布受到化学汇和当地前体气体排放的强烈影响，这项工作的一个主要重点将是利用多个卫星观测对对流层臭氧化学的限制，以更好地估计臭氧对作物和植被造成的损害，提供第一次基于全球观测的对臭氧引起的植被损害的估计。拟议的研究计划还将整合最近发射的卫星对大气二氧化碳的观测，以量化区域二氧化碳的源和汇，对此需要进行可靠的估计，以可靠地预测气候变化。这项工作的另一个方面是将太阳诱导荧光(SIF)的空间观测与大气二氧化碳数据相结合，以使我们了解推动陆地生态系统和大气之间碳交换的生物圈过程(总初级生产力和呼吸作用)，以及气候变化如何影响这些过程。这项拟议的工作还将研究污染对东南亚极端降水事件频率的影响，东南亚是一个人口占全球很大比例的地区，很容易受到水资源变化的影响。 拟议的研究计划是跨学科的，将为学生和博士后研究员提供独特的培训体验。越来越多的人认识到，需要采取更加综合和跨学科的办法来应对我们作为一个社会所面临的许多环境挑战。该研究计划将有助于确保加拿大的下一代气候科学家拥有应对这些挑战所需的多样化知识。