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Atmospheric
Composition
Overview
Recent Accomplishments
Near-Term Plans
Archived News Postings [June 2000 - July 2005]
Related
Sites
Calls
for Proposals
CCSP / USGCRP Atmospheric Composition Working Group Members
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The composition of the atmosphere at global and regional scales influences climate, air quality, stratospheric ozone, and precipitation, which in turn affect human health and the vitality of ecosystems. Research and observational activities coordinated and supported by CCSP are being used to assess how human activities and natural processes affect atmospheric composition, and how that understanding may be used to inform decisionmaking in the United States and abroad. In FY 2009, emphasis will be placed on studies of interactions between aerosols and non-CO2 gases, enhanced measurements of atmospheric water vapor, and interactions of pollutants with climate change. Special emphasis will be placed on the climate impacts of pollutants associated with aviation. |
Strategic Research Questions
3.1. What
are the climate-relevant chemical, microphysical, and optical
properties, and spatial and temporal distributions, of human-caused
and naturally occurring aerosols?
3.2. What
are the atmospheric sources and sinks of the greenhouse gases
other than CO2 and the implications for the Earth’s
energy balance?
3.3. What
are the effects of regional pollution on the global atmosphere
and the effects of global climate and chemical change on regional
air quality and atmospheric chemical inputs to ecosystems?
3.4. What
are the characteristics of the recovery of the stratospheric
ozone layer in response to declining abundances of ozone-depleting
gases and increasing abundances of greenhouse gases?
3.5. What
are the couplings and feedback mechanisms among climate change,
air pollution, and ozone layer depletion, and their relationship
to the health of humans and ecosystems?
See Strategic Plan for the U.S. Climate Change Science Program, Chapter 3, for detailed discussion of these research questions. |
The Earth's atmosphere is composed of gases and particles that vary with spatial scale and with time, influencing climate, air quality, the stratospheric ozone layer, and weather. Interactions between these components have impacts on human health and the vitality of ecosystems and hence have high relevance to society. CCSP research on atmospheric composition focuses primarily on how human activities and natural processes affect atmospheric composition, and how these changes in turn relate to societal issues. The issues embrace multiple disciplines, cross many spatial scales, and are highly interrelated. Consequently, CCSP research is a highly coordinated endeavor that involves observational studies, laboratory investigations, and modeling analyses to provide the timely, accurate, and useful scientific information needed by decisionmakers nationally and internationally.
Progress has been made to date in understanding the role of atmospheric composition in Earth's climate. Efforts have been dedicated to the areas of largest uncertainty in understanding how atmospheric constituents other than carbon dioxide (CO2) affect the forcing of climate. Atmospheric fine particles ("aerosols") can have either warming or cooling effects, depending on many factors. CCSP research has made progress in defining those factors, and has recently taken steps to address the next levels of complexity in the issue by looking at the interactions of aerosols with clouds. For FY 2009, CCSP's atmospheric composition research will focus on aerosols and aerosol/cloud interactions in the polar environment through analyses of measurements from satellites, aircraft, and the surface made during the International Polar Year (spring 2007 to summer 2008). Additional FY 2009 work focuses on linked air qualityclimate modeling systems, future emission projections, and communicating research results to air quality decisionmakers.
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