Physical, Chemical and Radiative Characteristics of Australian Continental Aerosols. Australian desert dust, and the biomass burning aerosol particles produced in the top-end burning season, have the potential to impose an environmental burden not only on Australia, but also on the surrounding region. While most of the world's major aerosol types have been well studied in recent years, these two remain largely unknown. There are good reasons to believe that Australian aerosols are different from ....Physical, Chemical and Radiative Characteristics of Australian Continental Aerosols. Australian desert dust, and the biomass burning aerosol particles produced in the top-end burning season, have the potential to impose an environmental burden not only on Australia, but also on the surrounding region. While most of the world's major aerosol types have been well studied in recent years, these two remain largely unknown. There are good reasons to believe that Australian aerosols are different from many others. We therefore intend to fully characterize their relevant properties, so we may monitor them from space, and evaluate their environmental impacts.Read moreRead less
Airborne ultrafine particles in Australian cities. There is an acute deficiency of knowledge in Australia on urban airborne ultrafine particles, originating from transport and other anthropogenic sources, which pose significant health and environmental risks. The aim of this project is to address this deficiency by an extensive multi-city, cross-disciplinary study using state of the art instrumentation and data analytic techniques. The outcome will be an in depth, quantitative insight into the c ....Airborne ultrafine particles in Australian cities. There is an acute deficiency of knowledge in Australia on urban airborne ultrafine particles, originating from transport and other anthropogenic sources, which pose significant health and environmental risks. The aim of this project is to address this deficiency by an extensive multi-city, cross-disciplinary study using state of the art instrumentation and data analytic techniques. The outcome will be an in depth, quantitative insight into the characteristics of the particles, their sources and spatial and temporal variation across different urban areas and time scales. Further, the impacts of changing fuels, vehicle technologies, and climate on future trends of the particles will be elucidated.Read moreRead less
Tropospheric ozone and air quality in Australia. Ozone is an important greenhouse gas and an air pollutant that causes adverse health effects. This research will increase our understanding of changing ozone concentrations. In addition it will improve our ability to forecast episodes of poor air quality within Australia, thereby reducing the health impacts of atmospheric pollution events.
The carbon cycle and climate: new approaches to atmospheric measurements and modelling. Earth's climate is intimately connected to the carbon cycle, which controls atmospheric CO2 through processes such as photosynthesis, respiration and ocean uptake. A thorough understanding of the carbon cycle, and potential feedbacks with climate change, is prerequisite knowledge for informed assessments of future climate, impacts, adaptation and mitigation. This proposal improves that understanding through ....The carbon cycle and climate: new approaches to atmospheric measurements and modelling. Earth's climate is intimately connected to the carbon cycle, which controls atmospheric CO2 through processes such as photosynthesis, respiration and ocean uptake. A thorough understanding of the carbon cycle, and potential feedbacks with climate change, is prerequisite knowledge for informed assessments of future climate, impacts, adaptation and mitigation. This proposal improves that understanding through measurements of CO2 and other key Kyoto-protocol greenhouse gases, links to global networks and satellite measurements, and advanced modelling. Australian science has a very important role to play in international networks due to our unique combination of southern hemisphere location and scientific standing. Read moreRead less
Novel techniques for interpreting atmospheric variability and its drivers. This project aims to improve the understanding of the causes of variability in atmospheric greenhouse gases, leading to better knowledge of how such processes will evolve in a changing climate. The project expects to use new measurement techniques to gain information about the spatial and temporal variability of atmospheric greenhouse gases. With the use of regional and global scale models, the measurements will be used t ....Novel techniques for interpreting atmospheric variability and its drivers. This project aims to improve the understanding of the causes of variability in atmospheric greenhouse gases, leading to better knowledge of how such processes will evolve in a changing climate. The project expects to use new measurement techniques to gain information about the spatial and temporal variability of atmospheric greenhouse gases. With the use of regional and global scale models, the measurements will be used to understand greenhouse gas fluxes and provide independent verification of current estimates. Expected outcomes include improved methods for verifying greenhouse gas emissions, which will contribute to improved emissions inventories and accounting promised under international agreements.Read moreRead less
Tackling Atmospheric Chemistry Grand Challenges in the Southern Hemisphere. The project aims to provide a southern hemisphere perspective on current challenges in atmospheric chemistry: air quality, oxidation capacity, stratospheric change, and chemistry–climate interactions. Australia’s geographic position in the relatively clean southern hemisphere allows a unique opportunity to study environments with limited human influence, an opportunity that has largely been lost in the more populous nort ....Tackling Atmospheric Chemistry Grand Challenges in the Southern Hemisphere. The project aims to provide a southern hemisphere perspective on current challenges in atmospheric chemistry: air quality, oxidation capacity, stratospheric change, and chemistry–climate interactions. Australia’s geographic position in the relatively clean southern hemisphere allows a unique opportunity to study environments with limited human influence, an opportunity that has largely been lost in the more populous northern hemisphere. The intended outcomes of the project include validated ground-based and satellite datasets for monitoring Australia’s air quality, improved atmospheric models for predicting future atmospheric change, and a deeper understanding of the processes driving atmospheric composition worldwide.Read moreRead less
Measuring boundary layer flows with airborne LIDAR. This project aims to support development of an existing LIDAR system to enable routine airborne measurement of winds and aerosol concentrations in the atmospheric boundary layer. The technical details are innovative such that the system can operate from a small aircraft, and obtain measurements over urban areas, where previously such measurements were unobtainable. This system will provide unique data to help unravel the complex process respon ....Measuring boundary layer flows with airborne LIDAR. This project aims to support development of an existing LIDAR system to enable routine airborne measurement of winds and aerosol concentrations in the atmospheric boundary layer. The technical details are innovative such that the system can operate from a small aircraft, and obtain measurements over urban areas, where previously such measurements were unobtainable. This system will provide unique data to help unravel the complex process responsible for transport and dispersion of pollutants in boundary layers over citiesRead moreRead less
Do terrestrial processes intensify Australian droughts ? Australia's agricultural productivity is strongly affected by climate, climate variability and climate change. Recent climate changes in Western Australia forced adaptation strategies costing $500 million while the anomalously intense 2002 Murray-Darling Basin drought significantly affected agriculture. Any further intensification of droughts would affect Australia's rural economy. This proposal will assess the role of terrestrial processe ....Do terrestrial processes intensify Australian droughts ? Australia's agricultural productivity is strongly affected by climate, climate variability and climate change. Recent climate changes in Western Australia forced adaptation strategies costing $500 million while the anomalously intense 2002 Murray-Darling Basin drought significantly affected agriculture. Any further intensification of droughts would affect Australia's rural economy. This proposal will assess the role of terrestrial processes, linked to increasing CO2, in causing the drought intensification and declines in rainfall. This will provide knowledge that will guide the development of future environmental management strategies.Read moreRead less
The Effects of Nano and Ultrafine Particles from Traffic Emissions on Children's Health. The socio-economic benefits to Australia will include (i) quantitative knowledge of the exposure to nano and ultrafine particles, pollutants in the centre of current scientific, medical and policy debates and (ii) a breakthrough in the scientific understanding of the specific particle properties, which have impacts on health effects. The ultimate economic benefit will be improved urban design to lower, in pa ....The Effects of Nano and Ultrafine Particles from Traffic Emissions on Children's Health. The socio-economic benefits to Australia will include (i) quantitative knowledge of the exposure to nano and ultrafine particles, pollutants in the centre of current scientific, medical and policy debates and (ii) a breakthrough in the scientific understanding of the specific particle properties, which have impacts on health effects. The ultimate economic benefit will be improved urban design to lower, in particular, children's exposure to ultrafine particles, thus reducing life long impacts, health care cost and productivity losses. The research will also place Australia at the forefront of international progress towards better methods for achieving environmental and public health sustainability.Read moreRead less
Biomass Burning Emissions - An Innovative Technique for Assessing Global Climate Impacts. This proposal will significantly improve our understanding of the impacts of biomass burning on climate and environmental change leading to better predictive powers and more informed political and economic responses to issues such as Australian compliance with international protocols dealing with global climate change (Kyoto). Further, it will help the development of Australian expertise in global chemical ....Biomass Burning Emissions - An Innovative Technique for Assessing Global Climate Impacts. This proposal will significantly improve our understanding of the impacts of biomass burning on climate and environmental change leading to better predictive powers and more informed political and economic responses to issues such as Australian compliance with international protocols dealing with global climate change (Kyoto). Further, it will help the development of Australian expertise in global chemical transport modelling not currently addressed by other Australian research programs.
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