CORDIS Archive

Library

Miscellaneous publications

Environment and Sustainable Development (Part A)

Air pollution report nº76

This document describes the development of a global strategy for European atmospheric interdisciplinary research in the future, as a contribution to solving environmental problems and maintainaing fundamental necessities for the human existence as water supply, health, food production and the state of the ecosystems. Local, regional and global scale research is needed to deal with the following key scientific issues related to climate, ultraviolet radiation, air quality and deposition:

• stratospheric ozone levels and ultraviolet radiation at the ground;
• processes in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere;
• possible ways to control tropospheric ozone over Europe;
• the contribution of nitrogen oxides and ammonia to unresolved environmental problems;
• methane, carbon monoxide and other hydracarbons;
• particulate matter;
• impact of changes in the physical climate on atmospheric chemistry.

Atmospheric interdisciplinary research is in support of the European policy-making in areas characterised by the presence of strong uncertainties and needed to implement a sustainable development model. It is therefore expected that the new strategy here described, will be relevant to the research policy foreseen within the European Research Area and the future Framework Programme for R&D.