Objective
The atmospheric sulphur and nitrogen balances, especially within industrialised regions, have been drastically disturbed by anthropogenic activities. Such alterations of the balances have lead to strong negative health effects at a local level, acidification at a regional level and there are strong indications of climatic effects of sulphate aerosols at the hemispheric or global level. Sulphur and nitrogen cycling in the atmosphere, therefore, is one of the centres of attention of the world scientific community.
The NIS cover a huge territory in which industries have contributed significantly to worldwide pollutant emissions. It is obvious that it is impossible to construct any global or hemispheric pattern of sulphur and nitrogen distributions in the atmosphere without considering their balances over the NIS. At present, a relatively large amount of data on the chemical composition of aerosol precipitation and the gas phase exists in the NIS.
The main task of this project is to construct atmospheric sulphur and nitrogen balances for all the territory of the NIS. All available data in Russian literature (open and classified in the past) will be checked, harmonised and synthesised to evaluate spatial emission distribution, concentration fields and scavenging patterns. The database obtained can be used for modelling calculations of advection fluxes within the NIS territories, and fluxes into the Arctic and into the Pacific ocean atmosphere. This is also necessary for the evaluation of environmental acidification over the NIS and surrounding territories. The results will be used for validating global transport models.
The main result expected will be an improved global sulphur and nitrogen budget and a better dataset for use and validation in global models of transport/transformation of trace species and climate response.
An optional final workshop is planned within the NIS for presentation of results. All results will be published in international journals and will be presented at international conferences. A joint paper on Estimates of atmospheric balances of sulphur and nitrogen compounds over the NIS territory will be presented at the 3rd IGAC Conference.
Topic(s)
Call for proposal
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12484 Berlin
Germany