Anthropogenic emissions of short-lived gases and their environmental impacts

短寿命气体的人为排放及其环境影响

• 批准号: RGPIN-2020-06292
• 负责人: Tegtmeier, Susann
• 金额: $ 2.55万
• 依托单位: University of Saskatchewan
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2021
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2021-01-01 至 2022-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=741144
• 关键词: Anthropogenic; emissions; short; lived; gases

Global climate directly affects many aspects of our lives such as food security, water resources, and health, thus making climate change one the big challenges of our time. Climate is altered by chemical gases that are released from human activities, but can also originate from the ocean, land and biosphere. We can only advance our understanding of global climate change by investigating the entire Earth system, as the two are connected by complex physical, chemical and biological interactions. The goals of my research are to understand and predict how anthropogenic activities impact atmospheric chemistry and climate by linking the atmosphere with the marine, polar and terrestrial environment. First, I will investigate gases that stem from biological activities in the ocean, so-called marine biogenic trace gases. Marine gases that include bromine and are produced by macroalgae, can contribute to the depletion of the Earth's ozone layer in the upper atmosphere. Large-scale macroalgae farms are currently discussed as an option to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and dampen climate change. However, such farms could lead to a steep increase in the production of brominated gases and threaten ozone recovery. This work will show how macroalgae can impact atmospheric chemistry, air quality and most importantly, global ozone recovery. In particular, I will investigate if macroalgae farms at high latitudes, such as the Canadian shelf zones, are less harmful to the ozone layer than farms in the tropics. Second, my research will focus on future shipping activities and their impact on the Arctic environment. Current climate change leads to dramatic melting of sea-ice, opening the Arctic for economically feasible shipping of cargo and tourisms. Increasing traffic will bring much larger emissions of exhaust gases and particles to the Artic, enhancing air pollution and impacting climate. In addition, these emissions will impact the Arctic Ocean by adding nutrients to the marine environment, thus influencing oceanic production and ecosystems. This work will investigate the impact of future Arctic shipping emissions on air quality and oceanic nutrient supply. In particular, this study will focus on shipping routes through and along the Canadian Arctic Archipelago and their environmental impact. Third, I will investigate anthropogenic pollutants that are emitted from industry, agriculture and wildfires into the atmosphere. I will focus on gases that remain in the atmosphere for less than 1-2 months, so-called short-lived climate forcers. These gases can either warm or cool the environment depending on the species itself, but also on the timing, amount and location of their emission. This work will quantify emissions of short-lived climate forcers, in particular from countries at northern mid- to high latitudes. As these gases play a large role for the Arctic environment, the emission estimates will provide important information on their climate impact.

全球气候直接影响我们生活的许多方面，例如粮食安全、水资源和健康，从而使气候变化成为我们这个时代的重大挑战之一。人类活动释放的化学气体会改变气候，但也可能源自海洋、陆地和生物圈。我们只能通过研究整个地球系统来加深对全球气候变化的理解，因为这两个系统通过复杂的物理、化学和生物相互作用联系在一起。我的研究目标是通过将大气与海洋、极地和陆地环境联系起来，了解和预测人类活动如何影响大气化学和气候。首先，我将研究源自海洋生物活动的气体，即所谓的海洋生物微量气体。由大型藻类产生的含有溴的海洋气体会导致地球高层大气臭氧层的消耗。目前正在讨论大规模大型藻类养殖场作为去除大气中二氧化碳和抑制气候变化的一种选择。然而，此类农场可能导致溴化气体产量急剧增加并威胁臭氧恢复。这项工作将展示大型藻类如何影响大气化学、空气质量，最重要的是，影响全球臭氧恢复。特别是，我将调查高纬度地区（例如加拿大陆架区）的大型藻类养殖场对臭氧层的危害是否比热带地区的养殖场小。 其次，我的研究将集中于未来的航运活动及其对北极环境的影响。当前的气候变化导致海冰急剧融化，为经济上可行的货物运输和旅游业开辟了北极。交通量的增加将给北极带来更多的废气和颗粒物排放，加剧空气污染并影响气候。此外，这些排放将通过增加海洋环境的营养物质来影响北冰洋，从而影响海洋生产和生态系统。这项工作将调查未来北极航运排放对空气质量和海洋养分供应的影响。特别是，这项研究将重点关注穿越加拿大北极群岛及其沿线的航运路线及其对环境的影响。第三，我将调查工业、农业和野火排放到大气中的人为污染物。我将重点关注在大气中保留时间少于 1-2 个月的气体，即所谓的短期气候驱动因素。这些气体可以使环境变暖或变冷，具体取决于物种本身，也取决于其排放的时间、数量和地点。这项工作将量化短期气候驱动因素的排放，特别是来自北部中高纬度国家的排放。由于这些气体对北极环境发挥着重要作用，排放估算将提供有关其气候影响的重要信息。