Air quality and climate change are pressing health and environmental issues with growing economic consequences. Both provincial and federal governments have enacted legislation to 1) limit the concentration of human-emitted atmospheric trace gases and aerosols that affect air quality and 2) reduce the emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs) that contribute to climate change. (Aerosols are roughly micron-sized suspended particles in the atmosphere, either solid, like mineral (desert) dust, volcanic ash and soot, or liquid, like sulphate and organic droplets.)
The problems of air quality and climate change are connected by, for example:
This complexity requires ongoing high-quality measurements of atmospheric composition in order to test and improve the understanding of atmospheric chemical and dynamical processes implemented in forecasting models of air quality, weather and climate. In support of these goals, the Saint Mary's University (SMU) Atmospheric Observatory (SAO) has been established. Data from SAO is being used to address research questions like the following:
Additionally, we are currently using ground- and satellite-based atmospheric composition measurements collected by others to test and improve atmospheric models related to Mineral Dust Aerosol (MDA) in Canada's North (the Arctic). MDA are an important component of the earth system, affecting weather and climate, biogeochemical cycles, atmospheric chemistry, and human health. While many studies exist relating to Saharan and other low-latitude dust sources, high-latitude dust has not received the same attention, even though it has disproportionately large effects on Arctic warming (by making snow darker in the 'ice-albedo' feedback effect). Our studies are tackling questions like the following: