Science Goals
Environmental change is one of the most important global issues facing society. Air quality, ozone depletion, and climate change are all issues that receive considerable exposure in the social and political arena. The potential impact of atmospheric change on the economy and health of Canadians is dramatic. Scientific research into the causes, consequences, and mitigation of such changes is essential for informed policy-making.
The overall goal of our research at the University of Toronto Atmospheric Observatory is to investigate atmospheric change. TAO is ideally located for long-term studies of the atmosphere at mid-latitudes, and is able to support a range of research activities in atmospheric science. The primary scientific objectives of our work at TAO are:
- To make daily measurements (weather permitting) of the vertical columns and profiles of tropospheric and stratospheric gases.
- To identify and quantify the sources and sinks of atmospheric pollutants, and to better understand the interactions between tropospheric trace gases that control urban air quality.
- To investigate chemical and physical processes that control the mid-latitude stratospheric ozone budget.
- To combine these data with space-based atmospheric measurements made by space-based missions such as MOPITT, Odin (OSIRIS and SMR), SCISAT-1 (ACE-FTS and MAESTRO), and ENVISAT (SCIAMACHY, MIPAS) both for satellite validation and for correlative studies.
Our measurements are being used to address two broad research themes:
Theme One - Troposphere (approximately 0-10 km): The troposphere is a chemically complex region of the atmosphere, where gases from biogenic and anthropogenic sources undergo transport and oxidization on similar time scales. Increasing emissions of ozone and other urban pollutants are leading to changes in the oxidizing capacity of the troposphere and rising concentrations of greenhouse gases. Data from TAO will allow us to address air quality issues by making observations of daily, seasonal, and longer-term variability in tropospheric gases in an urban environment.
Theme Two - Stratosphere (approximately 10-50 km): The stratospheric measurements are being used to investigate the incompletely understood chemical and physical processes determining the mid-latitude ozone budget, and the role of nitrogen and chlorine chemical cycles. As we build up a longer data set, we will also evaluate seasonal and interannual variability and underlying trends.