We found a match
Your institution may have rights to this item. Sign in to continue.
- Title
Particulate matter, air quality and climate: lessons learned and future needs.
- Authors
Fuzzi, S.; Baltensperger, U.; Carslaw, K.; Decesari, S.; van der Gon, H. Denier; Facchini, M. C.; Fowler, D.; Koren, I.; Langford, B.; Lohmann, U.; Nemitz, E.; Pandis, S.; Riipinen, I.; Rudich, Y.; Schaap, M.; Slowik, J.; Spracklen, D. V.; Vignati, E.; Wild, M.; Williams, M.
- Abstract
The literature on atmospheric particulate matter (PM), or atmospheric aerosol, has increased enormously over the last two decades and amounts now to some 1500-2000 papers per year in the refereed literature. This is in part due to the enormous advances in measurement technologies, which has allowed for an increasingly accurate understanding of the chemical composition and of the physical properties of atmospheric particles and of their processes in the atmosphere. The growing scientific interest in atmospheric aerosol particles is due to their high importance for environmental policy. In fact, particulate matter constitutes one of the most challenging problems both for air quality and climate change policies. In this context, this paper reviews the most recent results within the atmospheric aerosol science, and the policy needs, which have driven much of the increase in monitoring and mechanistic research over the last two decades. The synthesis reveals many new processes and developments in the science underpinning climate-aerosol interactions and effects of PM on human health and the environment. But, while airborne particulate matter is responsible for globally important effects on premature human mortality, we still do not know the relative importance of different chemical components of PM for these effects. Likewise, the magnitude of the overall effects of PM on climate remains highly uncertain. Despite the uncertainty there are many things that could be done to mitigate local and global problems of atmospheric PM. Recent analyses have shown that reducing BC emissions, using known control measures would reduce global warming and delay the time when anthropogenic effects on global temperature would exceed 2 °C. Likewise, cost effective control measures on ammonia, an important agricultural precursor gas for secondary inorganic aerosols (SIA), would reduce regional eutrophication and PM concentrations in large areas of Europe, China, and the USA. Thus there is much that could be done to reduce effects of atmospheric PM on the climate and the health of the environment and human population. A prioritized list of actions to mitigate the full range of effects of PM is currently undeliverable due to shortcomings in knowledge of aerosol science among which the roles of PM in global climate and the relative roles of different PM precursor sources and their response to climate and land use change over the remaining decades of this century are prominent.
- Subjects
PARTICULATE matter; AIR quality; ATMOSPHERIC aerosols; TECHNOLOGICAL innovations; ENVIRONMENTAL policy; EARLY death
- Publication
Atmospheric Chemistry & Physics Discussions, 2015, Vol 15, Issue 1, p521
- ISSN
1680-7367
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.5194/acpd-15-521-2015