D E S C R I P T I O N O F W O R K - MEGAPOLI - Dmi

MEGAPOLI 212520
EPISODE model. Application of the FLEXPART model at the global scale to compute the dispersion of
emission tracers from megacities to study their transport characteristics and to discriminate between surface
and upper tropospheric effects. Impact of North American megacity plumes, in particular from the New York
megalopolis, onto European atmospheric composition by evaluation using the existing measurement data
from European background stations (e.g., EMEP stations) and previous airborne campaigns combined with
FLEXPART simulations to identify periods influenced by transport from North American megacities. The
frequency and impact of such episodes on European air quality and chemical composition will be studied.
NILU will co-ordinate WP5 and participate in WP2 and WP4
Principal personnel involved
Dr. Andreas Stohl (Senior scientist; Ph.: +47-63898000; Fax: +47-63898050, e-mail: ast@nilu.no) - is a
senior researcher at NILU with more than 15 years of experience in the atmospheric sciences. His research
focus is on the long-range transport of air pollution and he has worked extensively on intercontinental air
pollution transport. He is author or co-author of 123 peer-reviewed publications and has edited a book about
intercontinental air pollution transport. He was coordinator and/or PI in a large number of national and EU
projects and currently co-ordinates the International Polar Year core project POLARCAT, with more than
100 partner institutions.
Dr. Bruce Denby (Senior scientist; Ph.: +47-63898164; Fax: +47-63898050, e-mail: bde@nilu.no) - is a
senior researcher at the Norwegian Institute for Air Research (NILU). He is chiefly involved in air quality
modelling and assessment and coordinates model development and data assimilation activities within the
department of Urban Environment and Industry. He participates in research and application related projects
including recent EU projects such as Air4EU, CITYDELTA, FUMAPEX and EMECAP and is actively
involved in a number of ETC/ACC tasks related to modelling and air quality assessment. He has experience
in meteorological, atmospheric boundary layer, turbulence, chemical and also energy balance modelling.
Recent and relevant publications
Law, K. S., A. Stohl (2007): Arctic air pollution: Origins and impacts. Science 315, 1537-1540.
Stohl, A. et al. (2007): Aircraft measurements over Europe of an air pollution plume from Southeast Asia – aerosol and
chemical characterization. Atmos. Chem. Phys. 7, 913-937.
Stohl, A. et al. (2007): Arctic smoke – record high air pollution levels in the European Arctic due to agricultural fires in
Eastern Europe. Atmos. Chem. Phys. 7, 511-534.
Stohl, A. et al. (2006): Pan-Arctic enhancements of light absorbing aerosol concentrations due to North American
boreal forest fires during summer 2004. J. Geophys. Res. 111, D22214, doi:10.1029/2006JD007216.
Stohl, A. (2006): Characteristics of atmospheric transport into the Arctic troposphere. J. Geophys. Res. 111, D11306,
doi:10.1029/2005JD006888.
Kukkonen, J., M. Pohjola, R.Sokhi, L. Luhana, N. Kitwiroon, L. Fragkou, M. Rantamäki, E. Berge, V. Odegaard, L.
Håvard Slørdal, B. Denby, S. Finardi, 2005. Analysis and evaluation of selected local-scale PM10 air pollution
episodes in four European cities: Helsinki, London, Milan and Oslo. Atmospheric Environment, 39, 2759–2773.
Partner 13: Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI)
Expertise and experience of the organization
PSI in Switzerland is a centre for multi-disciplinary research and one of the world's leading user laboratories.
With its 1200 employees it belongs as an autonomous institution to the Swiss ETH domain. The Laboratory
of Atmospheric Chemistry (LAC) at PSI consists of about 35 researchers, including 15 PhD students. It has
in-depth experience with the design of experiments to characterize physical and chemical properties of
aerosols and has a strong interest in the impact of aerosols on air quality and climate. The laboratory operates
a chamber facility for atmospheric chemistry simulation, as well as a continuous aerosol programme at the
high Alpine research station Jungfraujoch (3580 m asl) within the Global Atmosphere Watch (GAW)
program of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). Additional activities include a mobile
measuring van as well as a large number of other state of the art facilities for atmospheric chemistry
research, both custom built and commercially available. CAM-x modelling is used for comparison with
experimental data. The LAC is currently involved in 9 EC projects, including e.g. EUCAARI and EUSAAR.
Role and contribution
PSI will lead WP 3 together with partner 6 (CNRS). Measurements of a wide variety of aerosol variables,
use of state of the art statistical tools for source apportionment.
Principal personnel involved
Urs Baltensperger is Head of the Laboratory of Atmospheric Chemistry at PSI and Prof. at ETH Zurich. His
research concerns the formation of secondary organic aerosol from gaseous precursors in a simulation
chamber, as well as the physical and chemical characterisation of atmospheric aerosols and their impact on
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