The Future of Atmospheric Chemistry Research Remembering Yesterday, Understanding Today, Anticipating Tomorrow (2016) / Chapter Skim
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1 Why This Report?
1 Why This Report?
Pages 17-26
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From page 17... ...
This growth in human activities and changes in their spatial distribution, along with natural disturbances such as volcanic eruptions and lightning-induced wildfires, have a substantial impact on the Earth system. As a world, we have entered a period when human activities are overriding some natural processes and leading to a discernable impact on the Earth system.
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. Atmospheric chemistry plays an important role in controlling climate change; for example, aerosol particles impact climate through direct radiative forcing, by indirectly modifying clouds, and by modifying carbon uptake.
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1.2 THE SCIENCE OF ATMOSPHERIC CHEMISTRY Atmospheric chemistry research encompasses understanding the processes controlling the chemical composition of the atmosphere through development of fundamental scientific knowledge, and applying that knowledge to improve the quality of life for humans and ecosystems. As such, the field bridges "basic" research, which addresses fundamental questions about how the world works, and "applied" research, which is motivated by a desire to answer questions of relevance to society.
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From page 20... ...
Challenges include developing models that cover the wide ranges of temporal and spatial scales, while accurately capturing processes from the molecular and sub-second scales on which chemical processes occur, to the global and decadal scales relevant to describe societal impacts. The pioneers who settled the frontier of atmospheric chemistry were trained in a range of disciplines.
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From page 21... ...
A predictive framework must synthesize atmospheric chemistry research results with information from physical and ecological, technological, and social science fields related to a specific societal problem. Attaining such a predictive capability requires an understanding of the Earth system developed from laboratory and theoretical studies of fundamental atmospheric chemistry and physics, instruments and atmospheric observations to establish atmospheric constituents and processes, and computational models to integrate understanding.
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From page 22... ...
A more advanced form of risk management tightly integrates environmental statistics and predictive models with a numerical representation of perceived cost and benefit; this approach can be used for applications ranging from atmospheric science research (Small et al., 2011) to decisions affecting air quality (Garner and Thompson, 2012)
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These models, informed by new laboratory, theory, and observational studies, can provide better predictions of the rapidly changing future atmosphere to inform policy choices, potentially protecting human health and wellbeing in the face of global change. In light of the rapid changes to the Earth system combined with impressive scientific advancements of the past few decades, it is clear that the next decade of research will be pivotal for advancing the understanding of atmospheric chemistry and its role in human welfare.
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The Committee's report should incorporate input from the broader atmospheric chemistry research community, including scientists working in academia, government, and private sector. The Committee should consider how the proposed research agenda relates to the broader federal agency and international context for atmospheric chemistry, but focus on those activities that might best be supported by the National Science Foundation.
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research program in atmospheric chemistry to advance the most relevant basic and applied science over the coming decade. The grand challenge of predicting and ameliorating societal impacts requires integration with research domains beyond atmospheric chemistry.
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