International Collaboration on Measurement of Globally-important Gases in the Atmosphere of the Tropical Maritime Continent

Lead Research Organisation: University of East Anglia
Department Name: Environmental Sciences

Abstract

Long-term measurements of the atmospheric composition are required for a full understanding of the effects of human emissions of greenhouse gases and pollutants. For historic reasons, the network of observing stations run under the auspices of the World Meteorological Organisation's Global Atmospheric Watch program has some regions which are well studied (e.g. Europe and North America) and some which are not. One region where the observing capability is limited is that part of Southeast Asia and the West Pacific known as the 'Maritime Continent'. In this project, we will work with the University of Malaya and the Malaysian Meteorological Department to develop a high-quality, long-term atmospheric monitoring program at the new field station at Bachok on the Malaysian peninsula. This site is extremely well located for studies of the outflow of the rapidly developing Southeast Asian countries, as well as for the interaction of that air with the much cleaner atmosphere in the southern hemisphere. The Universities of Cambridge and East Anglia both have experience in making long-term measurements. In particular UEA have operated a well-instrumented observing site at Weybourne on the north Norfolk coast for well over a decade. This expertise will be used to develop the existing capability in Malaysia and to design and implement a programme of long-term measurements at Bachok. The focus of the measurements in the first instance will be greenhouse gases, ozone depleting substances, and chemical pollutants. In addition we will be encouraging the involvement of other interested scientists in NCAS Composition, the UK more generally and beyond to strengthen the planned measurement program. A demonstration activity will be arranged in the winter monsoon season when the flow is strongly from Southeast Asia. This activity will have two aims: (i) ensuring high quality measurements are made at the site; and (ii) determine the characteristics of the site and its suitability for the assessment of both global and regional atmospheric composition. Many of the measurements made in this activity will then be continued in to the monitoring programme. It is important to ensure that such measurements are fully exploited, and to this end we will both collaborate with partners in Taiwan and Australia and develop a modelling strategy for the interpretation of the data in conjunction with UK modelling groups including those at Cambridge, UEA and within NCAS. Exchange visits will be used for training purposes and for the development of collaborative interpretive studies (and peer-reviewed publications). Finally, a major scientific conference will be held towards the end of the project, linking in to international programs such as WMO-GAW, IGAC or SOLAS.

Planned Impact

Having an impact on a wide community is at the heart of this project promoting International Collaboration. The workshops, conference and exchange visits will all help to achieve this. The main beneficiary will be the international organisations that provide scientific support and assessment to policy makers. Specifically this includes WMO-GAW, as an intention of this proposal is to prepare the new UK-Malaysian atmospheric observatory for possible entry in to the global GAW network. The improved scientific knowledge and understanding will also benefit the authors of international assessments and reports whether they are for intergovernmental organizations such as IPCC and WMO or for international research programmes such as IGBP-SOLAS, IGAC or WCRP-SPARC. In the UK, scientists within NCAS will be provided with early opportunities to participate in the new research programme at Bachok, and in turn the Research Directorate in NCAS is well positioned to ensure that the results can be communicated to policymakers, the public and other interested parties. A variety of electronic media will be used to promote understanding of the aims of the results of research, including social media, websites, and public talks or presentations such as in the University of Cambridge Science Week. It will directly benefit NERC through a contribution to its Themes on Climate Systems, Earth System Science and Sustainable Use of Natural Resources. The conference in Malaysia at the end of the project, as well as workshops in the UK, will provide an excellent opportunity to reach out to representatives from the policy and industrial fields. A valuable and inevitable spin-off of enhanced scientific collaborations will be improved scientific links between countries - not only will they help those directly involved, but they will also facilitate the development of new links as new areas of interest emerge.

Publications

10 25 50

 
Description Established fully-fledged atmospheric chemistry monitoring station in Malaysia on the South China Sea in collaboration with the University of Malaya. Have successfully carried out an initial "demonstration activity" at this stationshowing evidence for long-range transport of biomass burning and industrial pollution across the length of the South China Sea from China and countries of the Indochinese peninsula.
Exploitation Route Research facility for national and international projects, and for further development towards GAW status. Potential adoption by the National Centre for Atmospheric Science as a recognised UK-supported global measurement station.
Sectors Environment

URL https://www.ncas.ac.uk/index.php/en/bachok-research-station
 
Description Highlight Topic
Amount £279,954 (GBP)
Funding ID NE/N016238/1 
Organisation Natural Environment Research Council 
Sector Public
Country United Kingdom
Start 06/2016 
 
Description International Opportunities Fund
Amount £37,189 (GBP)
Funding ID NE/N006836/1 
Organisation Natural Environment Research Council 
Sector Public
Country United Kingdom
Start 06/2015 
End 07/2017
 
Description Initiation of long term measurement network 
Organisation National Central University Taiwan
Country Taiwan, Province of China 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution The first collaborative network measurements were begun at (a) Bachok Research Station, Malaysia and (b) Wanli Station, Taiwan (air sampling and in situ GC-ECD in both cases). These are collaborative with the University of Malaya, and the National Central University of Taiwan.
Collaborator Contribution To be added
Impact See publications
Start Year 2012
 
Description Initiation of long term measurement network 
Organisation University of Malaya
Department Institute of Ocean and Earth Sciences
Country Malaysia 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution The first collaborative network measurements were begun at (a) Bachok Research Station, Malaysia and (b) Wanli Station, Taiwan (air sampling and in situ GC-ECD in both cases). These are collaborative with the University of Malaya, and the National Central University of Taiwan.
Collaborator Contribution To be added
Impact See publications
Start Year 2012
 
Description International partnership building 
Organisation Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation
Department Center for Marine and Atmospheric Research
Country Australia 
Sector Public 
PI Contribution Series of group and individual meetings between PIs and development of a collaborative strategy. Meetings held in Norwich (UEA), Cambridge, Kuala Lumpur, Bachok (Malaysia), and opportunistically in New Zealand and Australia, and involving the majority of PI institutes (UEA), University of Cambridge, University of Malaya (UM), the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO, Australia), and the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA, New Zealand), as well as verbal contact with the National Central University of Taiwan. There was also a site visit to the the new research facility at Bachjok, and the Malaysian Meteorology Department (MMD) weather station/radiosonde launch facility at Kota Bharu, both central to this proposal, with staff from UEA, Cambridge, UM and MMD. This process will be completed with meetings in Taiwan and Malaysia later this year.
Collaborator Contribution See above
Impact See outputs
Start Year 2012
 
Description International partnership building 
Organisation Malaysian Meteorology Department (MMD)
Country Malaysia 
Sector Public 
PI Contribution Series of group and individual meetings between PIs and development of a collaborative strategy. Meetings held in Norwich (UEA), Cambridge, Kuala Lumpur, Bachok (Malaysia), and opportunistically in New Zealand and Australia, and involving the majority of PI institutes (UEA), University of Cambridge, University of Malaya (UM), the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO, Australia), and the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA, New Zealand), as well as verbal contact with the National Central University of Taiwan. There was also a site visit to the the new research facility at Bachjok, and the Malaysian Meteorology Department (MMD) weather station/radiosonde launch facility at Kota Bharu, both central to this proposal, with staff from UEA, Cambridge, UM and MMD. This process will be completed with meetings in Taiwan and Malaysia later this year.
Collaborator Contribution See above
Impact See outputs
Start Year 2012
 
Description International partnership building 
Organisation National Central University Taiwan
Country Taiwan, Province of China 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution Series of group and individual meetings between PIs and development of a collaborative strategy. Meetings held in Norwich (UEA), Cambridge, Kuala Lumpur, Bachok (Malaysia), and opportunistically in New Zealand and Australia, and involving the majority of PI institutes (UEA), University of Cambridge, University of Malaya (UM), the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO, Australia), and the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA, New Zealand), as well as verbal contact with the National Central University of Taiwan. There was also a site visit to the the new research facility at Bachjok, and the Malaysian Meteorology Department (MMD) weather station/radiosonde launch facility at Kota Bharu, both central to this proposal, with staff from UEA, Cambridge, UM and MMD. This process will be completed with meetings in Taiwan and Malaysia later this year.
Collaborator Contribution See above
Impact See outputs
Start Year 2012
 
Description International partnership building 
Organisation National Centre for Atmospheric Science (NCAS)
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Charity/Non Profit 
PI Contribution Series of group and individual meetings between PIs and development of a collaborative strategy. Meetings held in Norwich (UEA), Cambridge, Kuala Lumpur, Bachok (Malaysia), and opportunistically in New Zealand and Australia, and involving the majority of PI institutes (UEA), University of Cambridge, University of Malaya (UM), the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO, Australia), and the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA, New Zealand), as well as verbal contact with the National Central University of Taiwan. There was also a site visit to the the new research facility at Bachjok, and the Malaysian Meteorology Department (MMD) weather station/radiosonde launch facility at Kota Bharu, both central to this proposal, with staff from UEA, Cambridge, UM and MMD. This process will be completed with meetings in Taiwan and Malaysia later this year.
Collaborator Contribution See above
Impact See outputs
Start Year 2012
 
Description International partnership building 
Organisation National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA, New Zealand)
Country New Zealand 
Sector Public 
PI Contribution Series of group and individual meetings between PIs and development of a collaborative strategy. Meetings held in Norwich (UEA), Cambridge, Kuala Lumpur, Bachok (Malaysia), and opportunistically in New Zealand and Australia, and involving the majority of PI institutes (UEA), University of Cambridge, University of Malaya (UM), the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO, Australia), and the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA, New Zealand), as well as verbal contact with the National Central University of Taiwan. There was also a site visit to the the new research facility at Bachjok, and the Malaysian Meteorology Department (MMD) weather station/radiosonde launch facility at Kota Bharu, both central to this proposal, with staff from UEA, Cambridge, UM and MMD. This process will be completed with meetings in Taiwan and Malaysia later this year.
Collaborator Contribution See above
Impact See outputs
Start Year 2012
 
Description International partnership building 
Organisation University of Cambridge
Department Department of Public Health and Primary Care
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution Series of group and individual meetings between PIs and development of a collaborative strategy. Meetings held in Norwich (UEA), Cambridge, Kuala Lumpur, Bachok (Malaysia), and opportunistically in New Zealand and Australia, and involving the majority of PI institutes (UEA), University of Cambridge, University of Malaya (UM), the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO, Australia), and the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA, New Zealand), as well as verbal contact with the National Central University of Taiwan. There was also a site visit to the the new research facility at Bachjok, and the Malaysian Meteorology Department (MMD) weather station/radiosonde launch facility at Kota Bharu, both central to this proposal, with staff from UEA, Cambridge, UM and MMD. This process will be completed with meetings in Taiwan and Malaysia later this year.
Collaborator Contribution See above
Impact See outputs
Start Year 2012
 
Description International partnership building 
Organisation University of Malaya
Country Malaysia 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution Series of group and individual meetings between PIs and development of a collaborative strategy. Meetings held in Norwich (UEA), Cambridge, Kuala Lumpur, Bachok (Malaysia), and opportunistically in New Zealand and Australia, and involving the majority of PI institutes (UEA), University of Cambridge, University of Malaya (UM), the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO, Australia), and the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA, New Zealand), as well as verbal contact with the National Central University of Taiwan. There was also a site visit to the the new research facility at Bachjok, and the Malaysian Meteorology Department (MMD) weather station/radiosonde launch facility at Kota Bharu, both central to this proposal, with staff from UEA, Cambridge, UM and MMD. This process will be completed with meetings in Taiwan and Malaysia later this year.
Collaborator Contribution See above
Impact See outputs
Start Year 2012