Efficient mitigation strategy to be implemented by local authorities will be fed by ACCEPT with high quality long terms observations of key atmospheric parameters representative of the regional background pollution levels and providing information on 1) the major sources responsible for air pollution in Cyprus, 2) their trends (seasonal, multi-annual), and 3) their geographical origin (local versus long-range transport). These specific observations, currently not performed by the national air quality network, will ultimately represent a major constrain for atmospheric-climate model developments proposed hereafter.
Atmospheric observations performed at ground level need to be assessed with complementary platforms that can characterize, for instance, long-range transported pollution that travels typically at several kilometres altitude. This transboundary pollution (desert dust, human-made pollution, etc.) will have a major impact on local radiative forcing, cloud formation/precipitation, or air quality if entering into the lower atmosphere over Cyprus.
The data that will be generated by the atmospheric observations will be used to improve Earth system models and provide a robust regional Air Quality model and specialized climate projections. The main focus will be the implementation and application of a state-of-the-art modelling system over Cyprus in collaboration with national services (DoM, DLI) and the assessment through computational techniques of the effects of climate change on air pollution over the EMME region and more specifically over Cyprus.
The main goal of this work package is devoted to obtaining, preparing and using state-of-the-art (in the highest available spatial resolution) climate data and projections from regional climate model simulations.
This work package is focused in the collectiveness from all the scientific work of this project to provide a synoptic assessment of the impacts of climate change and pollution and provide the necessary information to stakeholders, policy and decision makers and the sectors of the economy.