MEGAPOLI

"Megacities: Emissions, urban, regional and Global Atmospheric POLlution and climate effects, and Integrated tools for assessment and mitigation"

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 Obiettivo del progetto (Objective)

'The MEGAPOLI project brings together leading European research groups, state-of-the-art scientific tools and key players from third countries to investigate the interactions among megacities, air quality and climate. MEGAPOLI will bridge the spatial and temporal scales that connect local emissions, air quality and weather with global atmospheric chemistry and climate. The main objectives are: (i) to assess impacts of megacities and large air-pollution hot-spots on local, regional and global air quality, (ii) to quantify feedbacks among megacity air quality, local and regional climate, and global climate change, (iii) to develop improved integrated tools for prediction of air pollution in megacities. In order to achieve these objectives we will: - Develop and evaluate integrated methods to improve megacity emission data; - Investigate physical and chemical processes starting from the megacity street level, continuing to the city, regional and global scales; - Assess regional and global air quality impacts of megacity plumes; - Determine the main mechanisms of regional meteorology/climate forcing due to megacity plumes; - Assess global megacity pollutant forcing on climate; - Examine feedback mechanisms including effects of climate change on megacity air quality; - Develop integrated tools for prediction of megacity air quality; - Evaluate these integrated tools and use them in case studies; - Develop a methodology to estimate the impacts of different scenarios of megacity development on human health and climate change; - Propose and assess mitigation options to reduce the impacts of megacity emissions. We will follow a pyramid strategy of undertaking detailed measurements in one European major city, Paris, performing detailed analysis for 12 megacities with existing air quality datasets and investigate the effects of all megacities on climate. The results will be disseminated to authorities, policy community, researchers and the other megacity stakeholders.'

Introduzione (Teaser)

For the first time in human history more people are living in cities than in the surrounding countryside. The world's largest conurbations, known as megacities, are now home to hundreds of millions of people whose lives are affected by local air quality.

Descrizione progetto (Article)

Urban centres can have a major effect on air quality and climate as a result of human activities such as energy production, industry, transport and waste disposal. Six major centres of population in Europe have been identified as megacities.

The Megapoli project is helping to formulate a European methodology for assessing the air quality and climate of megacities. The data collated will help improve sustainable management of the environment and its natural resources. The project's main objectives include determining the impacts of megacities on local, regional and global air quality and climate and evaluate the effectiveness of mitigating activities.

Researchers performed two measurement campaigns around Paris for primary and secondary organic aerosol (SOA) sources and found the pollution plume was still well-defined more than 100;km downwind. A database has been developed for evaluating surface flux and urban features used in climate and air quality models. Emission data was collated for Paris, London, Rhine-Ruhr area and the Po valley and integrated with the final European emissions map. An anthropogenic heat flux model (AHF), which shows heat flux resulting from human activities was developed and used to create a record of AHF for Europe.

Data from European megacities shows that urban aerosols have a significant effect on meteorological factors such as temperature, inversion layers, cloud formation and precipitation. Satellite-based methods are also being developed and used for measuring gases and aerosols, particularly nitrogen dioxide (NO2), in and around megacities.

The Megapoli initiative has brought together leading European research groups, the latest scientific tools and key figures from third countries to study the effect of megacities on local, regional and global air quality and climate. Project data has contributed to the development of a European framework for combining meteorological and atmospheric chemical transport models. The results of Megapoli will be of benefit to local authorities, policy makers, researchers and all those concerned with the impact of megacities on human health and the environment.