HTAP-EBAS. No 070307/2007/481644/MAR/C5. Final report, version 1.0.

Abstract

The Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution has set up a Task Force on Hemispheric Transport of Air Pollution which aims at obtaining a fuller understanding of the role of hemispheric transport of air pollution and specifically to have tools for access to integrated observations and a data set for the evaluation of chemical transport models. A specific service contract (this project) was designed to provide data sets for evaluation of models and more generally create a global system of ground based observations of transboundary air pollution. The objective of the contract was specifically to • Define a set of generic data standards for observations of air pollution (air quality, deposition and vertical profiles and linked meta information) that is compatible with the requirements of evaluation of the performance of chemical transport models. This set of standards should build on existing efforts of naming conventions and be flexible to accommodate the main standards in use for air pollution information and to be adapted to modern information and communication data technologies. • Provide a core data set of observations suitable for evaluation of chemical transport models in the assessment of hemispheric transport of air pollution. This core set should include the information on ozone and its precursors and Particulate Matter and its precursors. The core data set has to be relevant for the years 2000/01 and 2005/06 although also data for other years are of relevance and thereafter having the potential of being annually updated through automatic schemes. • Provide recommendations for further work to fully streamline the access to observational data.