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ABU DHABI, 15th December, 2022 (WAM) — The Environment Agency of Abu Dhabi, EAD, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Cyprus Institute and the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry in Germany on a collaboration on a major atmospheric research A project called Expedition for Atmospheric Research in Abu Dhabi (AREAD).
The agreement will see an EAD research vessel equipped with advanced monitoring equipment provided and operated by researchers from the Center for Climate and Atmospheric Research (CARE-C) at the Cyprus Research Institute for Air Pollution and Climate Change Research Leading Regional Center of Excellence, and the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry, a leading research institution focused on chemical processes in Earth systems.
Led by the IAEA, the two parties will collaborate on a marine air quality and climate change monitoring expedition – a world first that will cover three continents and eight major bodies of water, covering more than 10,000 kilometers from the Atlantic Ocean to the Arabian Gulf. From About 30 well-known experts from the three parties participated in the investigation.
Sailing the coasts of 25 countries, starting in Spain and ending in the UAE, this epic scientific enterprise will add valuable new data and make significant contributions to our understanding of coastal and ocean air quality and climate change. More than 22 different parameters will be monitored, including air quality regulation parameters, greenhouse gas concentrations, and volatile organic compounds and aerosol properties.
To date, air quality data has been collected mainly from land-based systems, and most of the air affecting Abu Dhabi travels across the ocean, where it impacts local air quality in populated areas of the emirate when it makes landfall. Instrumented vessels provide ideal platforms from which to study the physical and chemical processes taking place at sea.
EAD Secretary General Dr Shaikha Al Dhaheri said: “We are honored to be working with two of the world’s most authoritative and respected research institutions in their fields. This important agreement will help us take an important step forward in understanding how ocean air quality Impacting Abu Dhabi, and large-scale atmospheric circulation are critical to devising effective measures to help tackle climate change and improve air quality and health in the emirate.”
“From a scientific perspective, this important expedition is a world first, covers three continents and eight major oceans, and will strengthen EAD’s global position as a leader in atmospheric research,” she added.
Professor Jos Lelieveld, Managing Director of the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry, said: “Data are sparse and provide the basis for scientific discovery and support for air quality policy. ”
Professor Jean Sciare, Director of the Cyprus Institute CARE-C, added: “We are delighted to be part of this international collaboration, given the need to initiate atmospheric measurements, such as those collected by this ship expedition, and to continue and expand them in the coming years, It is imperative. The data collected will be critical to better model and predict air quality in the Gulf region and to inform effective measures to mitigate and adapt to climate change.”
The expedition started from the North Atlantic Ocean on November 25, will pass through the Mediterranean Sea, the Gulf of Suez, the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden, the Arabian Sea, the Gulf of Oman, and end in the Arabian Gulf and Abu Dhabi in December this year.
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