Economies in South East Asia are developing rapidly leading to rapidly growing emissions of a variety of important chemicals including halocarbon compounds that can impact the ozone layer and nutrients and contaminants that can alter ocean biological processes. These emissions are carried towards the Pacific Ocean mixing with dust from the Asian deserts. The subsequent deposition of this material can impact on ocean productivity and the transport of ozone damaging chemicals southwards allows them to enter the equatorial region with rapid transfer to the stratosphere with attendant threats to stratospheric ozone. A recently developed Taiwanese sampling station offers an ideal location to study this Asian outflow as it starts its journey and hence to better understand its current and potential future impacts in the region and globally. This project aimed to develop links between a leading UK research group and colleagues in Taiwan in preparation for a major grant application for fields studies in this region.

Objectives

This proposal requests IOF support to for the development of a collaborative relationship between scientists at the Centre for Ocean and Atmospheric Science at the University of East Anglia (UEA) and two leading research groups in Taiwan - the Research Center for Environmental Changes at Academia Sinica (AS ) in Taiwan and the Department of Atmospheric Sciences at the National Central University of Taiwan (NCU). The proposal requests funds for visits including a demonstration field sampling campaign to develop and inter-compare methodologies in preparation for the submission of a major research grant focused on the scale and biogeochemical impact of atmospheric outflow of atmospheric pollutants and dust from South East Asia.