TORONTO, February 12, 2001 -- The first round of funding for clean air and climate change research at universities across Canada will be announced at a reception at York University, Thursday, Feb. 15, by the Canadian Foundation for Climate and Atmospheric Sciences (CFCAS).

The federal government has invested $60 million to establish the CFCAS and fund research that is vital to developing effective policies on the environment. The foundation will announce an initial investment of more than $3.9 million over three years in 15 university-based research projects, many with direct application to current methods of pollution monitoring and weather prediction.

Projects at York University will improve techniques for predicting severe weather and provide more accurate measurements of the atmosphere's ability to eliminate volatile organic compounds and other industrial pollutants. "The foundation's goal is to improve understanding of the implications of climate and atmospheric sciences for human health and the natural environment, and these projects will go a long way to meeting that objective," said Prof. Gordon McBean, CFCAS chair.

York University Vice-President, Research and Innovation, Stan Shapson noted York's longstanding contribution to advancement in these fields through its Centre for Atmospheric Chemistry and department of Earth and Atmospheric Science in the Faculty of Pure and Applied Science. "We are encouraged by the stronger federal support for research in these fields and expect to see real benefits, both in the advancement of science and in our ability to inform public policy on the environment," said Shapson.

GRANT RECIPIENTS AT YORK

Prof. Peter Taylor, in the department of Earth and Atmospheric Science, will receive $340,000 over two years to investigate the effect of lake breezes on air quality and severe weather conditions. Recent studies in Ontario have clearly linked lake breezes with severe thunderstorms, lightning, and tornadoes, as well as air quality, particularly ozone concentration levels in southern Ontario. Taylor's team will use satellite images and radar, as well as surface and aircraft-based measurements of weather conditions to gain a better understanding of the pre-storm environment and provide a new data base for a lake-breeze climatology of southwestern Ontario that will make forecasting more precise and improve the reliability of severe weather warnings. Taylor is an applied mathematician and president of the Canadian Meteorological and Oceanographic Society. He has worked on atmospheric boundary layer studies since 1964 and is actively involved in mesoscale meteorological modeling of lake breezes and storms using the Canadian MC2 (Mesoscale Compressible Community) model.

Prof. Jochen Rudolph of York's Centre for Atmospheric Chemistry is a world leader in the field of measuring atmospheric volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and their stable carbon isotope composition, and in creating the intellectual framework for interpreting the measurements. He will receive $594,800 over three years to develop more effective air pollution control strategies by enhancing the reliability and predictability of numerical model simulations. Numerical simulation models are the most important tools for measuring emissions of pollutants and their level of concentration in the atmosphere, as well as the formation of secondary air pollution. These models are used widely both by governments and the private sector to determine the need and extent of reduction in emissions to achieve and maintain air quality standards. Rudolph has shown that reaction with hydroxyl-radicals (OH radicals) is the first step to removal of many important trace gases from the atmosphere, and determines the rate of formation of many secondary pollutants, such as ozone and secondary particulate matter, that lead to smog. Experimental data that allows verification of model predictions for OH-radical concentrations in the atmosphere is quite rare, and there is no such data for Canada. Rudolph's team will provide the research necessary to test, improve and verify OH-radical concentrations used in model calculations.

The reception will take place at 2:30 p.m. in the Chemistry and Computer Science Building, York University, Keele Campus, 4700 Keele St.

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For further information, please contact:

Susan Bigelow Media Relations York University  (416) 736-2100, ext. 22091 sbigelow@yorku.ca

Linda Larocque Media Relations CFCAS (819) 772-0925 llarocque@videotron.ca

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