“There’s a real concentration of expertise in the field here at York,” says Quine, professor of space and planetary physics in York’s Department of Physics and Astronomy. “Many of our faculty have a strong personal interest in making sure that Kyoto is understood and that its ultimate benefits to the Canadian environment and economy are widely known.” 

Weighing in at only 150 grams, the first prototype of his specialized device is scheduled to be launched into space on a micro-satellite next August. The tiny device will operate for only 20 minutes a day, but can scan a track more than 8000 km long during this time.

“Small is beautiful when it comes to space-borne instrumentation,” says Quine. “With launch costs approximating $10,000 per kilo, it is important to be as compact as possible.” Despite the diminutive dimensions of the instrument – a scant 50 mm by 80 mm -- Quine believes there are no other devices in the world that can get the resolution that this one will.

And it’s the accuracy that’s important to Quine.

“It is vital to the public’s acceptance of the Kyoto Accord’s goals that Canada’s emissions are being measured impartially and accurately, and the best way to do that is to measure them ourselves,” he says.

Quine isn’t looking to track down every poorly-tuned car or backyard barbecue. He is after the big game in the world of emissions. “In the early stages, we really only need to focus on large industrial activity, identify a few really bad polluters, and devise mitigation strategies for them to have a huge effect on emissions.” 

There’s more to it than just measuring emissions, however. “Up until now, we have used a ‘production accountancy’ model to calculate what various industries are emitting,” says Quine. “This provides a fairly reliable estimate of how many tonnes of gas are being sent into the atmosphere, and whether emission rates are rising or falling.”

But this model does not tell you what is actually happening to the atmosphere, says Quine, “We know there has been an exponential increase in the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere over the last hundred years, but we don’t know for sure what effect that increase is having on climate change. This project is an important first step to take the guess out of our educated guesswork.”

York University is the leading interdisciplinary teaching and research university in Canada. York offers a modern, academic experience at the undergraduate and graduate level in Toronto, Canada’s most international city.  The third largest university in the country, York is host to a dynamic academic community of 50,000 students and 7,000 faculty and staff, as well as 180,000 alumni worldwide. York’s 10 faculties and 21 research centres conduct ambitious, groundbreaking research that is interdisciplinary, cutting across traditional academic boundaries.  This distinctive and collaborative approach is preparing students for the future and bringing fresh insights and solutions to real-world challenges.

For more information, or to arrange an interview, the media should contact:

Jeff Ball, Media Relations, York University, 416-736-2100, x22086 / jball@yorku.ca

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