ABSTRACT

This project involves studying critical aspects of the carbon, nitrogen and oxygen/hydrogen cycles within two developing urban areas: Lagos, Nigeria; and Mumbai (Bombay), India. A series of gas and aerosol phase carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen components will be measured during multiple years (2005-2007). Modeling will be carried out to discern the linkages among developing megacities and the local, regional, and global environment. The areas to be studied are among the earth's most populated and rapidly growing areas, and comprise regions where such measurements are sparse or non-existent.

Virtually all population growth during the next 30 years will occur in urban areas. More than ninety percent of this increase will occur in less developed regions of the world. Increased population, industrialization, and energy use will aggravate the effect that developing regions have on the earth's ecosystems. Urban areas are the focal points for the confluence of multiple biogeochemical cycles. The human influence on these biogeochemical cycles will become increasingly noticeable worldwide as Asian, African, and South American urbanization accelerates in the coming decades.

The information resulting from this project will be important for defining atmospherically and climatologically relevant emissions from developing urban regions, estimating oxidant production, better assessing the potential exposure of the local population to toxic atmospheric compounds, and providing the basis for comparing measurements in developing regions with other regions of the world. In addition, this study will provide data necessary for a more thorough examination of the potential impacts that these urban areas have on far removed regions, both in terms of long-range pollutant transport and broad scale effects on the global oxidizing capacity and climate.

A significant component of this project is education and societal outreach. Close interactions with local scientists, faculty members, students, and officials in the urban areas studied will be developed. Local participants will receive training in advanced techniques used to study environmental issues. A video documentary is planned to provide information on the study so that interested persons can observe the study as it progresses. Interactions with local scientists will promote subsequent collaborations and prepare those scientists for continued study in their localities.

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