International Global Atmospheric Chemistry Project

International Global Atmospheric Chemistry Project
Name	International Global Atmospheric Chemistry Project
Abbreviation	IGAC
Formation	1990
Type	Scientific research program
Region served	Global

Contents

International Global Atmospheric Chemistry Project is an international research program fostering collaboration on atmospheric composition, chemistry, and processes relevant to climate and air quality. It convenes researchers from institutions such as National Aeronautics and Space Administration, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, European Space Agency, Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology, and Chinese Academy of Sciences to coordinate field campaigns, model intercomparisons, and data synthesis. IGAC links with programs and bodies including World Meteorological Organization, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, United Nations Environment Programme, International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme, and Future Earth.

Overview

IGAC was launched in 1990 amid rising concern over ozone depletion and climate forcing, with early support from organizations such as Scientific Committee on Problems of the Environment, Royal Society, National Science Foundation, European Commission, and Japan Science and Technology Agency. Key historic activities linked IGAC to events like the Montreal Protocol deliberations, the Rio Earth Summit, and assessments by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Over decades IGAC convened working groups with involvement from figures affiliated with MIT, Harvard University, University of Cambridge, Columbia University, University of California, Berkeley, University of Oxford, and ETH Zurich.

IGAC’s objectives align with assessments by IPCC and guidance from World Meteorological Organization to quantify sources, sinks, and chemical transformations of trace gases and aerosols. Research themes include tropospheric chemistry influenced by emissions from International Maritime Organization-regulated shipping, biomass burning studied alongside Food and Agriculture Organization datasets, urban air quality tied to World Health Organization guidelines, and secondary organic aerosol formation examined with tools from European Molecular Biology Laboratory and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. Thematic foci bring together communities from Aerosol Comparisons between Observations and Models, Coupled Model Intercomparison Project, Global Carbon Project, CHEMICAL oceanography groups, and Atmospheric Radiation Measurement facilities.

IGAC’s governance includes a scientific steering committee drawing members from institutions like Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute, Met Office, Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, Korea Polar Research Institute, and South African Weather Service. Funding and sponsorship are coordinated with agencies such as European Research Council, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, Agence Nationale de la Recherche, and National Natural Science Foundation of China. Operational nodes collaborate with centers including Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Eawag, Norwegian Institute for Air Research, Instituto de Ciências do Mar de Barcelona, and Centro Nacional de Meteorología.

IGAC has led or co-sponsored campaigns and projects with partners like INTEX, AMMA, CARIBIC, HIPPO, ACE, BASIN, and GABRIEL. Collaborations extend to satellite missions such as Terra (satellite), Aqua (satellite), Sentinel-5P, OCO-2, and CALIPSO and to observatory networks including Mauna Loa Observatory, Cape Grim, Barrow Observatory, Izaña Atmospheric Research Center, and Jungfraujoch. Cross-program links include Global Energy and Water Exchanges project, Solid Earth initiatives, World Climate Research Programme, International Ocean Carbon Coordination Project, and International Arctic Science Committee.

IGAC-coordinated research helped quantify the role of tropospheric ozone in radiative forcing alongside studies by NOAA ESRL and findings synthesized in IPCC Assessment Reports. IGAC-supported fieldwork elucidated aerosol-cloud interactions with implications for conclusions from CloudSat and MODIS, and informed policy discussions in forums like United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution. Results advanced understanding of biomass burning chemistry linked to events like the Amazon rainforest fires and Australian bushfires, and improved emission inventories used by Emissions Database for Global Atmospheric Research and EDGAR.

IGAC emphasizes open data and interoperability, partnering with repositories and initiatives such as PANGAEA, Earth System Grid Federation, Copernicus Climate Change Service, GEOSS, and World Data Center. Outreach programs coordinate training workshops with International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics, educational partnerships with American Geophysical Union, European Geosciences Union, Royal Meteorological Society, and engagement with policy through International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis briefings. IGAC fosters capacity building in regions represented by African Union, Association of Southeast Asian Nations, Latin American and Caribbean Network of Climate Change Offices, and national programs including Brazilian National Institute for Space Research and South African National Research Foundation.

Category:Atmospheric chemistry organizations