Air quality domestic and global partners

Because atmospheric issues such as the intercontinental transport of air pollution and stratospheric ozone depletion are a global concern and in many instances require global solutions, partnerships and collaboration on air quality science and research are essential.

Within Environment Canada, this collaboration is central to our scientific activities. Environment Canada’s air quality experts expand their research capacity by collaborating with various organizations in efforts to strengthen air quality research and development, access a wider range of expertise by participating in cutting-edge scientific and technical networks, and extend the knowledge needed to support science assessments, management plans, policies and a wide range of services to Canadians.

Scientists, engineers, chemists and technologists frequently work with researchers in universities and other federal and provincial departments, as well as with experts in the private sector and international organizations. There are also collaborations with other groups within the Department on issues that affect air quality, such as climate and meteorology, and with regional offices of Environment Canada on air quality-related issues in more specific geographic areas. Environment Canada’s air quality science and research also contributes to national and international policies on air quality, providing scientific support for decision-makers to develop effective air pollution control strategies.

Some examples of key collaborations include:

Internationally

World Meteorological Organization (WMO) - working together to monitor global environmental conditions and stratospheric ozone. A key element of this collaboration is the World Ozone and Ultraviolet Radiation Data Centre (WOUDC), operated by Environment Canada for the Global Atmosphere Watch programme of the World Meteorological Organization.

National Aeronautics Space Administration (NASA) - space-based monitoring of the environment.

• A research scientist within Environment Canada’s Air Quality Research Division and a NASA scientist are co-authoring a chapter in the WMOScientific Assessment of Ozone Depletion, the focus of the chapter being on observations to date and understanding of trends/changes in global ozone, polar ozone, and surface ultraviolet radiation, including the potential roles of climate change and other non-halogen effects.
• Scientists within Environment Canada’s Air Quality Research Division received NASA achievement awards for outstanding accomplishments and collaborative research in the Intercontinental Chemical Transport Experiment Mission, characterizing pollution plumes and studying the transport of anthropogenic particulate matter from Asia.

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) - collaborating on science issues and advancements related to air quality forecasting including improving operational air quality forecasts, promoting collaborations among air quality forecasting researchers and practitioners, and nurturing an international air quality forecasting community.

• Working together researching atmospheric pollutant transport and transformation and monitoring of environmental change in the Arctic.
• Collaboration with NOAA’s Earth System Research Laboratory on ground-level and free tropospheric ozone changes

Network for the Detection of Atmosphere Composition Change (NDACC)- participating on the Science Team of the Network’s Steering Committee. NDACC is an international activity, endorsed by the United Nations Environment Programme and the International Ozone Commission of the International Association of Meteorology and Atmospheric Physics and by the WMO as a major contributor of their Global Atmosphere Watch. The primary goal is to obtain high quality measurements of a broad range of atmospheric chemical species and parameters.

National Institute of Standards and Technology- collaborative research on the characterization, development, and/or adoption of standard reference materials used for the identification and quantitative analysis of several compound classes, such as polyaromatic hydrocarbons in diesel fuel emissions and urban dust, and standard reference concentrations for dioxins and furans and for ozone calibration and traceability.

United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) - extensive and close collaboration exists between Environment Canada and the US EPA on joint research under various air and water Canada-U.S. agreements, as well as specific areas of scientific research including atmospheric modelling, mobile and stationary source emissions research and measurement, and transboundary air quality issues.

Partnerships with Other Government Agencies

Canadian provinces, territories, and some Canadian municipal governments - cooperation on measuring ambient air in populated regions of Canada through the National Air Pollution Surveillance (NAPS) program.

Health Canada - collaboration to jointly develop the Air Quality Health Index, to help Canadians protect their health on a daily basis from the negative effects of air pollution.

• Numerous joint studies to define health exposure conditions from air quality and ultraviolet radiation.

Natural Resources Canada - working through the Program of Energy Research and Development to develop strategies to reduce pollution from the transportation sector and conduct collaborative research and scientific studies to characterize the air pollutants contributed by transportation, to understand how these emissions evolve once released to the ambient air, and how these emissions impact human health.

Agriculture and Agri-Foods Canada - participating as part of the National Agri-Environmental Standards Initiative, conducting research methods to reduce agricultural emissions.

Indian and Northern Affairs Canada - carrying out research and development to address air quality in the Arctic, including collaborative programs to take measurements in the Arctic to study greenhouse gases, aerosols, air toxics from industrial and agricultural sources and stratospheric ozone and ultraviolet radiation levels for climate and air pollutions studies.

Our Academic Partnerships

Collaborating with first-class universities and colleges across Canada and around the world enables Environment Canada’s atmospheric science experts to provide leadership to research programs identifying and resolving air quality issues. The academic institutions we are either currently collaborating with or have collaborated with recently include:

In Canada:

• Carleton University
• Dalhousie University
• McGill University
• McMaster University
• University of British Columbia
• University of Guelph
• University of Toronto
• York University

Abroad :

• University of Michigan
• University of Colorado
• Harbin Institute of Technology, China