Scientific Advisory Group for Reactive Gases

The SAG on Reactive Gases will continue to focus on aspects related to tropospheric ozone chemistry with emphasis on tropospheric ozone itself and the precursor gases nitrogen oxides (NO and NO2), carbon monoxide (CO), and selected volatile organic compounds (VOCs) as well
as on sulphur dioxide (SO2). These gases play an important role as short-lived greenhouse gases, air pollutants, and substances affecting agriculture and natural ecosystems.

Members

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Terms of Reference

Core activities
● Facilitate research related to reactive gases working closely with the relevant international programmes and projects, as well as joint activities with other major environmental science activities including reactive gas monitoring, atmospheric modelling, effects research, climate research, etc.;
● Assess the current and emerging needs for measurements and analysis of reactive gaseous compounds to guide scientific developments and future delivery of such information;
● Promote initiatives towards an integrated view of the role of reactive gases in climate and air quality, working closely with the relevant international programmes and projects as well as joint activities with other major environmental science activities;
● Promote/facilitate the expansion of reactive gases observations in under-sampled regions, i.e. primarily in the tropics and in the Southern Hemisphere, to fill large gaps in the global observation network of reactive gases;
● Periodically evaluate the extension of the target species of the GAW reactive gases programme to other substances that are important to advance understanding of tropospheric chemistry, taking into account the availability of suitable measurement technologies and calibration methods;
● Produce regular assessments of the spatial distribution and trends of the main reactive gases on global and regional scales;
● Assist/supervise the development of the relevant training materials and training delivery and support capacity development activities.

Interface with SAGs
● Work together with the other thematic SAGs to develop integrated analyses targeting global challenges such as the nitrogen cycle, air pollution impacts on agriculture and natural ecosystems, and the role of short-lived climate forcers on regional weather and climate.

Interface with Expert Teams
● Work closely with ET-ACMQ on the assessment of the new or emerging technologies and methods which are becoming available for reactive gases, quality assurance and control tools and on the revision of existing measurement guidelines;
● Work closely with ET-ACMQ on the establishment of good practice guidelines and common procedures for quality assurance;
● Work closely with ET-ACNDE on the development of the user requirements for the application areas relevant to reactive gases to meet requirements from research communities responding to global environmental challenges;
● Work with the ET- ACDM on the data archival and availability in the WMO World Data Centers and the needs for additional variable and related metadata.

Interface with GAW Initiatives Steering Committees
● Advise GAW Initiatives Steering Committees on the recent developments, observational and modelling capabilities related to reactive gases.

Interface with WMO groups
● Collaborate with the WMO and co-sponsored programmes on the aspects of reactive gases within the Earth System approach and addressing weather, climate, health and agricultural, hydrological and ocean research.
Interface with external users and partners
● Outreach to other scientific and non-scientific communities regarding the state of science related to reactive gases, including the production of the relevant Bulletins, as well as proper understanding and use of measurement data;
● Actively entrain stakeholders, policymaker groups, scientific implementation partners and other interested parties to encourage their support and engagement;
● Communicate the availability of GAW observations to user communities, including ecosystem effects and atmospheric modelling communities.

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