Auckland's Atmosphere Scientific Challenges and Research Opportunities

1. Auckland is unique:

   • mid oceanic - well ventilated, few precursor compounds
   • a linear city - little cross-wind accumulation of pollutants
   • extensive vegetated environment - biogenic compounds in air
   • situated on an isthmus - marine aerosols, complex sea breezes
   • shallow harbours - emissions from mudflats
   • light industry - low sulfur emissions
   • volcanic - extensive urban quarrying
   • diesel vehicles - fine carbon particulate

2. Auckland's history

   It is now almost a century since JCW Wright of the NZ Public Works Dept. designed this stamp for the post that linked Auckland and Great Barrier Island. His vignette chooses to depict the industrial aspirations of the city, not the country. It reminds us of a Victorian association between air pollution and wealth. At this time localised contamination within the city must have been easy to recognise when the countryside was so close.

   We can add this to the unique geography and suggest that early concern would be dominated by local sources. History bears this out:

   • 1840's odour problems from putrefying waste at Port of Auckland
   • 1950's fume attacks in South Auckland before sewage works
   • 1970's Civil Emergency in Parnell - Merphos
   • 1997 Oct 16th, fume alert Nelson St, Onehunga

   In parallel Auckland's developing monitoring network focussed special attention on another local effect: traffic on busy streets.

3. Auckland today

   A growing city without a structured mass transit system and a expanding vehicle fleet. Localised high air pollution continue to be a characteristic of the air pollution - most particularly at busy intersections or along major roads. The winds which have always dispersed the city's pollution continue to help, but emissions have increased with time. A frequent haze has drawn public attention to a more dispersed problem.

4. Scientific Challenges

   Scientists are currently faced with a particular challenge to integrate their work with the notion of Public-Good Science Auckland's uniqueness provides a trigger for this endeavour because:

   Scientific research on unique properties of Auckland's atmosphere is likely to generate original and exciting scientific results. Yet, at the same time it will produce results that impinge directly on the city's policy concerns

5. Research Opportunities

   • Gaseous reactions with the sea-salt aerosol - nitrosyl chlorides
   • Reactions of diesel soots in a marine atmosphere - generation of ogranochlorine
   • Particle production from reaction with biogenic materials
   • Role of the double sea breeze
   • Controls on visibility

6. Mobile Environmental Research Laboratory and Environmental Research Facility

   These two new additions to the School of Marine and Environmental Sciences provide many opportunities to undertake the types of work outlined above. However, they are not limited to the atmospheric sciences, but flexible enough to be applicable across a wide range of the School's interests.

On more personal note I should emphasise the great kindness and attention that is paid to me on all my visits to the Tamaki Campus. It is difficult to thank everybody quite enough. Peter Brimblecombe, School of Environmental Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich NR4 7TJ UK.