The Spain's National Research Council (CSIC) is the largest publish research institution in Spain. Within CSIC, the Institute of Environmental Assessment and Water Research (IDAEA-CSIC) is an environmental science institute devoted to the study of the human footprint on the biosphere, in particular on air quality and human exposure to air pollution. The Environmental Geochemistry and Atmospheric Research (EGAR) group performs research in the sectors of air quality, aerosols and climate, exposure, industrial emission and waste. Specifically, EGAR aims at understanding the chemical and physical processes responsible for the emission, transport, fate and removal of atmospheric pollutants with an impact on human health and vegetation. The EGAR group is specialized in air quality assessment and monitoring, using state of the art air pollutant instrumentation combined with innovative monitoring strategies based on sensor networks. The team has strong expertise in source apportionment to aid in the identification of major sources impacting air quality degradation, which in turn supports the implementation of mitigation strategies. Similarly, the EGAR group is experienced in health impact assessment to translate air pollution impacts into premature mortality and morbidity outcomes, easier to understand by the general population. CSIC is the official coordinator of RI-URBANS and contributes to:
- Developing robust atmospheric pollution monitoring and chemical characterization strategies
- Source apportionment using receptor modelling
- Assessing of source contribution to optical properties and radiative forcing linking air quality with climate
- Source apportionment of organic aerosols using state-of-the-art instrumentation
- Innovative aerosol monitoring based on sensor networks and citizen science approaches
- Working with the stakeholders and policy makers to address policy gaps and needs
- Capacity to mobilize resources to support air quality networks
