Like other Future Earth Global Research projects, iLEAPS is a network to link iLEAPS scientists to key societal challenges related to Health, Biodiversity, Climate, Food and Fuel security and ultimately the United Nations’ sustainable development goals.
iLEAPS acts as a communication hub and coordinator of world-wide scientific research in the field of ecosystem-atmosphere exchanges and the impact of those exchanges on key societal issues.
iLEAPS promotes scientific excellence through developing international science initiatives that are multi-disciplinary, through bringing together the modelling community with satellite, experimental and field observational experts and through enabling communication and networking across the international science community.
iLEAPS promotes leadership in science through capacity building in developing countries as well as through their Early Career Scientists network by hosting workshops, ensuring timely and relevant science to be available through their website and through training programmes.
iLEAPS Science underpins 3 specific goals that are part of the Future Earth Challenges.
1. Mitigation of climate change
- How will greenhouse gas emissions from vulnerable and marginal ecosystems (e.g., semiarid, polar) and vegetation in extreme environments be affected by changes in climate?
- How does changing land-use, farming and forestry practice in rural environments affect trace gas and particle emissions and thus the atmospheric chemistry, air quality and climate?
- What are the ecosystem processes that control the emission or uptake of atmospheric trace gases (including volatile short-lived carbon compounds, methane and carbon dioxide) in a changing climate, and what is the subsequent impact on the atmosphere and climate?
2. Environmental response to changes in climate and air quality
- How is water security affected by changing clouds and precipitation as driven by changes in aerosol concentration and chemistry?
- How do anthropogenic changes in atmospheric chemistry (e.g., O3, aerosols) affect food security and ecosystem services via plant productivity and biodiversity (e.g., ozone damage to vegetation) and evapotranspiration?
- How will vulnerable and marginal ecosystems (e.g., semi-arid and polar) and vegetation in extreme environments will be affected by changes in climate?
3. Secure and improve human health and wellbeing in rural and urban areas
- How does urbanisation and greening of the urban environment affect the urban atmosphere and thereby human health?
- How can we secure and improve agriculture and forestry through sustainable land-use, farming and forestry practice in rural environments in response to changing atmospheric chemistry, air quality and climate?