This project supports the International Project Office (IPO) of the International Global Atmospheric Chemistry (IGAC) Project, currently a core project under the umbrella of the International Geosphere Biosphere Programme (IGBP) and co-sponsored by the international Commission on Atmospheric Composition and Global Pollution (iCACGP). IGAC was formed in 1990 to address growing international concern over rapid changes observed in the Earth's atmosphere. IGAC's mission is to foster atmospheric chemistry research towards a sustainable world.
IGAC's priorities and activities are determined and guided by an international volunteer Scientific Steering Committee (SSC) that includes representatives from 16 different countries around the world. The main responsibility of the IGAC International Project Office's (IPO) is to implement these priorities in collaboration with SSC members and other members of the international atmospheric chemistry community. The role of the IGAC Project Office is two-fold. Its first responsibility is to provide intellectual leadership and create networks that lead to the coordination of atmospheric chemistry research at an international level. IGAC's second responsibility is to act as a liaison between the atmospheric chemistry community and global change and sustainability community.
Support for the IGAC International Project Office provides the broader impact of building scientific capacity around the globe. For developing country scientists, IGAC fosters the creation of a strong cohesive community of atmospheric scientists in under-represented regions of the world and also connects the scientists to the larger IGAC community in order to foster international collaborations. IGAC also works to communicate atmospheric chemistry research effectively to the international atmospheric chemistry community and to the wider global change and sustainability community, including stakeholders, policy makers and the public.