Atmospheric Resource Impact Assessment (ARIA)

Abstract

The atmosphere is a global public asset under increasing pressure, requiring protection. Human activities damage the atmosphere, and yet there is currently no systematic way to assess a loss of functionality or measure the costs of degradation. Geographically, there is no method for identifying how atmospheric services are distributed, or where conflicts between services arise. Here we propose an ecosystem services approach, to consider all the benefits derived from atmospheric resources, and to quantify them nationally. The UK is used as a first model to test the methodological validity. The Atmospheric Resource Impact Assessment (ARIA) provides a basic framework for economic evaluation of 12 atmospheric services, which extend beyond the traditional atmospheric disciplines of climate change and urban air quality. Using free information and a deliberative mapping approach, the ARIA model summarizes key atmospheric goods and services humans benefit from in the UK, attributing location, temporal and scale estimates. The resultant Geographical Information System (GIS) maps demonstrate proof-of-concept, enable regional comparisons and test the basis for economic evaluation. Future work will attribute economic costs of ARIA in the UK, (1) to explore ARIA as a planning and policy development tool and (2) to provide leadership in protecting global atmospheric assets.