National Environmental Research Institute of Denmark

NERI, the National Environmental Research Institute of Denmark ( or simply DMU) is an independent research institute under the Aarhus University

University of Aarhus

Aarhus University , located in the city of Aarhus, Denmark, is Denmark's second oldest and second largest university...

. NERI undertakes scientific consultancy work and monitoring of nature and the environment as well as applied and strategic research. NERI’s primary task is to establish a scientific foundation for environmental policy decisions.

NERI participates in a large number of national and international research programmes, and also participates in scientific working groups, commissions, and organizations under such bodies as the European Union

European Union

The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...

and the United Nations

United Nations

The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...

Departments within NERI

NERI includes a number of departments devoted to various environmental and ecological categories:

Department of Policy Analysis
Department of Atmospheric Environment
Department of Marine Ecology
Department of Environmental Chemistry and Microbiology
Department of Arctic Environment
Department of Terrestrial Ecology
Department of Freshwater Ecology
Department of Ecology and Biodiversity

Department of Atmospheric Environment (ATMI)

NERI monitors air pollution

Air pollution

Air pollution is the introduction of chemicals, particulate matter, or biological materials that cause harm or discomfort to humans or other living organisms, or cause damage to the natural environment or built environment, into the atmosphere....

in Denmark

Denmark

Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...

and Greenland

Greenland

Greenland is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark, located between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Though physiographically a part of the continent of North America, Greenland has been politically and culturally associated with Europe for...

, and works with mathematical atmospheric dispersion models to describe transport, transformation and deposition of air pollutants. The models range in spatial resolution from local air pollution in a single street, to both nation-wide and global air pollution. NERI compiles Danish emission inventories

Emission inventory

An emission inventory is an accounting of the amount of pollutants discharged into the atmosphere. An emission inventory usually contains the total emissions for one or more specific greenhouse gases or air pollutants, originating from all source categories in a certain geographical area and within...

as part of Denmark's obligations in accordance with international conventions.

NERI also participates in many international collaboration networks within the field of air pollution, and it hosts websites for several such networks.

NERI's Department of Atmospheric Environment (ATMI) has a staff of over 65 scientists and researchers who conduct work within the following fields:

Monitoring and mapping of the air quality in Denmark and the Arctic.
Research, development and application of atmospheric chemical dispersion models.
Studying air pollution scenarios and prognoses as well as air pollution from vehicular traffic.
Studies, analyses, and models for the transport, transformation and fate of toxic air pollutants.

Departments within NERI

Department of Atmospheric Environment (ATMI)

See also