Preface

Urbino Questions

The editions of the ACCENT magazine from November 2006 onwards focus in particular on present research topics in the ACCENT network, which are summarised in the so called "answers to the Urbino Questions" - UQ. This focus is symbolised by the UQ logo in the icons for the subsections of each magazine.
 

As regards contents, in the future we will be offering material for school lessons, but additionally we will address interested members of the public beyond the education system.

We discuss first of all air pollution in our direct environment and over the whole of Europe. Air polluted with ozone and particles is a burden for our health and environment and requires legislation to combat it. It can also have impacts on the global climate. Conversely, pollution from other origins has an influence on the atmosphere over Europe and natural influences mix up with problems caused by humans. Reasonable legislative measures are only possible if these interactions are well understood.

In the following editions we combine information about the present research with understandable explanations of the background, concerning topics on air pollution, smog, fine particles, aerosols and ground-level ozone. Such phenomena are closely related to our daily life, in traffic, health protection, energy supply and industrial processes. Since this basic knowledge is also discussed in school subjects (geography, chemistry, physics, biology) in different contexts, we offer a section for teachers illustrating potential integration into the curriculum.

Scientific material on the Urbino Questions can also be found HERE.