RESEARCH

AIR QUALITY

Poor air quality leads to the premature deaths of over 3 million people per year worldwide. Because of the rapid rate of urbanization in the developing world, this number is expected to rise dramatically over the next several decades.  Air pollutants associated with negative health effects include ozone, fine particulate matter, and various other toxics.  A large fraction of these pollutants are not emitted directly into the atmosphere, but rather are secondary in nature, formed in the atmosphere from chemical reactions of other compounds.  Human exposure to these pollutants depends on a complex interplay of emissions, atmospheric reactivity, and transport; uncertainties in all of these limit our to formulate policies aimed at the effective prevention of air pollution.

Research at MIT involves both model and measurement approaches to better constrain sources, transformations, transport, and the effects of air pollutants.  Specific focus areas include:

  • chemical transformations
  • long range transport
  • human health

 

Research Spotlight:

Health Impacts of Air Pollution
Research Spotlight: Health Impacts of Air Pollution Breathing air with high concentrations of certain pollutants, such as ozone and fine particulate matter, can damage human health. Exposure to these pollutants can affect the cardiovascular and respiratory system, causing illnesses such as asthma and premature mortalities. Research in the Selin group links atmospheric chemistry modeling to impacts analysis, using integrated assessment models, to quantify the human health and economic impacts of air pollutants, and address the …
We are all breathing each others’ air
Research Highlight We are all breathing each others’ air Pollutants can travel across ocean basins to affect air quality far down-wind of emission sources. The Heald group makes use of satellite and aircraft observations to study the chemical transformations and impacts resulting from this kind of long range transport. â–¶ Learn more about the Heald group’s research here.  
Atmospheric organic chemistry
Research Spotlight: Atmospheric organic chemistry The oxidation of organic compounds in the atmosphere leads to the formation of ozone, fine particulate matter, and hazardous air pollutants. Despite their importance, these oxidation processes are generally poorly understood due to their high chemical complexity. The Kroll group is therefore developing new ways to probe organic oxidation mechanisms in the laboratory. Examples include “aging” organics by exposing them to high concentrations of oxidants, zeroing in on individual reaction …
Ammonia and Air Quality
Research Spotlight: Ammonia and Air Quality In recent decades air quality has improved in many regions of the world with the reduction of sulfur emissions from power plants. However, particulate matter from nitrogen sources is on the rise. One of the factors contributing to this is the source of ammonia from the agricultural sector. The Heald group has been using new satellite observations to try to investigate these sources, and field measurements to investigate the …
Particles Made of What
Research Spotlight: Particles made of what? Organic aerosol an important role in air quality and climate issues, however the sources of these particles and their transformations in the atmosphere are not well understood. Research in Jesse’s Kroll lab focuses on investigating some of the fundamental chemical aging processes for organic aerosol. At the same time, Colette Heald’s group has focused on trying to characterize the contribution of organic aerosol to the global aerosol budget using …