Research Spotlight:

health

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 potential benefits of policies to control pollution. Research in the Barrett group assesses the human health impacts of aviation emissions, on regional to global scales.

Learn more about the Selin group’s research here.

Research Highlight

air-quality-spotlight5

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.

Learn more about the Heald group’s research here.

 

Research Spotlight:

air-quality-spotlight1

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 steps by generating organic radicals in the absence of any oxidants at all, and limiting oxidation to Individual phases.

Learn more about the Kroll group’s research here.

 

Research Spotlight:

ammonia

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 contribution of ammonia in particulate matter formation in regions such as California.

Learn more about the Heald group’s research here.

Research Spotlight:

air-quality-spotlight2

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 satellite and aircraft observations. Both groups are interested in developing descriptions of the evolution of organic aerosol in the atmosphere that can be used in models.

Learn more about the Kroll group’s research here.
Learn more about the Heald group’s research here.

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