RESEARCH

Emissions

Global energy use has increased by almost 50% in the last two decades. The vast majority of energy conversion comes from the combustion of fossil fuels. Fuel combustion results in emissions of CO₂, NO_x, SO_x, particulate matter, hydrocarbons and other species into the atmosphere, where they can be transported vast distances and interact with other chemicals. But it is not just power plants, cars, airplanes, and ships that emit pollution into the atmosphere – natural emissions are just as important, and just as big a scientific challenge. Vegetation, soil, wildfires and oceans all emit gases and particles into the atmosphere.

Much of atmospheric chemistry is about understanding how anthropogenic (human-related) emissions interact with natural emissions, perturb the chemical composition of the atmosphere, alter the climate, and affect human health. In order to do this we need to improve our understanding of emissions – the quantities of species emitted, their chemical and microphysical characteristics, and their sources. Moreover, assessing ways to mitigate emissions and understanding which emissions mitigation measures will have greatest environmental benefit is central to informing policy.

Research in this area at MIT includes the development of emissions inventory models, measuring and characterizing emissions, and using modeling techniques to infer emissions from indirect measurements.