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An Atmospheric & Environmental Chemistry Seminar with Douglas R. Worsnop, Aerodyne Research, Inc., INAR (Physics), University of Helsinki
Abstract: Despite much effort in the past decades, uncertainties in both climate impacts and health effects of atmospheric aerosols remain large. During the last twenty years, aerosol mass spectrometry (AMS) has shown that sub-micron aerosol chemical composition is roughly 50:50 inorganic and organic worldwide, with secondary highly oxidized organics dominating the latter. Parallel application of chemical ionization mass spectrometry (CIMS) has provided the first observation of molecular cluster ions involved in atmospheric nucleation, including detection of highly oxidized multifunctional (HOM) organics in the gas phase. These results will be discussed in the context of their impact on atmospheric aerosols, air quality and climate; from the boreal forest to Chinese megacities.
Douglas R. Worsnop is a leading expert in the chemistry and heterogeneous reactions of atmospheric aerosols. He has pioneered the development of laboratory and field measurement techniques for investigating chemical interactions between atmospheric trace gases and aerosols, including water droplets. His expertise extends to the mechanisms of the formation of polar stratospheric clouds, and to measurements of the chemical composition of atmospheric aerosols. Dr. Worsnop is a recipient of the 2004 Benjamin Y. H. Liu Award (American Association for Aerosol Research) for his achievements in atmospheric composition measurement with the Aerodyne mass spectrometer system (AMS). He received the 2010 Yoram Kaufman (AGU Atmospheric Sciences) for Unselfish Cooperation in Research and is a Fellow of AAAS and AGU.
Note: This talk will be will be geared for an atmospheric chemistry audience and has thus been scheduled in the Harvard Atmoshperic & Environmental Chemistry seminar series.