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Particle Formation and Growth in New Chemical Regimes
Prof. Ellie Browne,
CU ANYL Faculty

"Understanding the mechanisms through which aerosol particles form and grow is critical for constraining a planet’s energy budget, however, our knowledge of the key processes governing particle formation and growth in diverse environments remains weak. In the coming decades, our knowledge of particle formation and growth will continue to be challenged as changing climate and anthropogenic emissions alter the chemical regimes of modern-day atmospheric chemistry on Earth and measurements from, for instance, the James Webb Space Telescope and NASA’s Dragonfly mission offer increasingly chemically resolved insights into planetary atmospheres much different from our own.
In this talk I will highlight our projects on particle formation and growth in new and/or understudied chemical regimes. I will briefly discuss our recent advances in three different areas: how reactive nitrogen chemistry is important in agricultural regions, how the oxidation of volatile methyl siloxanes contributes to SOA in urban regions, and how organosulfur compounds affect gas- and particle-phase composition in anoxic planetary atmospheres." 

and 

Small molecules in the Anthropocene: Iodine, Ammonia and Organics

Prof. Rainer Volkamer
CU ANYL Faculty

"Iodine, a micronutrient, participates in catalytic reaction cycles in the atmosphere that destroy ozone, modify oxidative capacity, mercury, and form particles. Marine iodine emissions have tripled in recent decades due anthropogenic increases in pollution ozone over oceans. Ozone reacts with iodide in surface waters releasing increasing amounts of iodine vapors into the atmosphere. However, our understanding of air-sea exchange fluxes, and impacts on ozone layer health and cloud condensation nuclei remains incomplete. The Volkamer group is interested in studying the fundamentals of atmospheric processes that affect radiation in the atmosphere. We develop advanced instrumentation (optical spectroscopy and mass spectrometry) to measure small molecules and condensable vapors relevant to particle formation, ozone, public health and cloudiness. Our molecular perspective and focus on fundamentals aims to advance atmospheric models, and has helped satellites measure new species (e.g., glyoxal, HONO, NH3). Opportunities for graduate research in field measurements, laboratory experiments, and chemical calculations are discussed (i.e., CLOUD campaigns; TI3GER2-2026; TEMPO)." 

CIRES employees

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Seminar

CIRES

CU Boulder

Atmospheric Chemistry Program Seminar: ANYL Faculty Eleanor Browne, and Rainer Volkamer