Raina Gough
B.S., Chemistry, 2004

SeaWIFS image of a dust storm from the Sahara over Canary Islands, via NASA/AFP.

Investigating the Heterogeneous Chemistry of Mineral Aerosol in the Earth’s Troposphere

Although dust particles are very abundant in the Earth’s atmosphere, comprising nearly 45% of global aerosol emissions, the role of mineral aerosol in atmospheric chemistry is currently not well understood. Dust aerosols may be potential reactive surfaces for heterogeneous chemistry as well as a vehicle for transportation of trace gases through the atmosphere.

We are currently performing extensive laboratory studies of heterogeneous reactions on clay mineral particles representative of dust in the troposphere. In a high vacuum chamber, transmission Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy in conjunction with mass spectrometry is used to investigate the efficiency of these reactions. The coupling of these techniques allows us to monitor both condensed and gas phases and provide a thorough investigation of heterogeneous processes on mineral dust under atmospherically relevant conditions.

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