Overview
Topic status: We're looking for students to study this topic.
All cloud drops start life as a microscopic particle with ability to attract water vapour from the air, so called 'cloud condensation nuclei' or CCN. The natural processes that regulate cloud condensation nuclei over large parts of the globe are still not well understood. The production of new aerosol particles from biogenic sources (forests, marine biota, etc) is a frequent phenomenon in most atmospheric environments. This phenomenon is capable of affecting aerosol concentrations on a global scale. At regional scales, biogenic particle formation ultimately determines the population of aerosol particles that seed droplet formation in clouds, the CCN. The biogenic aerosol particles therefore have a major influence on cloud properties and hence climate and the hydrological cycle.
Hypothesis/Aims
Determining the magnitude and drivers of biogenic aerosol production in different ecosystems is therefore crucial for the future development of climate models. Stretching over 1000 km, along the coast of Queensland, the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) is one of the largest and most important ecosystems in Australia. This project will aim to determine the magnitude and drivers of biogenic aerosol production from the GBR.
Approaches
The study will use state-of-the-art measurement equipment for long-term ground monitoring as well as equipment mounted on mobile platforms (aeroplanes) for spatial distribution monitoring. The data collected through field studies will provide input into the latest particle dynamics models used to simulate particle production and evolution processes. The student will focus on particle formation processes and in addition to modelling chemical and aerosol dynamical processes he/she will be also conducting field measurements. The student will have the opportunity to work as a part of a large international team of world leading experts on atmospheric nanoparticle formation and climate.
- Study level
- Honours
- Supervisors
- QUT
- Organisational unit
Science and Engineering Faculty
- Research area
- Contact
- Please contact the supervisor.
Professor Zoran Ristovski
