Sangam: A Confluence of Knowledge Streams

Investigating secondary atmospheric aerosols using chemically-speciated observations and targeted model development

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dc.contributor Heald, Colette L.
dc.contributor Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
dc.creator Pai, Sidhant J.
dc.date 2023-01-19T19:58:04Z
dc.date 2023-01-19T19:58:04Z
dc.date 2022-09
dc.date 2022-10-29T16:36:27.938Z
dc.date.accessioned 2023-03-01T07:21:27Z
dc.date.available 2023-03-01T07:21:27Z
dc.identifier https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/147552
dc.identifier 0000-0003-3977-4495
dc.identifier.uri http://localhost:8080/xmlui/handle/CUHPOERS/275737
dc.description Fine particulate air pollution (PM₂.₅) has wide ranging influence on global climate (through radiative scattering, cloud formation, etc.) and human health (through the increased incidence of respiratory illness, etc.). Studies have shown that a major fraction of global PM₂.₅ (also called fine aerosol) is formed dynamically in the atmosphere from volatile gas-phase precursors that are emitted by both anthropogenic and biogenic sources. This class of aerosol is called secondary aerosol. Due to the numerous uncertainties associated in simulating their atmospheric formation and fates, earth science models have historically struggled to accurately represent secondary aerosols, and continue to demonstrate significant bias when compared to observational datasets. The goal of this doctoral thesis is to better constrain the sources and atmospheric fates of a few key secondary particulate species, with the intention of improving the model representation of these aerosols. With these overarching objectives in mind, this thesis spans a series of four projects that use chemically-speciated observational constraints and targeted model development to conduct (1) a comparative study of global organic aerosol schemes using airborne observations; (2) an exploration of atmospheric ammonia oxidation as a source of secondary aerosol and nitrous oxide; (3) an investigation of compositional constraints from surface, aircraft and satellite measurements to improve PM₂.₅ source-attribution over India; (4) a model evaluation of global PM₂.₅ exposure guidelines that highlights the importance of non-anthropogenic sources and proposes a chemically-speciated paradigm for PM₂.₅ measurement and source-apportionment. In aggregate, these projects contribute to a body of scientific literature that can be leveraged to inform air quality management efforts around the world.
dc.description Ph.D.
dc.format application/pdf
dc.publisher Massachusetts Institute of Technology
dc.rights In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted
dc.rights Copyright MIT
dc.rights http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC-EDU/1.0/
dc.title Investigating secondary atmospheric aerosols using chemically-speciated observations and targeted model development
dc.type Thesis


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