This is a past event.

Alexander Laskin
Pacific Northwest National Lab

Fundamental understanding of the complex chemistry of atmospheric aerosols, their physico-chemical properties and environmental impacts is a challenging task because no single method of analytical chemistry is capable of providing the full range of analytical chemistry information. Electron microscopy can visualize individual particles and their internal structures; however, it largely excludes molecular information, and is limited to elemental characterization. Contemporary methods of spectro-microscopy can provide additional information on the molecular content of individual particles, but at somewhat lower lateral resolution. Chemical imaging studies using complementary application of microscopy and combined assessment of the results provided by these techniques offer unique insights to understand the composition and physico-chemical properties of aerosols determining their effects on air quality and climate. This presentation will give an overview of recent field and laboratory studies of atmospheric aerosols with an overall goal to understand fundamental relationship between chemical transformations of airborne particles and their environmental and climate impacts.

Host: Lynn R. Mazzoleni