Aerosols Content

Older Wildfire Smoke Plumes Can Affect Climate

Katherine E Kerlin — March 23, 2022 - 11:45am

Aerosols carried in wildfire smoke plumes that are hundreds of hours old can still affect climate, according to a study out of the University of California, Davis.

The research, published in the journal Environmental Science and Technology, suggests that wildfire emissions even 10 days old can affect the properties of aerosols — suspended liquid or particles that are key to cloud formation.

Studying the Impact of Aerosol Particles on Thunderstorms

Andy Fell — September 21, 2021 - 8:01am

Thousands of thunderstorms occur around the globe on any given day and produce more than half the world’s rainfall. Adele Igel, assistant professor for land, air and water resources, is studying the impact of aerosols during the life cycle of a thunderstorm. She’s been awarded a $373,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Atmospheric System Research program to conduct the three-year research project.

Grant to Study How Liquid Aerosols Impact Climate

Andy Fell — September 16, 2021 - 11:46am

The U.S. Department of Energy has awarded a $560,000 grant to Professor Qi Zhang, Department of Environmental Toxicology, to study secondary organic aerosols and further understand how pollution affects the atmosphere.

Zhang’s research over the course of three years will examine how organic aerosols that are formed through reactions in atmospheric liquid water, such as cloud droplets, affect global climate.

How Important is Speech in Transmitting Coronavirus?

Karen Michele Nikos — April 16, 2020 - 2:17pm

This story by Andy Fell

Normal speech by individuals who are asymptomatic but infected with coronavirus may produce enough aerosolized particles to transmit the infection, according to aerosol scientists at the University of California, Davis. Although it’s not yet known how important this is to the spread of COVID-19, it underscores the need for strict social distancing measures — and for virologists, epidemiologists and engineers who study aerosols and droplets to work together on this and other respiratory diseases.

How Important Is Speech in Transmitting Coronavirus?

Andy Fell — April 02, 2020 - 1:45pm