Marine-continental aerosol exchange between the Atlantic Ocean and the Amazon
Navn på bevillingshaver
Robin Wollesen de Jonge
Titel
PhD Candidate
Institution
University of Helsinki
Beløb
DKK 900,000
År
2024
Bevillingstype
Internationalisation Fellowships
Hvad?
Although small, aerosols in the atmosphere have been found to have a significant effect on the climate on Earth. They do so by acting as a surface for water to condense on, essentially founding the basis for the formation of cloud droplets and thus clouds. These clouds act as mirrors in our atmosphere, reflecting incoming solar radiation back into space and thereby cooling the Earths' surface.
Hvorfor?
Although great advancements have been made within atmospheric aerosol science in recent years, the formation, growth and impact on cloud formation of aerosols remains highly uncertain in many regions of the world. One of these regions is the pristine Amazon rainforest, where scientists remain unable to explain the presence of small and freshly formed particles in the lower parts of the atmosphere.
Hvordan?
In this project, we seek to explain the presence of these particles by using detailed climate models to recreate the transport of molecules emitted over the Atlantic ocean towards the Amazon rainforest. We will study what happens when the molecules from the ocean and forest mix, and determine if this mixing might explain the formation of particles seen over the Amazon region.