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Overview Human activities (such as the
intensive use of fossil fuel, urbanization, deforestation, agricultural expansion
or intensification) have been imposing significant perturbations to the
atmosphere. We are interested in a wide range of research topics related to
global environmental change, especially the interactions among emissions,
climate, atmospheric chemistry, air quality, land use/land cover and
biosphere-atmosphere exchange. Our research activities have covered: (1) The impacts of global
change on atmospheric chemistry and air quality through various stressors
(e.g., Wu et al., 2008ab, 2012; Hickman et al. 2014; Zhang et al., 2014a); (2) Long-range transport of
atmospheric pollutants and the impacts on atmospheric environment (e.g.,
Huang et al., 2013; Kumar et al., 2013; Zhang et al., 2014b); (3) Impacts of invasive
species on the environment and ecosystems (e.g., Hickman et al., 2010); (4) Impacts of extreme events
(such as heat waves, lightning, wildfires, etc.) on the environment (in
particular air quality) in the context of global change (e.g., Huang et al.,
2014); (5) The cycling and circulation
of heavy metal pollutants (such as mercury and arsenic) in the global
environment and the ecosystems as well as their implications for public
policy and environmental sustainability (e.g., Wai
et al., 2014). Acknowledgements: Our research has been funded
by multiple sponsors including the U.S. EPA, NSF, NIH, NASA, and ORAU. Current research projects: v Impacts
of climate change on extreme air pollution meteorology and air quality Climate
change can significantly affect air pollution meteorology. Of particular
concern is the changes in extreme meteorological
events (such as heat waves, temperature inversion, atmospheric stagnation,
lightning and wildfires) that have important implications for air quality and
public health. We have been analyzing the long-term observational datasets
for meteorology around the world to examine the likely trends for extreme air
pollution meteorology in the context of global climate change. Global models
are combined with statistical analysis to interpret these identified trends
and examine their implications for air quality in the context of global
change. The following plot shows the correlation between high pollution
episodes in the United States and various extreme meteorological events:
v Cycling
and circulation of toxic heavy metals in the global environment The
emissions, atmospheric transport and deposition of heavy metal pollutants such
as mercury and arsenic have impotent implications for public health and the
ecosystems. We aim to improve our understanding of the cycling and
circulation of these pollutants in the global environment and the
source-receptor relationships for various regions as well as the
perturbations from various stressors in the context of global change. The
following plot shows the model simulated arsenic concentration in ambient air
compared to measurements (in ng/m3):
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For more
details on the results from our research projects, please check out our publications. |