UALR Chemistry Chair Jeffrey Gaffney and three other international scientists have produced a study overview of their MILAGRO of effects of megacity air pollution, which has been published in the peer-reviewed journal, Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics.

Gaffney represented the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) in the project. He was joined by Luisa Molina representing Mexican scientists and their government; Sasha Madronich, representing the National Science Foundation; and Hanwant Singh representing NASA.

Gaffney is the lead scientist for the DOE’s Atmospheric Science Program’s Megacity Aerosol Experiment – Mexico City (MAX-Mex), a field study that was a part of a larger collaboration with NSF, NASA, and Mexican agencies labeled “Megacity Initiative: Local and Global Research Observations (MILAGRO.)

The collaboration studied aerosols and their composition and impacts on climate and air quality in and around Mexico City, one of the world’s largest cities, as well as downwind. So far, the project has produced more than 100 scientific papers promoting the understanding of air pollution emissions on air quality and climate in super-large metropolitan areas.

“It was a very successful study in studying aerosols and their composition and impacts — climate and air quality — in one of the world’s largest cities and downwind as well,” Gaffney said.