Dr. Jeff Gaffney, chair of UALR’s Department of Chemistry, and three students will be joining a month-long Department of Energy field study on climate.

The field study in northern California from June 2 to 28 is designed to increase the scientific knowledge about evolution of black carbon and secondary organic aerosols from man-made and biogenic sources.

New knowledge gained from the study can be integrated into regional and global aerosol models used to simulate the direct and indirect radiative effects on climate.

The study, Carbonaceous Aerosols and Radiative Effects Study (CARES) in northern California, is designed to increase scientific knowledge about black carbon, or soot.

Gaffney and Dr. Nancy Marley, a UALR research associate professor, will collect submicron aerosol samples three times a day for detailed analysis of trace radiochemicals and elements.

“In particular, we will be determining the fraction of modern carbon in the samples  – Carbon-14 – that allows us to evaluate the sources of the carbonaceous aerosols and to determine the relative importance of biogenic versus fossil fuel impacts on the carbonaceous aerosols,” Gaffney said.

The carbonaceous aerosols, particularly black carbon soot, have been found to absorb radiation and cause heating of the atmosphere and are a major focus of the study.

The UALR team will be obtaining UV radiation measurements using a multi-filter rotating shadowband radiometer to evaluate the rate of absorption of UVB and UVA radiation by the aerosols.

Graduate students working on the project on-site and their disciplines include Mahbuba Begum, chemistry; Angie Marchany-Rivera, physics; and Elizabeth Alvarez, physics.

Students who will be analyzing samples at UALR chemistry labs include Gail Bridges and Amrita Sakar.