Project Details
Projekt
Convection and Wildfires in the Extratropical Southern Hemisphere: Impact on Aerosol Composition and the Budget of Sulfur and Chlorine in the UTLS (COWASC)
Subject Area
Atmospheric Science
Term
since 2026
Project identifier
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 564803246
The effects of global warming include the intensification and increased occurrence of forest fires and strong convection events. As part of the HALO mission CONTANGO-FIRE, we will measure the effects of convection and forest fires on the aerosol composition and the sulphur and chlorine budget of the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere (UTLS) in the Southern Hemispheric extratropics. We will use airborne aerosol mass spectrometry, including single particle laser ablation and thermal evaporation, and chemical ionization mass spectrometry to measure inorganic aerosol precursor gases such as SO2 and HNO3. One focus of the measurements is on the chemical composition of the grown particles resulting from the formation of new particles in order to understand which components dominate the growth of the particles. Other focal points are the transport and photochemical processing of particles emitted by forest fires and transported into the UTLS by pyroconvection, as well as the processing of chlorine species (HCl, ClONO2) and reactive nitrogen species (HNO3, HONO) that are processed in the lower stratosphere by forest fire emissions. The resulting effects on ozone chemistry will be investigated using chemical models to improve the understanding of the impact of forest fires on atmospheric composition and climate. We are applying for two doctoral positions, one for J. Schneider (MPIC Mainz) and one for C. Voigt (JGU Mainz). The doctoral position at MPIC will deal with measurements of aerosol composition and processing, the position at JGU will address the effects of chlorine and nitrogen species from forest fires on ozone chemistry.
DFG Programme
Infrastructure Priority Programmes
