Field Projects

EPCAPE (spring 2023, San Diego, CA)

The Eastern Pacific Cloud Aerosol Precipitation Experiment (EPCAPE) will take place spring of 2023 in La Jolla, California. La Jolla sees frequent marine cloud formation and the location is a meeting point between polluted air from LA and relatively clean air from the Pacific Ocean. Measuring aerosols properties in La Jolla will shed light on the relationship between clouds, aerosols, and climate. Several different research groups be will taking part in EPCAPE, enabling data on a large range of cloud, weather, and aerosol properties to be collected. The Smith group in particular is interesting finding out, what chemical species effect new particle formation, how aerosol composition in La Jolla compares to other locations, and how aerosol composition is linked to ocean biology.

Beyond the Tailpipe (winter 2023, Santa Ana, CA)

Electrification and the further adoption of alternative fuels in the coming decades will likely reduce pollution from vehicles significantly, but certainly not entirely.  Emissions from non-tailpipe sources, such as from brake and tire wear, are known to contribute to particulate pollution.  It is therefore critical to understand the chemical nature of these pollutants to better inform future environmental monitoring and emission control strategies.  With this goal in mind, our lab has designed and built a brake and tire dynamometer to experimentally generate brake and tire wear particles to probe their composition in a controlled laboratory environment.  In the spring of 2023, we will take what we learned from the lab to inform chemical measurements of ambient air off roadways within and around environmental justice neighborhoods in Santa Ana, CA.  These observations will allow us to assess the extent to which brake and tire wear emissions contribute to particulate pollution in communities disproportionately affected by traffic emissions.  This project is funded by the California Department of Justice and is being done in collaboration with an interdisciplinary ensemble of researchers with AirUCI, including other groups from chemistry, health science, and anthropology. Click here for more info.

TRACER (summer 2022; La Porte, TX)

In the summer of 2022, the Tracking Aerosol Convection Interactions Experiment-Ultrafine Aerosol Formation and Impacts (TRACER-UFI) campaign took place to investigate new particle formation in the Houston area. The objectives of TRACER-UFI are to understand the chemical species and mechanisms responsible for the formation of ultrafine (sub-100-nm diameter) particles in the Houston atmosphere. Our approach combines direct measurements of low‑volatility precursors and size-resolved ultrafine particles, the latter using the UC Riverside Captive Aerosol Growth and Evolution (CAGE) chamber. We measured the composition of ultrafine particles using Thermal Desorption Chemical Ionization Mass Spectrometry (TDCIMS), and concentration of gas phase precursors with nitrate-CIMS. Our measurements will ultimately be coupled with modeling and co-located measurements of particle hygroscopic properties in order to infer the impacts of ultrafine particles on clouds and climate.

TACCCo (fall 2021; Laguna Beach, CA)

TACCCo stands for the Tropospheric Aerosol Composition at Crystal Cove study (and also reminds us of our favorite food!). TACCCo is a campaign to study the physico-chemical properties of marine aerosol particles at a coastal site in Crystal Cove State Park. Our measurements will address the following questions:

  • What are the processes by which small (sub-100 nm diameter) particles form in this region?
  • Do marine and anthropogenic compounds interact in forming aerosol particles?
  • What are the climate-relevant properties of marine particles formed in this region?

SeaSCAPE (summer 2019; San Diego, CA USA):

The Sea Spray Chemistry And Particle Evolution project (SeaSCAPE) took place at Scripps Institution of Oceanography. During the experiment, we measured sea spray produced by the wave chamber at Scripps. Two phytoplankton blooms were induced in the wave chamber over the course of the experiment. This unique experimental set up allowed for much clearer tracking of the interactions between ocean micro-organisms and sea spray aerosols composition than would be possible measuring sea spray directly from the ocean.

ODEN Expedition: Arctic Ocean (2018)

Mike’s recent work focuses on aerosol formation in marine and Arctic environments. In particular, he is trying to understand the relative roles of new particle formation, sea spray, and other hypothesized formation mechanisms such as blowing snow and biogenic gel breakup. His main analytical tool is thermal desorption chemical ionization mass spectrometry (TDCIMS).

Other Recent Campaigns:

  • Tapajos Aerosol and Gas Study (TAGS; Santorem, Brazil; August 2016 – August 2017)
  • HI-SCALE (summer 2016; Lamont, OK USA)
  • Tenth Cosmics Leaving OUtdoor Droplets (CLOUD10; fall 2015; Geneva, Switzerland, )