In this project, the effect of nonlinear dynamics on the behavior of atmospheric chemical systems will be investigated. Specifically, the evolution of smoke from biomass combustion will be studied in collaboration with scientists performing measurements in forest fires. Atmospheric chemistry models are based upon nonlinear governing differential equations. In such a system, autocatalytic growth or certain species is possible, with dramatic effects including instability and sensitivity of steady states, oscillations, and even chaos. The effects of this nonlinearity on the behavior of real atmospheres, as well as on the reliability of atmospheric models, are not well-understood. Powerful methods have been developed for the understanding and analysis of reactive chemical systems governed by nonlinear dynamic laws. These methods will be applied to very highly developed models of tropospheric chemistry. Initially, relatively small atmospheric chemistry models will be used, and later, the effects of adding model complexity will be investigated. This project is supported jointly by the EPSCoR, the Atmospheric Chemistry, and the Theoretical and Computational Chemistry Programs.
