This dissertation-enhancement award supports Mark J. Rood's graduate student, Christian Carrico, from the University of Illinois-Urbana-Champaign to work with Alfred Wiedensohler of the Institute for Tropospheric Research in Leipzig, Germany. The research will focus on understanding the role of aerosol particles on global climate. Specifically, the research will address uncertainties in aerosol-climate interactions and allow calculation of the effect of aerosols by their channeling of the sun's radiant energy. The dissertation work done here builds on the results of NSF-sponsored work. The collaborative effort will combine light scattering measurements done by the U.S. side with distribution, boundary-layer height, and light-absorption measurements done by the German side. The prospects for continued collaboration beyond the scope of this project are good, and the work is closely related to NSF's emphasis area on environment and global change.
