CHEE Seminar: Avelino Arellano
Monday, October 24, 2022 – 3:00 p.m.
Avelino Arellano
Associate Professor
Department of Hydrology and Atmospheric Sciences
The University of Arizona
"Towards the Identification of Emergent Properties in Local-to- Global Air Quality and Greenhouse Gases"
Harvill Bldg., Room 305
Social Hour immediately following seminar in Old Engineering 157 (Graduate Student Lounge), at 4:00 p.m.
ABSTRACT
The current and future availability of spatially and temporally explicit estimates of the concentrations and emissions of air pollutants (e.g., CO, NOX, aerosols, O3) and greenhouse gases (e.g., CO2, CH4, H2O, O3), along with estimates of meteorological states (e.g., T, H2O) and land-surface characteristics, provide a unique opportunity to unravel complex interactions between these constituents and our environment. Here, Dr. Arellano will present three exploratory investigations of these interactions using these observational and modeling constraints, highlighting: 1) the emergence of a rise in anthropogenic combustion in sub-Saharan Africa; 2) the relevance of aerosol to snow cover variability over High Mountain Asia (HMA); and 3) the synergies between air quality (AQ) and greenhouse gases (GHG) on the global atmospheric oxidation capacity. Dr. Arellano will present results at regional to global scale consistent with the scales resolved by these constraints within the context of how he can use novel combinations of satellite observations to improve predictability. Dr. Arellano finds on 1) that while there is compelling evidence that anthropogenic emissions are increasing in sub-Saharan Africa across 2005-2016, the emergence in anthropogenic pollution shown in the emissions is not apparent in the observed burden from satellite retrievals, suggesting the need to improve the observing system infrastructure to create AQ baseline of the region. His analysis on 2) using state-of-the-art chemical/aerosol reanalyses across 2003-2018 reveals significant aerosol-meteorological interactions (AMI) during late snowmelt over low snow-covered regions in HMA, suggesting the need to consider AMI in hydrometeorological monitoring. Dr. Arellano finds on 3) that H2O and CH4 constraints, which are not traditionally investigated in the context of chemical weather and climate in Earth system models, are useful in predicting the abundance of hydroxyl radical. This type of work intends to provide quantifiable arguments in support of meteorological, AQ, and GHG measurement and modeling synergies. Dr. Arellano will end this talk by introducing new collaborative research between Arizona State and UArizona on the growing concern of the O3 levels in our region using similar approaches.
BIOSKETCH
Avelino Arellano is an associate professor at the University of Arizona Department of Hydrology and Atmospheric Sciences (HAS). He is also a faculty member of UArizona Graduate Interdisciplinary Program (GIDP) on Remote Sensing and Spatial Analysis (RSSA) and on Applied Mathematics. His research at UArizona is directed towards improving our capability to assess, monitor, and predict the changes in the state of our Earth system.
His current work focuses on determining the changes in atmospheric composition through satellite data analysis and chemical transport modeling. Urban agglomeration is expected to continue growing over the coming decades. This is especially problematic as it is in these cities where human (anthropogenic) activities are most intense accompanied by immense energy consumption, mainly in the form of fossil-fuel combustion. This leads to enhanced emissions of air pollutants, greenhouse gases, and waste energy and subsequently impacting air quality, climate, and ecosystems. Atmospheric measurements of combustion products offer opportunities to fingerprint the impacts of energy usage on our environment.
Dr. Arellano's group, in collaboration with scientists at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) and faculty at UArizona, is also developing tools that integrate various types of data into Earth system models. These tools can be used to: a) assess the impacts of new combustion technologies on our environment; b) monitor effectiveness of air pollution control strategies and regulation; c) predict the impacts on air quality from potential changes of fuel usage in the future; and d) improve the skill of meteorological and chemical weather forecasts.