 |
Richard E. Honrath
Professor
Department
of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Michigan Technological University
Houghton, MI 49931
(906) 487-3202 (Tel.)
(906) 487-2943 (FAX)
reh@mtu.edu
Office: 201-I Dillman
Laboratory: 901 Dow Environmental Sci. |
Family photo
Weekly Schedule
(when to find me in my
office or lab)
Graduate Opportunities: Atmospheric
Sciences at Michigan Tech
Long version Curriculum
Vitae
- B.S.
-
- Engineering & Applied Science
1984, California Institute of Technology
- M.S.
-
- Civil Engineering
1987, Carnegie Mellon University
- Ph.D.
-
- Atmospheric Chemistry
1992, University of Alaska Fairbanks
Research Interests:
My research interests focus on
global and regional atmospheric impacts of anthropogenic pollutants
and boreal wildfires and the interactions of snow, ice, air and
light.
The global budget and cycling of nitrogen oxides plays a dominant role
in the budget of tropospheric ozone and, through ozone, is a
determinant of tropospheric oxidative strength. However, measurements
of nitrogen oxides in remote regions (most of the earth) are extremely
limited. By making measurements in these regions, we are able to test
current understanding of tropospheric photochemistry. Such direct
measurements often result in significant modification of our
understanding of tropospheric fate and cycling of nitrogen oxides and
other species. For example, in 1998 we discovered that NOx is
released to the atmosphere from sunlit snow in the Arctic and at
mid-latitutes. My research group and I are currently focusing on
two sets of projects aimed at assessing the impacts of anthropogenic
emissions and boreal wildfires on ozone and ozone precursors at the
hemispheric scale. We are using field measurements
at the Pico Mountain station in the Azores Islands in combination
with transport and chemical transport model (GCTM) simulations, and
novel new techniques combining the two types of models, to probe
the impacts of outflow from the United States and other source regions
on ozone and ozone precursors over the remote North Atlantic Ocean
and to assess the consistency of these measurements with GCTM
simulations. We are also conducting a series of field studies in
the Arctic and in subarctic regions, to constrain the impacts of
long-range transport of anthropogenic and biomass-burning emissions
on the composition of the arctic lower free troposphere and to
develop models of NOx release and ozone destruction in snowpacks.
Major Areas of Emphasis in Teaching
- Atmospheric Chemistry, Air Pollution Control, Fundamentals of
Environmental Science and Engineering, Environmental Chemistry.
- In review
- Technical Note: Lagrangian tracking of pollution plumes using
Eulerian fields from a Lagrangian particle dispersion model,
R. C. Owen and R. E. Honrath,
Atmos. Chem. Phys. Disc., submitted, July 2007.
(Available here.)
- Most recent publications.
- Late-summer changes in burning conditions in the boreal
regions and their implications for NOx and CO emissions from boreal
fires, K. Lapina, R. E. Honrath, R. C. Owen, M. Val Martin,
E. Hyer and P. Fialho, J. Geophys. Res., 113,
D11304, doi:10.1029/2007JD009421, 2008.
(Available here.)
- Seasonal variation of nitrogen oxides in the central North
Atlantic lower free troposphere
M. Val Martin,
R. E. Honrath, R. C. Owen and Q. B. Li,
J. Geophys. Res., accepted, 2008.
(Available here.)
- Large-scale impacts of anthropogenic pollution and boreal
wildfires on the nitrogen oxides over the central North Atlantic
region, M. Val Martin, R. E. Honrath, R. C. Owen, K. Lapina,
J. Geophys. Res., accepted, 2008.
(Available here.)
- Non-methane hydrocarbons at Pico Mountain, Azores. 2.
Event-specific analyses of the impacts of mixing and
photochemistry on hydrocarbon ratios,
R. E. Honrath, D. Helmig, R. C. Owen, D. D. Parrish
and D. M. Tanner, J. Geophys. Res., accepted, 2008.
(Available here.)
- Non-methane hydrocarbons (NMHC) at Pico Mountain,
Azores. 1. Oxidation chemistry in the North-Atlantic region,
D. Helmig, D. M. Tanner, R. E. Honrath, R. C. Owen and
D. D. Parrish, J. Geophys. Res., accepted, 2008.
- Pico Mountain-related
- Evidence of significant large-scale impacts of boreal fires
on ozone levels in the midlatitude Northern Hemisphere free
troposphere, K. Lapina, R. E. Honrath, R. C. Owen, and M. Val Martin,
Geophys. Res. Lett., 33, L18015, doi:10.1029/2006GL025878,
2006.
(available here).
- An analysis of the mechanisms of North
American pollutant transport to the central North Atlantic
lower free troposphere,
R. C. Owen, O. Cooper, A. Stohl, and R. E. Honrath,
J. Geophys. Res.,
111, D23S58, doi:10.1029/2006JD007062, 2006.
(available here).
- Significant enhancements of nitrogen oxides, black carbon
and ozone in the North Atlantic lower free troposphere resulting
from North American boreal wildfires, M. Val Martin, R. E. Honrath,
R. C. Owen, G. Pfister, P. Fialho, and F. Barata,
J. Geophys. Res.,
111, D23S60, doi:10.1029/2006JD007530, 2006.
(available here).
- Ozone production from the 2004 North American boreal fires,
G. G. Pfister, L. K. Emmons, P. G. Hess, R. Honrath, J.-F. Lamarque,
M. Val Martin, R. C. Owen, M. A. Avery, E. V. Browell,
J. S. Holloway, P. Nedelec, R. Purvis, R. B. Ryerson,
G. W. Sachse, and H. Schlager, J. Geophys. Res.,
111, D24S07,
doi:10.1029/2006JD007695
2006.
- Regional and hemispheric impacts of anthropogenic
and biomass burning emissions on summertime CO and O3 in the
North Atlantic lower free troposphere,
R. E. Honrath, R. C. Owen, M. Val Martin, J. S. Reid, K. Lapina,
P. Fialho,
M. P. Dziobak, J. Kleissl, and D. L. Westphal, J. Geophys. Res., 109, D25310, doi:10.1029/2004JD005147, 2004.
(available here).
- The occurrence of upslope flows at the Pico mountain
observatory: a case study of orographic flows on small,
volcanic islands, J. Kleissl, R. E. Honrath, R. C. Owen, M. Val Martin,
and M. P. Dziobak, J. Geophys. Res.,
2007.
(available here).
- Aethalometer calibration and determination of
iron concentration in dust aerosols, P. Fialho, M. C. Freitas,
F. Barata, B. Vieira, A. D. A. Hansen, and R. E. Honrath,
J. Aerosol Sci., in press, 2006.
(available here).
- Analysis and application of Sheppard's airflow model to predict
mechanical orographic lifting and the occurrence of mountain
clouds, J. Kleissl and R. E. Honrath, J. Appl. Met. and Clim.,
45 (10), 1376-1387, 2006.
(available here).
- Absorption coefficients by aerosols in remote areas: a new
approach to decouple dust and black carbon absorption coefficients
using seven-wavelength Aethalometer data, P. Fialho,
A. D. A. Hansen, and R. E. Honrath, J. Aerosol Sci.,
36 (2), 267-282,
2005.
(available here).
- International Consortium for Atmospheric Research
on Transport and Transformation (ICARTT): North America
to Europe: Overview of the 2004 summer field study,
F. C. Fehsenfeld et al., J. Geophys. Res., in review, 2006.
- PICO-NARE, R. E. Honrath and P. Fialho,IGACtivities
Newsletter (International Global Atmospheric Chemistry Project),
August 2001 issue (available
here).
- Snow photochemistry
- Impacts of snowpack emissions on deduced levels of OH and peroxy
radicals at Summit, Greenland,
J. Yang, R. E. Honrath, M. C. Peterson, J. E. Dibb, A. L. Sumner, P. B.
Shepson, M. Frey, H.-W. Jacobi, A. Swanson, and N. Blake,
Atmos. Environ., 36, 2523-2534, 2002.
(abstract)
- Vertical fluxes of NOx, HONO, and HNO3 above the snowpack at
Summit, Greenland,
R. E. Honrath, Y. Lu, M. C. Peterson, J. E. Dibb, M. Arsenault, N. J. Cullen,
and K. Steffen,
Atmos. Environ., 36, 2629-2640, 2002.
(abstract)
- Observations of rapid photochemical destruction of ozone in
snowpack interstitial air, M. C. Peterson and R. E. Honrath,
Geophys. Res. Lett., 28, 3, 511-514, 2001.
(available
here)
- Snowpack photochemical production of HONO: a major source of OH
in the arctic boundary layer in springtime,
X. Zhou, H. J. Beine, R. E. Honrath, J. D. Fuentes, W. Simpson, P. B. Shepson,
and J. W. Bottenheim,
Geophys. Res. Lett., 28, 4087-4091, 2001.
- NOx, NOy, and O3: Measurements and modeling
- Photostationary state deviation-estimated
peroxy radicals and their implications for HOx and ozone
photochemistry at a remote northern Atlantic coastal site,
J. Yang, R. E. Honrath, M. C. Peterson, D. D. Parrish,
and M. Warshawsky,
J. Geophys. Res., 109, doi:10.1029/2003JD003983, 2004.
(available
here).
- A modeling study of the impact of
winter-spring arctic outflow on the NOx and O3 budgets of the North
Atlantic troposphere, A. J. Hamlin and R. E. Honrath,
J. Geophys. Res., 107,
doi: 10.1029/2001JD000453, 2002.
(available
here)
- M. C. Peterson and R. E. Honrath, NOx and NOy over the
northwestern North Atlantic: Measurements and measurement accuracy,
Journal of Geophysical Research, 104, 11,695-11,707,
1999.
(Available here)
- M. C. Peterson, R. E. Honrath, D. D. Parrish, and
S. J. Oltmans, Measurements of nitrogen oxides and a simple
model of NOy fate in the remote North Atlantic marine atmosphere,
Journal of Geophysical Research, 103, 13,489-13,504, 1998.
(Available here)
- More complete publication list included
in long-form CV
- A study of the impact of aged boreal fire emissions
on the composition of the remote midlatitude lower free troposphere,
using measurements at the PICO-NARE station. (NSF, 2005-2008)
Despite its distance from the boreal regions, the Pico Mountain
station (in the Azores Islands in the central North Atlantic) is
frequently impacted during summer by plumes of aged emissions from
boreal fires in Alaska, Canada, and even Siberia. Because they are
made in the free troposphere, measurements at the Pico Mountain
station have proven suitable for observing impacts of the upwind
fires on ozone and ozone precursors. As a result of the long
distance of the observatory from the fires responsible, these
measurements are indicative of emissions and impacts over a large
region. In this project, we are analyzing the database of prior
Pico Mountain observations of CO, ozone, NOx, NOy and equivalent
black carbon to deduce the magnitude of large-scale fire impacts and
assess fire emissions. These analyses utilize FLEXPART transport
simulations, conducted at Michigan Tech, MOZART GCTM simulations
provided by G. Pfister at NCAR, Boreal Wildfire Emissions Model
simulations provided by E. Hyer at NRL, and a variety of satellite
products. So far, we have demonstrated that the Pico observations
imply a rather large impact of boreal fires on ozone levels over a
very large region (Lapina et al., 2006), and have deduced the
presence of a significant seasonal trend in NOx:CO emission ratios
in these fires, the result of an increase in the relative importance
of smoldering fires as the fire season progresses (Lapina et al., in
preparation).
Primary collaborations: Gabi Pfister, NCAR
(MOZART simulations of transport and transformations of emissions
from the 2004 North American boreal wildfires), Ed Hyer, NRL (Boreal
Wildfire Emissions Model-based estimation of emissions from North
American and Siberian boreal fires in 2004 and 2005.)
- A study of biomass-burning and anthropogenic impacts
on arctic tropospheric chemistry using measurements at Summit,
Greenland as part of the POLARCAT International Polar Year project.
(NASA, 2007-2010)
This project will result in the first
year-round, high-altitude Arctic measurements of a suite of ozone
precursors NOx, NOy, PAN and non-methane hydrocarbons. Measurements
will be made at the GEO-Summit station at Summit, Greenland (3208 m
altitude) for a 2-year period beginning May 2008. These
measurements will be analyzed in conjunction with FLEXPART transport
modeling and simultaneous observations of CO, ozone and black
carbon, in order to identify sources and impacts of both
anthropogenic and biomass-burning emissions. This work will focus
on impacts on arctic tropospheric ozone, ozone precursors and OH
levels and will assess potential feedbacks upon snow
photochemistry.
Primary collaborators: Detlev Helmig, Univ
Colorado (NMHC measurements), A. Stohl, NILU (FLEXPART simulations),
S. Oltmans, NOAA (ozone measurements), R. Schnell, NOAA (equivalent
black carbon measurements), and G. Huey, Georgia Tech (CO
measurements).
- Investigation of ozone photochemistry in lower-FT
continental outflow traveling over the North Atlantic. (NSF,
2007-2011)
This project combines new measurents at the Pico
Mountain observatory with global chemical transport model (GCTM)
simulations of North American anthropogenic pollution outflow to
assess and evaluate CTM simulations of the ultimate impact of
outflow events upon tropospheric composition. The Pico Mountain
station is uniquely capable of frequently sampling aged North
American outflow plumes traveling in the lower free troposphere.
Analyses of prior observations at the station indicate that O3
enhancements in U.S. outflow sampled there are markedly larger than
values closer to N. America and are greater than in corresponding
CTM simulations. This project will combine GEOS-Chem GCTM
simulations, high-resolution particle transport simulations using
FLEXPART and field measurements using new techniques that combine
particle transport and CTM simulations to obtain a semi-lagrangian
sampling of CTM simulations. Two seasons (late spring through early
fall) of field measurements of NO, NO2, PAN, NOy, NMHCs, CO and
ozone will be obtained, in 2008 and 2009.
Primary
collaborations: Paulo Fialho, University of the Azores, Portugal
(Pico Mountain station), Qinbin Li, NASA (GEOS-Chem simulations), Detlev
Helmig, Univ. Colorado (NMHC measurements) and Jim Roberts, NOAA
(PAN measurements).
- A synthesis of existing and new observations of
air-snowpack exchanges to assess the arctic tropospheric ozone
budget. (NSF, 2007-2011)
Photochemical processes occurring within
snowpacks result in simultaneous destruction of ozone and release of
NOx and radical precursor compounds, with the result that snowpack
photochemistry can simultaneously destroy ozone (within the
snowpack) and cause the production of ozone (in the lower atmosphere
above the snowpack). In addition, biological processes in non-polar
snowpacks result in the release of NO and can destroy ozone. This
project aims to close existing gaps in understanding of snowpack
processes affecting ozone, including ozone uptake to snow and the
role of biological activity below snowpacks, NOx release from snow,
and boundary-layer ozone production resulting from snowpack
emissions of ozone precursors. A two-pronged approach including
field measurements and chemistry-climate simulations will be used.
Air/snow exchange fluxes of NOx and ozone will be determined at
three separate locations which span the range of snowpack
environments: polar glacial (at Summit, Greenland), arctic
non-glacial (at Toolik Lake, Alaska) and midlatitude (in northern
Michigan or Wisconsin). New parameterizations of snowpack processes
will be developed and incorporated into single column model versions
of the global chemistry-climate models ECHAM4 and ECHAM5-MESSy. The
expected outcome of this effort is the first assessment of the
impact of snowpack photochemical processes upon the arctic and
subarctic tropospheric ozone budget, and a modeling framework
suitable for assessing the expected impact that climate change will
exert upon the tropospheric ozone budget through changing snowcover
and permafrost extent.
Primary collaborations: Detlev
Helmig, Univ. Colorado (eddy correlation ozone flux and ozone
gradient measurements and other activities), Laurens Ganzeveld,
Univ. Wageningen, Netherlands (chemistry-climate model development
and simulations).
- Ph.D. students (thesis topics in parentheses)
- Chris Owen (Atmospheric transport to the central
North Atlantic region)
- Kateryna Lapina (Forest fire impacts on lower troposphere
CO and Ozone levels at the regional to hemispheric scale)
- Shen-Feng Chen (Photochemistry in aged continental
outflow)
- M.S. students
- Jessica Strane (Clustering analysis of transport
to the Pico Mountain station and the dependence of
station observations upon transport pathways)
- To be determined: Advertisement currently active.
- Recent doctoral graduates
- Maria Val Martin, 2007. Currently in a postdoc
with J. Logan at Harvard University.
- Recent postdoctoral researchers
itemize
- Jan Kleissl, 2006. Currently a tenure-track
assistant professor at the University of California
at San Diego.
Richard E Honrath
2008-09-21