NASA Postdoctoral Program - Characterization of Atmospheric Aerosol in the US Southeast from Ground and Space-Based Measurements, and GEOS-Chem Model

The NASA Postdoctoral Program (NPP) offers unique research opportunities to highly-talented scientists to engage in ongoing NASA research projects at a NASA Center, NASA Headquarters, or at a NASA-affiliated research institute. These one- to three-year fellowships are competitive and are designed to advance NASA's missions in space science, Earth science, aeronautics, space operations, exploration systems, and astrobiology. This specific research opportunity focuses on investigating atmospheric aerosol characterization in the Southeast US region. The research will analyze the complex nature of aerosol effects on surface temperature by investigating how SEUS aerosol with observationally constrained optical properties and vertical distributions impact surface temperatures. The fellow will analyze in-situ, aircraft, and satellite data from the SEAC4RS 2013 field campaign in conjunction with GEOS-Chem transport model to quantify vertically resolved microphysical and optical properties of summertime aerosols and generate a multi-year record of region-specific aerosol products. This work aims to evaluate the impact of aerosol in the SEUS and establish whether aerosols are the primary driver of temperature trends in the region, particularly investigating the detectable cooling observed over the 20th century in contrast to warming trends in other US regions.