RIVERSIDE, Calif. (www.ucr.edu) -- A University of California, Riverside assistant professor of chemical and environmental engineering has received a $450,000 grant to study the impact of air-polluting black carbon particles as a way to mitigate climate change.
The three-year grant from the Environmental Protection Agency will also allow Akua Asa-Awuku, who does her research at the Center for Environmental Research and Technology at UC Riverside's Bourns College of Engineering, to study how black carbon affects air quality, and, subsequently, public health.
Asa-Awuku's research focuses on the formation and composition of aerosols, particles such as black carbon that contribute to air pollution, with an emphasis on their ability to absorb water. Her primary interest is understanding and predicting the interactions of clouds and aerosols.
Clouds have an important role in climate change. They can reflect incoming solar radiation back into space to create a cooling effect, which counteracts the warming effects of greenhouse gases. Understanding aerosol-cloud-climate interactions is imperative for predicting the impact of climate change.
Black carbon particles and lighter-in-color organic carbon particles are emitted when carbon-based fuels are burned by everything from ships to airplanes to stoves in homes. Both these particles, which can be as small as a few nanometers, serve as seeds for rain formation. However, how the two types of carbon particles interact to form rain is not well understood.
Most global warming is caused by long-lived green house gases, which include carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide. Short-lived particles, such as black carbon, also play a role. However, scientists understand less about the short-lived particles.
Now, more attention is being focused on the short-lived particles due to their high potential for mitigating climate change over a short t
'/>"/>
| Contact: Sean Nealon sean.nealon@ucr.edu 951-827-1287 University of California - Riverside Source:Eurekalert |
Related biology news :
1. Rutgers, UMDNJ research provides unprecedented insight into fighting viral infections
2. More evidence that spicing up broccoli boosts its cancer-fighting power
3. Scientists create natural Alzheimers-fighting compound in lab
4. Fighting back from extinction, New Zealand right whale is returning home
5. Plants teach humans a thing or two about fighting diseases
6. New review suggests drinking 100 percent fruit juice may offer disease-fighting benefits
7. Mucus: Fighting the war against pollutants
8. Discovery of a biochemical basis for broccolis cancer-fighting ability
9. Research suggests HIV causes rapid aging in key infection-fighting cells
10. Fighting the fight for healthy teeth
11. Scripps Research team creates new synthetic compound with HIV-fighting promise
| Copyright © 2003-2012 Bio-Medicine. All rights reserved. ABOUT | CONTACT US | DISCLAIMER | PRIVACY POLICY | TERMS AND CONDITIONS |  |