School of Physics – Staff Profile
Dr. Harald Berresheim - Senior Lecturer
1980 M.Sc. Meteorology, Bonn, Germany
1984 Ph.D. Chemistry, Frankfurt, Germany
1998 Habilitation, Cottbus, Germany
2003 Adjoint Professor, Cottbus, Germany
Tel: +353-91-49-5705
Email: harald.berresheim@nuigalway.ie
www.nuigalway.ie/physics/staff_pages/
h_berresheim/index.html
Research Cluster and Interests:
Atmosphere, Aerosol, and Environment Cluster
Centre for Climate & Air Pollution Studies
The composition of the atmosphere affects air quality and climate on both a regional and global scale. Natural
processes such as emissions of trace gases from marine phytoplankton are known to play a major role in
particle and cloud formation in the marine atmosphere.
The right image shows an example of phytoplankton blooms off the coast of
Ireland. However, long-range transport of pollution and continuously
increasing levels of reactive trace gases and particles can lead to major
feedback processes interfering with natural atmospheric cycles. One
example is the potential change in the atmospheric oxidation efficiency, i.e.,
the ability of the atmosphere to clean itself via the removal of pollutants by
oxidation. The major oxidant in the atmosphere is the hydroxyl radical, OH.
Increasing trends in pollution levels can potentially reduce the self-cleansing
ability of the atmosphere, thereby further accelerating the pollution impacts.
OH, molecules cm-3
Oxidation Efficiency (Mace Head, 1999)
Red:
Land sector, biomass
burning; 1 day: June 24,
1999 (R = 0.92)
Blue:
Marine sector, 16 days
(R = 0.81)
J(O1D), s-1
My group focusses in particular on high resolution
measurements of the atmospheric oxidation efficiency (OH
and other free radicals), reactive trace gases such as sulfuric
acid and nitrogen oxides, the removal of ozone by ocean
surface waters, and the formation and changing composition
of atmospheric aerosol particles. A major part of our research
contributes to the Global Atmosphere Watch programme of
the World Meteorological Organization and is conducted at
the Mace Head Atmospheric Research Station on the coast of
Connemara.
Keywords: Atmospheric trace gases, background and
polluted marine atmosphere, oxidation efficiency, aerosol,
climate change
Selected Recent Publications:
Berresheim, H., J. McGrath, M. Adam, R.L. Mauldin III, B. Bohn, and F. Rohrer, Seasonal
Measurements of OH, NOx, and J(O1D) at Mace Head, Ireland, Geophys. Res. Lett., 40, 16591663 (2013).
Boy, M., D. Mogensen, S. Smolander, L. Zhou, T. Nieminen, P. Paasonen, C. Plass-Dülmer, M. Sipilä,
T. Petäjä, L. Mauldin, H. Berresheim, and M. Kulmala, Oxidation of SO2 by stable Criegee
Intermediate (sCI) radicals as a crucial source for atmospheric sulfuric acid concentrations, Atmos.
Chem. Phys., 13, 3865–3879, (2013).
Rohrer, F., and H. Berresheim, Strong correlation between levels of tropospheric hydroxyl radicals
and solar ultraviolet radiation, Nature, 442, 184-187, 2006.
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