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. 12