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Research work includes
the study of aerosol properties, aerosol-cloud interactions, cloud
electrification and lightning characteristics, ice physics, planetary
atmospheres and the role of snow and clouds in climate.
We have worked most
recently on the microphysical processes that lead to thunderstorm electrification
and ice particle evolution. We have explored the physical mechanisms that
lead to creation o the electric fields in clouds and then the processes
leading to electric discharges in those electric fields. We have also
examined the possible influence of several pollutants, such as the dust
plumes from forest fires, on lightning frequency. The fascination of this
topic stems not only from the importance of lightning but from the fact
that the processes leading to sparks in the laboratory cannot explain
the production of lightning in the atmosphere.
In a separate
line of research we are investigating the physics of freezing of water
drops, a process which is still not completely understood. This work builds
on laboratory experiments performed by Brian Swanson and his students,
on recent theoretical advances and on analysis of atmospheric data.
Group
Websites:
• Atmospheric
and Cloud Physics Website
• Ice
Particle Microphysics Laboratory
Faculty
Members:
Marcia
Baker
Brian
Swanson
Steve
Warren
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