CAREER: Isotopic Studies of the Sources and Sinks of Atmospheric Carbon Monoxide

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9733638Mak This project was submitted in response to the CAREER Program solicitation. It is a four-year career development plan that integrates research and teaching goals. The major science objectives focus on the importance of atmospheric CO in tropospheric chemical processes for the background marine atmosphere. Specifically, the PI will use isotopic chemical information (i.e., 14CO, 13CO, C18O): 1) to quantify the rate of CO loss in the tropics (where OH concentrations are high); and 2) to characterize the relative temporal trend in source strengths for atmospheric CO. The loss rate of CO through reaction with OH will be determined by measuring 14CO. The stable isotope composition (13CO and C18O) will be used to help constrain temporal trends in the relative source strengths of atmospheric CO. Weekly air samples will be collected over a three-year period at the Mauna Loa Observatory and will be analyzed for the three CO isotopomers and for CO atmospheric abundance. Over the same sampling period the 14CO annual production rate in the lower troposphere will be measured and these data will be compared to model simulations obtained from the NASA Goddard 3-D Global Chemistry Transport Model. These proposed activities will shed new information on the source strengths of atmospheric CO, particularly over the tropical Pacific Ocean. The education plan uses the proposed atmospheric CO studies as a mechanism for involving undergraduate students in research. The PI's philosophy is to provide undergraduates with problem-solving opportunities that include equipment building and instrument operation as part of the research plan. Specifically, the PI will establish an undergraduate consortium of 5-10 students to work with him each semester on a directed project. Projects will require laboratory work, field work, and data interpretation and analysis. Also, the PI will establish partnerships with private industry to generate informal internships for students to assist them in obtaining employment within these companies.