Workshop on Production Mechanism, Number Concentration, Size Distribution, Chemical Composition, and Optical Properties of Sea Spray Aerosols; Raleigh, NC; June 4-6, 2012

North Carolina State University, Raleigh NC

Investigators

Abstract

This award provides partial support for a June 2012 workshop to address the most urgent open science questions for improved quantification of sea spray aerosol-radiation-climate interactions. Discussions will cover different aspects of marine aerosol-radiation-climate interactions to explore what simultaneous information is needed and what steps need to be taken to acquire such information to gain insight and answer the most critical research questions. A major goal of the workshop is to bring together established researchers and young researchers with new and different perspectives. To achieve this goal and to provide opportunities for professional interactions in a focused and productive forum, one third of invited researchers are early career scientists (PhD students, postdoctoral researchers and young research scientists who received their PhD after 2005). Broader impacts of the workshop derive from its main tangible product, a prioritized plan for conducting and facilitating novel research to improve the understanding of sea spray production mechanism, atmospheric sea salt aerosol distribution, chemical composition, radiative properties and lifetime. Additional impacts result from the opportunity for young scientists to meet, network, and exchange ideas with leaders in the atmospheric and marine sciences.