AAAR 37th Annual Conference October 14 - October 18, 2019 Oregon Convention Center Portland, Oregon, USA
Abstract View
Nethmi Kasthuriarachchi, PhD candidate, Postdoctoral Researcher, Europe
NETHMI KASTHURIARACHCHI, National University of Singapore
Abstract Number: 865 Working Group: Meet the Job Seekers
Abstract Light absorbing carbonaceous aerosols are a topic of great interest within the aerosol research community due to its direct and indirect effects on the global climate. Particularly, the study of brown carbon (BrC), the fraction of organics that absorb light in the near ultra violet and visible wavelength region, has been gaining traction since the last decade, primarily due to its prominent light absorbing properties and its potential influence on the reduction of atmospheric oxidants.
My current studies focus on the analysis of long-term ambient measurement of urban aerosols to identify potential sources of urban BrC and to quantify their source-specific optical properties based on measurements from a seven-wavelength Aethalometer, incorporated with chemical characterization data from a high resolution-aerosol mass spectrometer (HR-AMS). HR-AMS is used to further undertand the chemical composition of the BrC chromophores contributing to light absorption. Another part of my research includes laboratory work for investigating the effects of relative humidity (RH) on the formation of secondary BrC by simulation of atmospheric droplet evaporation process with model reaction systems. This study revealed, for the first time, that BrC formation varies as a function of RH and the observations were further generalized for more complex secondary aerosol mixtures produced using a potential aerosol mass (PAM) reactor.
As a final year PhD candidate in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the National University of Singapore I expect to complete my degree by July, 2020 and will be available for any postdoctoral research opportunities immediately afterwards (preferably, in the European region). I am interested in carrying out both laboratory and field work in projects that focus on the formation and the chemical/physical processing of atmospheric aerosols, where my experience with the aforementioned instruments and handling of large data sets would be utilized.