Department of Chemistry
University of Gothenburg
SE-412 96 Göteborg
Sweden

Currently Post.doc in Canada
E-mail:olofson@

CV

Research interests

Aerosol particles in the atmosphere are known to influence the climate. This takes place directly through scattering of incoming solar radiation (cooling) and absorption of outgoing heat radiation (warming). There is also an indirect effect in the increased number of available nuclei for water condensation and cloud formation. Clouds also affect radiation budget and climate through complex feedback mechanisms. The aerosol impacts on climate are not yet fully understood and further research is needed. My project aims to monitor aerosols in the lower atmosphere, mainly the troposphere. The technique I am using is called LIDAR (LIght Detection And Ranging). With this method a pulsed laser beam is directed up through the atmosphere and than the small fraction of light which is scattered back to the ground is collected and detected. The time from light emission to detection gives the height and the magnitude of the signal is a measure of the presence of scattering objects, i.e. molecules and particles. The result is a vertical distribution of the aerosol loading. During winter, temperature inversions are common. This leads to strongly reduced mixing of the air close to the ground and therefore elevated particle concentrations. The break-up of the trapped air and the dispersion dynamics has been studied. Research with emphasis on clouds is also planed and studies of the microphysics of cirrus clouds are in progress.