Smog, a complex mixture of pollutant gases and particles, causes a myriad of health problems in addition to reducing visibility and damaging crops and ecosystems. Researchers at UC Davis measure the concentrations of the components of smog in California and around the world, including our role in the US EPA’s Chemical Speciation Network. Specifically, students, staff and faculty work together on:

• measuring the concentrations of gas phase pollutants
• characterizing the size distributions and chemical composition of particles in the atmosphere
• modeling the physical and chemical processes that transport and transform gases and particles in the atmosphere
• relating the compounds found in the atmosphere to their sources and the atmospheric processes that form them
• investigating how climate change alters the characteristics of air pollutants in our urban areas