During July 2023, Chair of Model-Based Environmental Exposure Science hosted Dr. Pérez-Invernón as a visiting researcher. Dr. Pérez-Invernón is a postdoctoral researcher at the Institute of Astrophysics of Andalucía (IAA-CSIC) in Spain, specializing in atmospheric electricity. At present, he is leading a research proposal that focuses on investigating the uncertainties related to lightning-produced nitrogen oxides (NOx) and the impacts on atmospheric composition.

 

Lightning is a major source of NOx in the atmosphere and lightning-produced NOx in the mid/upper troposphere is approximately six times more efficient in driving ozone production compared to anthropogenic NOx emissions. However, there are still large uncertainties in the measurement of lightning-produced NOx due to the presence of background NOx the lifetime of NOx near areas of convection and the limitations of satellite observations.

 

To address these uncertainties and improve our understanding of lightning-produced NOx, Javier is utilizing both satellite observations and the Weather Research and Forecasting coupled to Chemistry (WRF-Chem) model. The numerical model will be used to derive the vertical column density of NOx from the satellite observations as well as to provide data parameters and areas that cannot be detected by satellite. 

 

We wish Dr. Pérez-Invernón all the best with his research and look forward to further collaboration. For any inquiries or questions about this research, please feel free to contact Dr. Pérez-Invernón directly.