AOSC Seminar by Jose Fuentes, 3/26/2026
AOSC Seminar
Jose Fuentes
Penn State University
Title
Atmospheric Thermodynamics and Chemical Processes in the Arctic After Polar Sunrise
Abstract
This seminar presents results from the CHACHA (Chemistry in the Arctic: Clouds, Halogens, and Aerosols) field campaign conducted from mid-February to mid-April 2022 in Utqiaġvik, Alaska—the northernmost city in the United States, located at the interface of the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas. The campaign combined airborne and ground-based observations to investigate the coupled chemistry and physics of the Arctic boundary layer during late winter and early spring. Two instrumented research aircraft—the University of Wyoming King Air and Purdue University’s Airborne Laboratory for Atmospheric Research—served as airborne laboratories equipped to measure trace gases, aerosols, cloud microphysics, winds, and turbulence. These measurements were complemented by ground-based observations of ozone, airborne particles, and snow chemistry, enabling direct linkage between surface processes and vertical atmospheric structure. CHACHA provided a unique opportunity to examine thermodynamic and chemical processes over sea-ice leads—fractures in the ice that expose open water—and to characterize the horizontal and vertical distributions of aerosols and reactive trace gases, including halogens, nitrogen oxides, and ozone, across snow-covered sea ice, tundra, and nearby industrial regions. The results reveal how sea-ice leads and Arctic industrial emissions modify boundary-layer thermal structure, influence aerosol formation, and shape cloud development following polar sunrise, offering new insights into the evolving Arctic atmosphere.
Bio
As a Penn State University Professor of Atmospheric Science, Jose D. Fuentes teaches and studies the surface-atmosphere interactions controlling transport of energy and gases in the lower atmosphere. This research is necessary to estimate the impacts of air composition changes on Earth’s climate and airborne pollution in response to enhanced transport of materials from the biosphere to the atmosphere or vice versa. His research requires the combination of field studies and numerical modeling investigations. Field studies involve deployment and operation of instruments on towers, tethered balloons, drones, and aircraft. His field projects take him and his graduate students to places such as the high Arctic, Brazil, Panama, West Africa, The Republic of the Marshall Islands, and many places in Canada and USA.
Fuentes earned his BSc in Meteorology from Millersville University and his MSc (Agricultural Meteorology) and PhD (Micrometeorology) from the University of Guelph. After graduate school, he spent several years working as a research scientist at Environment Canada before joining the University of Virginia where he served as Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, and Professor in the Department of Environmental Sciences. Throughout his academic career, Fuentes has engaged in broadening the participation of underrepresented groups in science and engineering. He served as the chair of the congressionally mandated Committee on Equal Opportunities in Science and Engineering (CEOSE) which advises the National Science Foundation on matters of broadening participation of women and underrepresented groups in science and engineering.
Contact
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AOSC Seminar
Pre-seminar refreshment: N/A
Seminar: 3:30-4:30pm, Room: ATL 2400(only when in-person)
Meet-the-Speaker: 4:30-5:00pm, Room: ATL 3400(only when in-person) [For AOSC Students only]
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