Atmospheric Physics Research

Overview of the Program

Atmospheric Physics is an important part of the New Mexico Tech Physics department. Seven of the faculty are active in atmospheric physics research, joined in this research by undergraduate and graduate students, by adjunct and emeritus faculty, by post-docs and by colleagues at other institutions.

Current research interests include cloud physics and thunderstorm structure, lightning and atmospheric electricity, the interaction of clouds and climate, middle atmospheric photochemistry, and atmospheric radioactivity. The faculty and students are often active in developing specialized, front-line instrumentation in order to study these phenomena. They may take part in field work -- often in collaboration with worldwide atmospheric science research efforts -- in order to gather critical data. They may also develop theoretical models and use such models to interpret their data in the larger setting of the physics of the earth's atmosphere and climate. Current research interests include

• Cloud physics: from the internal dynamics of clouds (such as convection and ice/rain formation) to their role in global climate patterns.
• Thunderstorms: how they become electrified, and the dynamics of the lightning they produce.
• The middle atmosphere: how solar radiation propagates, is absorbed, and affects the chemical and thermal state of the atmosphere.
• Atmospheric Radioactivity: the properties and transport of aerosols in the atmosphere, and how that depends on weather and ground conditions.

In recognition of the growing interest in environmental quality, an air quality research group has been formed at New Mexico Tech. This interdisciplinary research focuses on basic physical processes important to understanding air pollution and environmental quality. Examples include the physiochemical properties of airborne radioactivity, mechanisms of absorption of pollutants, such as gas in porous materials, and an understanding of dry deposition at the earth's surface.

Many of Tech's scientists take advantage of the nearby facilities, including the Langmuir Laboratory. This is a very good site for direct study of thunderstorms. The lab has facilities for balloon, radar and rocket-based study of storms, and offers an unparalleled opportunity for graduate student research.

New Mexico Tech is a member of the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR), a consortium of universities that operate the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR). Researchers at Tech collaborate with scientists at NCAR and often use the NSF facilities operated by NCAR, such as radar, instrumented aircraft and front-line computers.