Laura Alverez-Aviles

We study halogen chemistry activation in the Arctic in the springtime. The chemistry of active halogens in the Arctic has been found to be responsible for the depletion of tropospheric ozone and the deposition of mercury. These halogens originate from the ocean and through a series of different pathways are transported and then stored in the snow pack, and other ice reservoirs during the wintertime. In the springtime acid oxidation reactions form photoactive bromine species like bromine atoms and bromine monoxide (BrO) that are directly involved in depleting ozone. These active halogen species are believed to be involved in reducing elemental mercury. I study chemical modifications with respect to seawater in different reservoirs. The reservoirs studied so far have been snow pack inland, snow pack on sea ice, frost flowers, and aerosols. Studying chemical modifications that these reservoirs go through are key to understand atmospheric chemical pathways and mechanisms.

Laura Alvarez-Aviles' CV (pdf)