2022 CHACHA (CHemistry in the Arctic: Clouds, Halogens, and Aerosols) Aircraft Field Campaign

The Pratt Lab will deploy the quad-CIMS, PILS, and DRUM on the Univ. of Wyoming King Air for Feb. – Apr. 2022 flights out of Utqiaġvik, AK.

Funding

NSF, Arctic Natural Sciences & Atmospheric Chemistry
Lead PI: Paul Shepson (Stony Brook Univ.); 4 co-PIs, including Kerri Pratt.

2022 ALPACA (ALaskan Pollution and Chemical Analysis) Field Campaign

PhD students Judy Wu and Andrew Holen deployed the ATOFMS, SMPS, APS, and MOUDI to Fairbanks, AK in Jan. – Feb. 2022. Prof. Pratt is on the ALPACA organizing committee and an International Global Atmospheric Chemistry (IGAC) Project PACES (air Pollution in the Arctic: Climate, Environment, and Societies) working group co-chair leading the international effort to understand high latitude urban air pollution.

Funding

NSF, Navigating the New Arctic 2020-2024
Lead PI: William Simpson (Univ. of Alaska, Fairbanks); 8 co-PIs, including Kerri Pratt.

2020 Arctic CLOROX (Chlorine Oxidation) Field Campaign

Pratt Lab PhD students Kathryn Kulju and Nikki Perkins, supported at home by postdoc Daun Jeong, deployed two chemical ionization mass spectrometers to the DOE ARM Oliktok Point site from Feb. – Mar. 2020 (cut short by COVID-19!) as part of a collaboration with Dr. Andy Lambe at Aerodyne Research. Our goal is to study atmospheric chlorine chemistry within the North Slope of Alaska oilfields.

Funding

NSF RAPID, 2020
Lead PI: Kerri Pratt, co-PI: Andrew Lambe (Aerodyne Research)

2018 APUN (Aerosols in the Polar Utqiaġvik Night) Field Campaign

Pratt Lab post-doc Jun Liu and PhD student Jamy Lee deployed our aerosol time-of-flight mass spectrometer (ATOFMS), APS, SMPS, and MOUDI to Utqiaġvik, Alaska from Oct. 28 – Dec. 22, 2018 for our Aerosols in the Polar Utqiagvik Night (APUN – ‘snow on ground’ in Iñupiaq) ARM field campaign. We are studying wintertime atmospheric aerosol sources and chemical composition during the Polar Night (starting in mid-Nov.) and during sea ice freeze-up. This field campaign addresses the observational gap of Arctic aerosol observations, which have previously been made primarily through intensive spring/summer field campaigns. This work contributes to international efforts focused on improving understanding and prediction of the Polar Regions (e.g., Year of Polar Prediction (YOPP), International Global Atmospheric Chemistry Project activity CATCH (Cryosphere and Atmospheric Chemistry)).

Funding

DOE Early Career, 2018 – 2023, DOE ARM, 2018-2020
Lead PI: Kerri Pratt

2018 MOCCHA Field Campaign (Microbiology-Ocean-Cloud Coupling in the High Arctic)

Pratt Lab PhD student Rachel Kirpes spent July – September 2018 aboard the Swedish Icebreaker Oden for our collaborative Arctic sea spray aerosol project in the high Arctic.
Swedish Polar Research Secretariat
UM News

Funding

NSF, 2017-2020
Lead PI: Kerri Pratt, co-PIs: Patricia Matrai (Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences), Amanda Grannas (Villanova University), Andrew Ault (University of Michigan)

2018 SNACK Field Campaign (Snow and Atmospheric Chemistry in Kalamazoo, Michigan)

Pratt Lab PhD student Stephen McNamara and visiting PhD student Jacinta Edebeli (ETH Zurich) deployed our chemical ionization mass spectrometer (CIMS), ambient ion monitor ion chromatography (AIM-IC) system, APS, SMPS, and MOUDI to Kalamazoo, Michigan for Jan. – Feb. 2018. Our goal is to study air-snow interactions in the urban wintertime environment.

Funding

NSF, 2017-2020
PI: Kerri Pratt

2017 University of Michigan Biological Station (UMBS) Prescribed Burn

In October 2017, the Pratt Lab collaborated with Aerodyne Research to deploy the aerosol time-of-flight mass spectrometer to UMBS to sample smoke from the historic prescribed burn. Pratt Lab PhD students Nate May and Nick Ellsworth collected thousands of individual particle mass spectra while the truck was driving through the smoke!Michigan News Story

2017 Korean Icebreaker Araon

Continuing our collaboration with the University of California-Irvine (Prof. Saewung Kim) and the Korea Polar Research Institute (Dr. Keyhong Park), we deployed our micro-orifice uniform-deposit impactor (MOUDI) aboard the Korean Icebreaker Araon for its August 2017 cruise to the Chukchi Sea in the Arctic! Pratt Lab PhD student Rachel Kirpes flew to Nome, AK to install the instrument on the icebreaker after being helicoptered on! We collected atmospheric particle samples for computer-controlled scanning electron microscopy with energy-dispersive X-ray (CCSEM-EDX) analysis.

Funding

National Academy of Sciences Gulf Research Early Career Fellows Program (2016-2018)

2016 Oliktok Point (Prudhoe Bay), Alaska

Continuing our collaboration with Prof. Rebecca Sheesley at Baylor University, Pratt Lab PhD student Matt Gunsch deployed our aerosol time-of-flight mass spectrometer (ATOFMS), aerodynamic particle sizer (APS), scanning mobility particle sizer (SMPS), and micro-orifice, uniform-deposit impactor (MOUDI, for particle collection) to the Department of Energy (DOE) Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Oliktok Point field site in the Prudhoe Bay Oilfields. Our goal is to study how oilfield emissions impact the aerosol population on the North Slope of Alaska.
Funding
NOAA, 2014-2017
DOE ARM, 2015-2016
Lead PI: Kerri Pratt, co-I: Rebecca Sheesley (Baylor Univ.)

2016 Korean Icebreaker Araon

Through a collaboration with the University of California-Irvine (Prof. Saewung Kim) and the Korea Polar Research Institute (Dr. Keyhong Park), we deployed our microanalysis particle sampler aboard the Korean Icebreaker Araon for its August 2016 cruise to the Chukchi Sea in the Arctic! We collected atmospheric particle samples for computer-controlled scanning electron microscopy with energy-dispersive X-ray (CCSEM-EDX) analysis.

2016 PROPHET-AMOS (Program for Research on Oxidants: Photochemistry, Emissions, and Transport – Atmospheric Measurements of Oxidants in Summer) (University of Michigan Biological Station)

The Pratt and Ault Labs joined 20+ other research groups from around the country and Europe at the University of Michigan Biological Station in July 2016 for the PROPHET-AMOS campaign. Pratt Lab PhD students Ryan Cook and Megan Connor deployed the aerosol time-of-flight mass spectrometer (ATOFMS), ambient ion monitor-ion chromatography system (AIM-IC), aerodynamic particle sizer (APS), and scanning mobility particle sizer (SMPS) in our mobile trailer. In addition, Pratt Lab PhD student Rachel Kirpes flew with Prof. Paul Shepson in the Purdue University Airborne Laboratory for Atmospheric Research, collecting cloud water and atmospheric particle samples above Lake Michigan, Lake Huron, and the forest.

Funding

Funding: University of Michigan Biological Station Graduate Fellowships & MCubed2 program

2016 PHOXMELT (Photochemical Halogen and Ozone eXperiment: Mass Exchange in the Lower Troposphere) (Barrow, Alaska)

From March-May 2016, the Shepson, Pratt, and Fuentes research groups studied snowpack molecular halogen production and near-surface atmospheric turbulence in Barrow, Alaska. Prof. Pratt led the field campaign, with supervision of the lead PhD student Angela Raso (Shepson Lab, Purdue University) and Pratt Lab PhD student Stephen McNamara, who operated the chemical ionization mass spectrometer, completing near-surface vertical profiles and eddy covariance measurements of molecular halogens. In addition, the Pratt Lab collected atmospheric particles for off-line computer-controlled scanning electron microscopy. During the University of Michigan’s winter break in early March, Pratt Lab PhD student Nate May accompanied two first-year Pratt Lab undergraduate students Claire Mattson and Alicia Kevelin to Barrow, Alaska. They snow-machined across the tundra and sea ice collecting snow samples for the next offering of our new course CHEM 125/126-Snow (General Chemistry Laboratory I/II – Authentic Research Experience in Snow Chemistry)! (Claire and Alicia were stellar students during the first offering our course in Fall 2015 and were invited to join the Pratt Lab afterward!)

Funding

Funding: NSF Arctic Natural Sciences, 2014-2018
PIs: Paul Shepson (Purdue Univ.), Kerri Pratt, Jose Fuentes (Univ. of Michigan)
HHMI Authentic Research Connection
Univ. of Michigan Department of Chemistry, Program in the Environment, and International Institute (Arctic Internship funding)
Michigan News Story

Ann Arbor, Michigan 2016

From February-March 2016, the whole Pratt Lab joined together to conducted a suite of measurements to characterize the wintertime urban atmospheric composition (trace gases and particles) in Ann Arbor, Michigan. We applied every technique in our ‘toolbox’: aerosol time-of-flight mass spectrometry (ATOFMS), chemical ionization mass spectrometry (CIMS), ambient ion monitor-ion chromatography (AIM-IC), aerodynamic particle sizer (APS), scanning mobility particle sizer (SMPS), impactor sampling for computer-controlled scanning electron microscopy (CCSEM-EDX), and snow sampling.

Barrow, Alaska 2015

From August – September 2015, the Pratt Lab led a field campaign in Barrow, Alaska to investigate composition of atmospheric aerosols in the Arctic in the summertime. In particular, our goal was to examine particles resulting from oil and gas extraction activities near the North Slope of Alaska with focus on the offshore drilling and ship emissions. With climate change already showing noticeable impacts in the Arctic, it is paramount to understand the increasing local emissions impacting this region. From July – September 2015, offshore drilling off was completed off the coast of northern Alaska.
PhD student Matt Gunsch deployed our custom-built aircraft aerosol time-of-flight mass spectrometer (A-ATOFMS) for the first time. Using the A-ATOFMS, scanning mobility particle sizer, and aerodynamic particle sizer, we collected real-time data on the size and chemical composition of the atmospheric particles influencing the area. Together these data will allow determination of the concentrations of particles from specific sources. This collaborative study included the research group of Dr. Rebecca Sheesley (Baylor University), and was funded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), as well as the Department of Energy (DOE) Atmospheric Radiation Management (ARM) Program.

Funding

Lead PI: Kerri Pratt, co-I: Rebecca Sheesley (Baylor Univ.)
NOAA, 2014 – 2017, “Assessment of Atmospheric Aerosols Resulting from Oil and Gas Extraction Activities near the North Slope of Alaska”.
DOE ARM, 2015-2016, “Summertime Aerosol Across North Slope of Alaska Field Campaign”.
Ensia Story

Lake Michigan 2015

Upon reading in the news of 7 foot waves predicted for the eastern shore of Lake Michigan, Pratt Lab PhD student Nate May and Ault Lab rotation student Isabel Colon-Bernal headed to Van Buron State Park, where they collected lake water and atmospheric particle samples over several days during the high wave event!

Funding

Funding: University of Michigan Water Center (2014-2016)
Lead PI: Andrew Ault, co-I: Kerri Pratt