Kimberly Strong

Address: Department of Physics, University of Toronto
60 St. George Street
Toronto, Ontario, M5S 1A7, Canada

Research Papers Post-Docs Students Courses Links

Brief CV

Previous Projects:

I was the Principal Investigator for this project, which involved the launch of high-altitude balloons from Vanscoy, Saskatchewan in 1998, 2000, 2002, and 2004. Each carried a payload of instruments to measure vertical concentration profiles of stratospheric trace gases. The data have been used to investigate the changing chemical balance of the mid-latitude stratosphere, focussing on ozone, and nitrogen and chlorine compounds that play a role in ozone chemistry. This project was a large collaborative effort involving Co-Investigators from Environment Canada (formerly the Meteorological Service of Canada), the University of Toronto, York University, the University of Waterloo, the University of Denver, the Service d'Aeronomie, CNRS (France), and Scientific Instrumentation Limited. MANTRA was supported by the Canadian Space Agency, Environment Canada, NSERC, and CRESTech.

• The MANTRA Home Page

Current Projects:

CANDAC and PEARL

I am one of the founding members of CANDAC - the Canadian Network for the Detection of Atmospheric Change. This is a group of university researchers, led by Prof. Jim Drummond who joined together in 2002 with the objective of improving the state of remote sounding research in the atmosphere in Canada. One of the first priorities of this group was to establish an Arctic laboratory, and in 2004 we were successful in obtaining funding from CFI to equip the Polar Environment Atmospheric Research Laboratory (PEARL) at an existing facility at Eureka, Nunavut that is being leased from Environment Canada. I am leader of the Arctic Middle Atmosphere Chemistry research theme, and mentor for three of the new instruments being installed PEARL (a Bruker IFS125HR Fourier transform spectrometer, a UV-visible grating spectrometer, and an Atmospheric Emitted Radiance Interferometer). Our goal is to provide a long-term dataset for studying the evolution of Arctic atmospheric chemistry and its interannual variability.

• The CANDAC Home Page
• The Canadian Arctic ACE Validation Campaigns Home Page
• October 2006 CMOS Bulletin - Special Issue on Eureka (for CMOS members or orders)

The Canadian Space Agency's Atmospheric Chemistry Experiment (ACE) was launched on SCISAT-1 on August 12, 2003, carrying two instruments: a Fourier Transform Spectrometer (ACE-FTS) and Measurements of Aerosol Extinction in the Stratosphere and Troposphere Retrieved by Occultation (MAESTRO). The primary goal of the mission is to measure and to understand the chemical and dynamical processes that control the distribution of ozone in the upper troposphere and stratosphere, with a focus on the decline of stratospheric ozone at northern mid-latitudes and in the Arctic. I am a Co-Investigator on the mission, as well as Co-Leader of the ACE validation effort. My interests lie in validation activities and interpretation of the satellite data in terms of stratospheric processes. As part of this validation effort, I am also Co-Leader of the ACE Arctic Validation Campaigns which have taken place at Eureka, Nunavut each polar sunrise since 2004. Students and PDFs from my group also participated in the testing and calibration of MAESTRO and ACE-FTS which took place in February-March 2003 at the University of Toronto's Space Instrument Characterization Facility.

• The ACE Home Page
• The ACE Validation Program Home Page (secure site)
• CSA's SCISAT Home Page

The University of Toronto Atmospheric Observatory (TAO)

We have been operating a high-resolution ABB Bomem DA8 Fourier transform infrared spectrometer at the University of Toronto Atmospheric Observatory (TAO) since October 2001, with routine measurements since May 2002. This instrument is used to record solar absorption spectra on a daily basis for long-term measurements of stratospheric and tropospheric trace gases, urban pollution and mid-latitude atmospheric chemistry studies, and satellite data validation. The TAO FTS meets the requirements of the international Network for the Detection of Atmospheric Composition Change (NDACC), allowing the absorption lines of about 30 molecules and isotopes, including ozone, chlorine reservoirs, nitrogen- and carbon-containing compounds, and dynamical tracers to be distinguished. TAO was approved as a Complementary Measurement Station by the NDACC Steering Committee in March 2004, based on the results of a refereed algorithm and data comparison exercise. TAO has received support from the University of Toronto, CFI, ORDCF, CRESTech, NSERC, ABB Bomem, CFCAS, and PREA.

• The TAO Home Page
• The NDACC Home Page

Ground-Based UV-Visible Remote Sounding of the Stratosphere

Although the general mechanism for stratospheric ozone loss is now known, questions remain regarding the underlying chemical and dynamical processes, the potential for severe depletion in the Arctic, and the mechanisms for mid-latitude ozone loss. In order to address some of these questions, we have assembled a portable ground-based instrument to record UV-visible spectra of sunlight scattered from the zenith sky. A telescope can also be optically coupled to the spectrometer to allow night-time measurements using stars as sources of light. The resulting spectra are analyzed to retrieve vertical columns of ozone, NO₂, OClO, and BrO using differential optical absorption spectroscopy, as well as vertical profiles of NO₂. The instrument has been deployed on the ground during the four MANTRA campaigns and in springtime Arctic campaigns every year since 1999. All of the latter were at Environment Canada's former Arctic Stratospheric Observatory (now PEARL) at Eureka, Nunavut (80N), with one at Resolute Bay in 2002. This research is supported by NSERC, CFCAS, MSC, CSA, the Northern Scientific Training Program, and the Canadian Northern Studies Trust.

• Environment Canada's Stratopheric Ozone Web Page
• The Arctic Stratospheric Ozone Observatory, Eureka
• "Ozone Research in the High Arctic: The Whole Story" by Matt Bassford, Above and Beyond, March/April 2000

Ultraviolet-Visible-Infrared Laboratory Spectroscopy

A facility for laboratory spectroscopy in support of atmospheric remote sounding has been constructed for the measurement of absorption features of gases of atmospheric interest at high spectral resolution and over a range of temperatures. Several gas absorption cells, along with transfer optics and a cooling system, have been designed and built, and can be coupled to an ABB Bomem DA8 Fourier transform interferometer capable of operation at UV, visible, and IR wavelengths. Infrared spectra of CO have been obtained to demonstrate the thermal, vacuum, and optical performance of the our coolable 1.5-m cell, and we have also recently measured the infrared cross sections of the fluorotelomer alcohols 1:2, 4:2 and 6:2 FTOH, in a collaboration with colleagues at Ford Motor Company and Dupont Central Research and Development. We are currently working on the infrared spectroscopy of CFC-113, in support of the ACE mission. This project is supported by NSERC and the Canadian Space Agency.

• "Line Broadening and Temperature Dependence in the 0->3 Overtone Band of Carbon Monoxide." C. Hnatovsky, et al.. Poster presentation to the OSA FTS meeting, Santa Barbara, CA, June 21-25, 1999. [Poster, PDF format, 0.7 MB]
• "Laboratory Measurements of the Infrared Absorption Cross Sections of Fluorotelomer Alcohols." R. Dumoulin et al.. Poster presentation to the European Geosciences Union, Vienna, Austria, April 24-28, 2005. [Poster, PDF format, 2.8 MB]
• "Measurement of the Infrared Absorption Cross-sections and Line Broadening of CFC-113 and Comparison with Calculations." K. Le Bris, J.C. Ng, S.M.L. Melo, and K. Strong. Poster presentation to the 19th International Conference on High Resolution Molecular Spectroscopy, Prague, Czech Republic, August 29 - September 2, 2006. [Poster, PDF format, 1.8 MB]

Stratospheric Science with the Odin Satellite

Odin is a small satellite launched on February 20, 2001, that is being used for both aeronomy and astronomy. The Odin project is a collaboration between Sweden, Canada, France, and Finland, with the satellite developed by the Swedish Space Corporation. Odin carries two instruments, a Sub-Millimetre Radiometer (SMR) and a Canadian instrument called OSIRIS (Optical Spectrograph and InfraRed Imaging System). One goal of the Odin mission is to investigate polar and mid-latitude ozone depletion by making global measurements of trace species. I was involved in developing algorithms for the simulation of measurements and for the inversion of data to retrieve vertical concentration profiles from OSIRIS spectra of sunlight scattered from the Earth's limb. We are currently comparing Odin data with other measurements to study the chemical and dynamical processes that determine stratospheric composition.

• OSIRIS Home Page at the University of Saskatchewan
• CSA's Odin/OSIRIS Home Page

Selected list, with copies available for download (January 2010): Click here

Post-Doctoral Fellows

Previous:

Matthew Bassford
Rebecca Batchelor
Eric Dilligeard
Rowan Dundas
Elham Farahani
Tobias Kerzenmacher
Karine Le Bris

Graduate Students - Enquiries welcome!

Current:

Previous:

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Peifeng Yan (MSc September 2007)

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Elham Farahani (MSc October 2000, PhD April 2006,

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Jennifer Walker (MSc January 2006)
Robert Dumoulin (MSc September 2005)
Betsy Joseph (MSc October 2000)
Catherine Laurin (MSc September 1999)
Cyril Hnatovsky (MSc January 1999)
Ana Jofre (MSc January 1999)

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Undergraduate Research Students - Enquiries welcome!

Current:

Joseph Mendonca (Env. Canada Science Horizons Intern, 2009-10)
Joo-Hyung (David) Park (NSERC USRA, Summer 2009; PHY478F, Fall 2009)

Previous:

Maryam Akrami (Env. Canada Science Horizons Intern, 2008-09)
Deepak Chandan (PHY478F, Fall 2008)
Zen Mariani, UWO (CGSC Intern, Summer 2008)
Suri Like (Environment Canada Science Horizons Intern, 2007-08)
Felicia Kolonjari (CGSC Intern, Summer 2007)
Nir Friedman (Research Assistant, Summer 2007)
Jason Ng (ESC499Y, 2006-07 and NSERC USRA, Summer 2006)
Kevin Hurley (ESC499Y, 2006-07)
Rodica Lindenmaier (Research Assistant, Summer 2006)
Hristina Popova (CGSC Intern, Summer 2006)
Golnoush Hassanpour, University of Guelph (Co-op RA, Spring 2006)
Darren Prater, University of Guelph (Co-op Research Assistant, Spring 2006)
Dale Edwards, University of Guelph (Co-op Research Assistant, Fall 2005)
Michael Jensen, University of Guelph (NSERC USRA, Summer 2005)
Eric Paradis, University of Waterloo (NSERC USRA, Summer 2005)
Christopher Avis, University of Victoria (NSERC USRA, Summer 2004)
Laurent Castera, Ecole Polytechnique (Exchange Student, Summer 2004)
Olivia Chiu, Queen's University (NSERC USRA, Summer 2004)
Chuan Li (NSERC USRA, Summer 2004)
Rebecca Saari (ESC499Y, 2004-05, and Research Assistant, Summer 2003 & 2004)
Jennifer Walker (NSERC USRA, Summer 2003 and and Summer 2004)
Eufrasio Alfonso Leon (Research Assistant, Fall 2003 - Winter 2004)
Gerald Chang, McGill University (NSERC USRA, Summer 2003)
Brige Chugh (Research Assistant, Summer 2003)
David Barclay, McGill University (NSERC USRA, Summer 2002)
Nazlie Faridi, University of Victoria (NSERC USRA, Summer 2002)
Rodney Sullivan (Research Assistant, Summer 2002 - Spring 2003)
Martin Tingley (NSERC USRA, Summer 2002 - Spring 2003)
Matt Toohey (Research Assistant, Summer 2002)
Helen Czerski (Graduate Research Assistant, Fall 2001)
Annemarie Fraser (PHY 479Y, 2001-02, and NSERC USRA, Summer 2001)
Patrick Rourke (PHY 299Y, 2000-01 and NSERC USRA, Summer 2001)
Koruger Adcock, Simon Fraser University (Research Assistant, Summer 2000)
James Anstey, Simon Fraser University (NSERC USRA, Summer 2000)
Andrew Bennett, University of British Columbia (NSERC USRA, Summer 2000)
Colette Heald (PHY 455Y, Queen's University, 1999-2000)
Stella Kim (PHY 299Y, 1999-2000)
Ryan Sullivan (PHY 299Y, 1999-2000)
John Halpine, Mount Allison University (NSERC USRA, Summer 1999)
Colette Heald, Queen's University (NSERC USRA, Summer 1999)
Neilank Jha (PHY 299Y, 1998-99)
Ranpal Dosanjh, Trent University (Research Assistant, Summer 1998)
Debra Wunch (Research Assistant, Summer 1998)
Leah Kamyabee (PHY 478S, Spring 1998)
Erik Forsberg (PHY 299Y, 1997-98 & Research Assistant, Summer 1998 - Spring 1999)
Keir Menzies (PHY 299Y, 1997-98 & Research Assistant, Summer 1998 - Spring 1999)
Stacey Crane (ESC 499Y, Fall 1997)
Cyril Hnatovsky (Research Assistant, Fall 1997)
Rupinder Brar (PHY 478H & Research Assistant, Summer 1997)
Joanna Fromstein (Research Assistant, Summer 1997)

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Fall 2009: PHY 100F, The Magic of Physics (and calendar description)
Spring 2009: PHY 132S, Introduction to Physics II - Electromagnetism Section (and calendar description)
Spring 2006/2007/2008: PHY 138Y, Physics for the Life Sciences - Electromagnetism Section (and calendar description)
Spring 2004/2005/2006/2007/2008/2009: PHY 315S, Radiation in Planetary Atmospheres (and calendar description)
Fall 2003: PHY 305F, Electronics Laboratory I (and calendar description)
Spring 2002: PHY 325/326/425/426, Modern Physics Laboratory (calendar description)
Fall 1998/1999/2000/2001: PHY 140Y, Foundations of Physics (and calendar description)
Spring 1997/1998/1999/2000/2002/2004/2005: PHY 499S/1499S, Earth Observations from Space

Undergraduate Research and Reading Courses: - Enquiries welcome!

Graduate Courses:

Fall 2001: PHY 1830F, Foundation Course in Atmospheric Physics (co-taught by Prof. W.R. Peltier)
Spring 1997/1998/1999/2000: PHY 499S/1499S, Earth Observations from Space
Fall 1997/2000: PHY 2107F, Experimental Methods in Physics (coordinated by Prof. S. Morris (1997) and Dr. S. Tawfiq (2000))
Fall 1997: PHY 2501F, Atmospheric Physics - Radiation

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This site is maintained by: Kimberly Strong
Last updated: January 2010