![[Picture]](jim.jpg)
Tel: (416) 978-4723
Fax: (416) 978-8905
E-mail: jim@atmosp.physics.utoronto.ca
General Research Areas
Atmospheric Composition: remote measurements using balloons and satellites
Atmospheric Radiative Transfer: particularly as applied to remote sensing and atmospheric constituents
Specific Projects (current and recent)
Measurements of Pollution In The Troposphere (MOPITT) - An extremely significant part of my research effort in the last three years has been devoted to the Measurements Of Pollution In The Troposphere (MOPITT) instrument to measure carbon monoxide and methane in the troposphere. I am the Principal Investigator for this project and I lead an international team of co-investigators. The instrument is proposed for NASA's Earth Observing System (EOS). The MOPITT project is directly funded by the Canadian Space Agency and I sub-contract to industry for much of the engineering. The potential rewards of this program are enormous, but the path to success is long since the launch date is mid- 1998.
Chemistry and Dynamics In The Troposphere (CDT) - I was also a co-investigator on the Chemistry and Dynamics in the Troposphere (CDT) project which was funded by a Strategic Grant from NSERC. This was the modelling complement to the MOPITT instrument project above. My particular role was to examine how global data sets of tropospheric constituents could be "married" with 3D models to advance the state of knowledge of chemical processes in the lower atmosphere. Completed September 1993.
Diode Laser Measurements in the Atmosphere - This is an ongoing collaboration with Dr. Fried at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Colorado that has resulted in an apparatus for making in-situ measurements of sulphur and other compounds in the troposphere. These compounds have a significant impact on the chemistry and radiative transfer of the troposphere but their concentrations are extremely low and they are therefore difficult to detect. Our collaboration has resulted in the development of an extremely sensitive system for measuring these gases by using diode laser absorption techniques.
Sub-Doppler Infrared Spectroscopic Studies of Line Shape and Broadening Mechanisms - The collaboration with Dr. May in the Department of Physics at the University of Toronto has been to our great mutual benefit. The construction of the system for stimulated Raman gain/Infrared spectroscopy was beyond our individual capabilities. By combining our expertise in experimental design (both), lasers (May) and electronics (Drummond) we have been able to construct a world-class facility with the help of the Department of Physics, NSERC and the Ontario Laser and Lightwave Research Centre. The objective of the infrared laser spectroscopy part of this project is to look at the fine details of the spectral lineshape of molecules of interest in atmospheric remote sensing. The next generation of satellite sensors will be precise enough to require additional information on the line parameters and their variation with pressure.
Industrial Research Chair in "Atmospheric Remote Sounding from Space"