Caroline LeckProfessor of Chemical meteorology
About me
Research interests
- Arctic studies
- Tropospheric chemical and physical processes
- Climate studies
Research projects
The research is overall motivated by the concern about the effects of anthropogenic changes in the chemical composition of the atmosphere: impact on climate, ecosystems—including acidification—and human health. Studies of the occurrence of aerosol particles and gaseous constituents of importance for cloud radiative properties, biogeochemical cycles and climate play a central role in the research activities, with the emphasis on both the Arctic region in summer with a minimum of influences by man-made sources, and the heavily polluted Indian sub-continent. Examples are cycling of sulphur and marine biogenic matter, which provides a still poorly understood link between cloud radiative properties and marine microbiological life in ocean and ice, and the short lived climate tracer soot and its climate impact.
The research involves studies of the occurrence and transformation of chemical constituents in the atmosphere as dependent on homogenous and heteorogenous chemical reactions and meteorological conditions: winds, clouds, precipitation etc. The research is carried out as part of comprehensive international field campaigns (ASCOS: www.ascos.se and ABC: www.abc-asia.ucsd.edu). The field-work is complemented by laboratory studies and theoretical modelling of different complexity to examine how different chemical constituents interact with atmospheric mixing and transport. The models are used to interpret both the in-situ and remote sensing collected data and to study the impact of long-term past and future changes in atmospheric composition. I have a significant interdisciplinary expertise and extensive experience of managing large multidisciplinary institutional Arctic research programs in her role as deputy coordinator of the atmospheric program of four international Arctic Ocean Expeditions to the North Pole.
Teaching
I'm currently involved in teaching on the following courses:
- MO7002: Atmospheric Chemistry and its Impact on Climate
- MO7017: Atmospheric Chemistry in a Changing World
- MO7013/14: Biogechemical cycles
- MO6001: Degree Project in Meteorology
- MO9001/9002/9003: Degree Projects in Atmospheric Sciences and Oceanography
