Matthew Salter Staff scientist
Contact
Name and title: Matthew SalterStaff scientist
Phone: +4686747222
Workplace: Department of Environmental Science Länk till annan webbplats.
Visiting address Room V204Svante Arrheniusväg 8 C, Geohuset
Postal address Institutionen för miljövetenskap106 91 Stockholm
About me
The ocean and atmosphere are intimately connected. They exchange gases, particles, and energy in ways that fundamentally shape our planets climate. As a marine biogeochemist and aerosol physicist with a joint position at the Department of Environmental Science (ACES) and the Baltic Sea Centre, I study these connections to understand how they work today and how they might change in our warming world.
My Research
My work focuses on three interconnected areas that reveal how marine and atmospheric systems influence each other:
Climate-active compounds in marine environments. I investigate short-lived but powerful climate forcers like aerosols and volatile organic compounds. Where do they come from in the ocean? What controls how much gets released into the atmosphere? And crucially—how might these processes shift as our climate changes?
Marine biodiversity and carbon cycling. I explore how variations in marine life and environmental conditions across space and time regulate biogeochemical processes. This work helps us understand the ocean's role in carbon capture and its feedbacks with the atmosphere, something that is especially important in the coastal zone.
Pollutant transport between ocean and air. I study how contaminants like perfluoroalkyl acids (PFAAs) and mercury move between the ocean and the atmosphere, including their transport via sea spray aerosol and deposition in coastal regions.
The Floating Laboratory
To tackle these questions, we have developed a unique facility: a floating research platform in the Stockholm archipelago at the Askö laboratory. It carries a suite of instruments that continuously monitor the water and the air — not separately, but together, side by side, in real time.
In the water, we track physical conditions like temperature and salinity, chemical properties such as dissolved greenhouse gases and volatile organic compounds, and biological activity in the plankton community.
In the atmosphere, we measure weather conditions alongside the concentrations and fluxes of greenhouse gases, aerosols, and volatile organic compounds.
Why This Matters
Understanding these ocean-atmosphere connections is essential for predicting how our climate system will respond to ongoing changes. The coastal zones I study are among the most dynamic and climate-sensitive parts of our planet—and often the most directly connected to human activities and impacts.
I teach at both master's and PhD levels, focusing on courses that bridge theory with practical problem-solving. Together with Matthew MacLeod (ACES), I lead the introductory course for our Master's in Environmental Science program, "Large Scale Challenges to the Climate and the Environment", a comprehensive course that takes students through the major ways human activities are disrupting Earth's environmental systems.
I also teach on the master's courses 'Problem solving for a sustainable transition' and 'Atmosphere, Biogeosphere and Climate Change', where I cover topics including climate change, the role of aerosols for climate and health, and climate change adaptation and mitigation—fundamental issues that I believe are critical for our society to address.
One of my particular interests is helping students become effective scientific communicators. I co-run the PhD course in Scientific Writing with Sarah Greenwood (IGV) and Mark Skidmore (NG), where we work with doctoral students to develop the clear, compelling writing skills essential for impactful research.
Bachelor's and Master's students are welcome to contact me to discuss potential thesis project ideas.
My research relies on cutting-edge instrumentation and techniques tailored to each of my three interconnected research areas:
Climate-active compounds in marine environments. I use floating sea spray aerosol simulation chambers as well as laboratory sea spray simulation chambers in combination with a broad range of measurement techniques to determine the microphysical and chemical properties of sea spray aerosols. I also employ online mass spectrometry to obtain data on sea spray aerosol chemical composition as well as real-time data on volatile organic compounds. Combining online mass spectrometry techniques with water equilibration systems allows real-time monitoring of volatile organic compounds in the water column.
Marine biodiversity and carbon cycling. Here I combine tools like a flow cytobot—an automated microscope that takes images of individual phytoplankton cells, giving us a near real-time view of how the tiny organisms at the base of the food web change from hour to hour and season to season—with laser spectroscopy to quantify greenhouse gas concentrations. By combining these spectroscopy instruments with water equilibration systems we can achieve real-time monitoring of greenhouse gases and some of their isotopes in the water column for studies across spatial and temporal scales.
Pollutant transport between ocean and air. I collaborate with colleagues who are experts in high-resolution mass spectrometry-based techniques for determining contaminants in seawater and aerosol samples, allowing us to track how pollutants move between marine and atmospheric environments.
PhD Students:
- Julika Zinke - Thesis: Factors influencing emission fluxes and bacterial enrichment in sea spray aerosols: Insights from laboratory and field studies (Principal supervisor, defended October 2023)
- Rawan Fayad - Research on the properties of nascent sea spray aerosol in the coastal zone using a novel floating sea spray simulation chamber (Principal supervisor, ongoing)
- Ilaria Barale - Research on sea spray aerosol as a vector for transporting mercury to the atmosphere (Co-supervisor, ongoing)
- Bo Sha - Thesis: Transport of perfluoroalkyl acids from the ocean to the atmosphere via sea spray aerosol (Co-supervisor, defended March 2022)
- Nikola Radoman - Thesis: Enrichment of biogenic and anthropogenic organic substances on sea spray aerosols (Co-supervisor, defended December 2022)
- Joost Dalmijn - Thesis: Emissions of Per- and polyfluoroakyl substances (PFAS) by fluoropolymer production plants (Co-supervisor, defended March 2025)
- Sneha Aggarwal - Thesis: Molecular insights into the evolution of sea spray aerosol chemistry: From laboratory to the Eastern North Atlantic (Co-supervisor, defence due October 2025)
Postdoc mentoring:
- Dr. Julika Zinke (2024 - now)
- Dr. Yifang Gu (2024 - now)