2024 News & Events

The University of Colorado CIRES Rendezvous on May 16^th recognized several of our colleagues. We highlight research achievements and other accomplishments of CIRES staff working at CSL who have received recent awards and honors, and participated in this year's CIRES Rendezvous.

Yunqian Zhu along with Global Monitoring Laboratory (GML) colleagues Elizabeth Asher (formerly CSL), Patrick Cullis, Emrys Hall, Dale Hurst, and Allen Jordan received a 2024 CIRES Silver Medal for successfully executing a rapid response campaign to study the atmospheric impact of the unprecedented Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai volcano eruption. Read More

CSL staff are recognized for career track promotions within CIRES: Colin Harkins to Associate Scientist (AS) II; Alexandre Baron, Brian Carroll, Dillon Elsbury, Isabel McCoy, Victoria Treadaway,Daniel Van Hoomissen, and Vassilis Papadimitriou to Research Scientist (RS) II; Jan Kazil and Christoph Senff to Senior Research Scientist (SRS).

Several CSL scientists are recognized for milestones in their years of service with CIRES: Adam Ahern (5), Kai-Lan Chang (5), Yaosheng Chen (5), Jake Gristey (5), Meng Li (5), Jan Kazil (15), Eric Ray (25), Wayne Angevine (30), and Cathy Burgdorf Rasco (30).

Early-career CIRES scientists presented science highlights in flash talks to kick off the honors. One of the five was given by CSL:

• Alex Baron: Ballooning into the Stratospheric Aerosol Layer: A Climate Journey

Many in CSL contributed to the poster session. Of 136 poster presentations, 15 CSL researchers were first authors (11%). CSL researchers were co-authors on 6 posters (without a CSL first author).

• AI, ML and Modelling
• Jake Gristey: Spatial Variability in Surface Solar Irradiance Generated by Continental Cumulus Clouds Does Not Impact Future Cloud Evolution in a 1D Radiative Transfer Framework



• Data (management, analysis, visualization, science and asymilation)
• Brian Carroll: Fire-Atmosphere Dynamics and Chemistry Measured from Mobile Platforms: The California Fire Dynamics Experiment (CalFiDE)
• Environmental Chemistry
• Kristen Zuraski: Wildfire variability: Reactive nitrogen and ozone photochemistry observed in the northwestern U.S. during the 2022 CalFiDE campaign
• Christopher Jernigan: Observations and Constraints on the Sulfur Budget over the Marine Environment
• Colin Gurganus: Insights into Carbonyl Sulfide (OCS) Distribution and Sources in the Asian Summer Monsoon (ASM) Region: Evidence from Elevated Levels Observed in the UTLS during the ACCLIP Campaign
• Michael Lawler: Aerosol composition measured in the NH polar vortex using single particle mass spectrometry
• Environmental Monitoring and Observations
• Nell Schafer: Trends in Methane Emission Sources in the Los Angeles Basin, California
• Zachary C.J. Decker: The first in-situ observations of stratospheric N2O5 constrain heterogeneous N2O5 chemistry on stratospheric aerosol
• Victoria Treadaway: Distributions and Correlations of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) during AEROMMA 2023 over the United States
• Kate Smith: Using the B²SAP network to investigate the impact that wildfires and volcanic activity have upon the effective radius of stratospheric aerosol
• Morgan Selby: VOC Instrument Intercomparisons Aboard the NASA DC-8
• Forecasting
• Wayne M. Angevine: Cloud properties and transitions in MAGIC simulated by a mesoscale model
• Weather and Climate
• Isabel L. McCoy: Are More Organized Trade Cumulus Clouds Developing More Efficiently?
• Adam Ahern: Stratospheric measurements of aerosols: A comparison of in situ and remote sensing techniques

The day began with the annual CIRES "Rundezvous" with a strong finish from CSL. In the womens division, Kate Smith finished first, followed by Eleanor Waxman finishing second. In the mens division, Alex Baron finished third. Congratulations runners!

Our CSL representatives Yelena Pichugina and Siyuan Wang and the CIRES Members' Council (CMC) provided support for the very successful 2024 CIRES Rendezvous on May 16^th.