AEROSE

AEROSE
Name	AEROSE
Type	Nonprofit research consortium
Founded	2009
Headquarters	Miami, Florida
Area served	Global
Focus	Atmospheric chemistry, climate science, public health

AEROSE AEROSE is an international atmospheric research consortium specializing in aerosol chemistry, air quality, and climate interactions. It conducts field campaigns, laboratory analyses, and modeling studies, engaging with academic institutions, governmental agencies, and nongovernmental organizations across the Americas, Africa, Asia, and Europe. AEROSE integrates observational programs, satellite validation, and interdisciplinary partnerships to inform policy and public health responses.

Overview

AEROSE brings together scientists and institutions such as National Aeronautics and Space Administration, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, European Space Agency, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Harvard University, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology to study aerosols and trace gases. Its work interfaces with projects like MODIS, CALIPSO, AERONET, GEOS-Chem, IPCC, and WMO programs, and it collaborates with regional universities including University of Miami, University of São Paulo, University of Cape Town, University of Nairobi, and Peking University. AEROSE also coordinates with agencies such as Environmental Protection Agency and NOAA Air Resources Laboratory and contributes to standards used by World Health Organization.

History

Founded in 2009 by researchers from University of Miami and partners at Florida International University and Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric, and Earth Science, AEROSE grew out of earlier campaigns tied to Hurricane Katrina aftermath studies and maritime aerosol research linked to Sargassum blooms. Early fieldwork connected with shipborne programs like those run by R/V Knorr and collaborations with Plymouth Marine Laboratory and Lamont–Doherty Earth Observatory. Over time AEROSE expanded to coordinate multinational campaigns that intersect with events such as the 2010 Eyjafjallajökull eruption, the 2013 Southeast Asian haze, and wildfire episodes linked to California wildfires and Amazon rainforest fires.

Mission and Objectives

AEROSE's mission emphasizes improving understanding of aerosol sources, transformations, transport, and impacts on climate and health through integrated observations, modeling, and outreach. Objectives include validating satellite retrievals from platforms like Terra (satellite), Aqua (satellite), Suomi NPP, enhancing chemical transport models such as WRF-Chem and CMAQ, and informing assessments by bodies like the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. It seeks to support public health agencies including United States Environmental Protection Agency and Pan American Health Organization with data relevant to particulate matter standards and exposure assessments.

Operations and Projects

AEROSE conducts shipborne and airborne expeditions, ground-based monitoring, and laboratory experiments. Notable campaigns have operated from vessels similar to the NOAA Ship Ronald H. Brown and aircraft platforms akin to NASA ER-2 and Lockheed WP-3D Orion, and used instruments comparable to those developed at Aerodyne Research, Inc. and NOAA ESRL. Projects include long-term monitoring stations modelled after Mauna Loa Observatory, intensive cruises in the Caribbean and Atlantic, and synchronized campaigns during events like COP climate conferences and UNFCCC meetings. AEROSE has produced datasets assimilated into reanalysis systems such as ERA5 and contributed to chemistry-climate model intercomparisons including CMIP6.

Collaborations and Partnerships

AEROSE partners with a broad network: academic centers like Columbia University, Princeton University, University of California, Berkeley, University of Toronto, and Imperial College London; national labs including Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, and Los Alamos National Laboratory; and international agencies such as United Nations Environment Programme and European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts. It works with regional initiatives like AMAP and SENAMHI services, and NGOs including The Nature Conservancy and World Resources Institute. Private-sector partnerships involve instrumentation firms and satellite data providers like Planet Labs and Maxar Technologies.

Research and Findings

AEROSE research has elucidated aerosol transport pathways connecting Sahara Desert dust plumes to the tropical Atlantic, interactions between biomass burning emissions from the Amazon Rainforest and regional chemistry, and links between urban emissions in Lagos, Mumbai, Beijing, and downwind air quality in coastal regions. Studies have quantified effects of Saharan dust on North Atlantic hurricane seedings tied to Cape Verde islands and examined aerosol radiative forcing relevant to Arctic amplification and El Niño–Southern Oscillation. Health-related findings informed assessments of particulate matter (PM2.5) exposure comparable to work cited by Global Burden of Disease and American Thoracic Society recommendations.

Funding and Organization

Funding sources include grants and contracts from National Science Foundation, NASA, NOAA, European Commission, philanthropic foundations such as Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and collaborative cost-sharing with universities and national agencies including Cuban Academy of Sciences and Brazilian National Council for Scientific and Technological Development. Organizationally, AEROSE operates as a consortium with a steering committee of scientists from partner institutions, project managers coordinating field logistics, and data managers ensuring compliance with standards set by DataCite and GOES-R Data practices.

Impact and Legacy

AEROSE has influenced satellite validation protocols, informed regional air quality regulations in Caribbean and West African states, and contributed datasets used in assessments by IPCC and UNEP. Its legacy includes training programs for students from University of the West Indies and Cairo University, capacity-building workshops with African Union research partners, and methodological advances adopted by groups such as Global Earth Observation System of Systems. AEROSE outputs have been cited alongside works from Paul Crutzen, Veerabhadran Ramanathan, and Susan Solomon in debates over aerosol forcing and public health policy. Category:Atmospheric chemistry