The Mega-Meta Carbonyl Sulfide Study and Community Action Plan, Biogeosciences
www.biogeosciences.net/15/3625/2018/
With associated community research group: www.cosanova.org/
Perspective piece in New Phyotologist: https://nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/nph.18337?af=R

GLOBAL Photosynthesis
The main goal of this work is to understand, globally, how plant physiology changes in our changing climate.  To do this, we measure a gas called carbonyl sulfide.  It looks very similar to carbon dioxide and can interact with the same enzymes in plant leaves.  By understanding the exchange of carbonyl sulfide with components of ecosystems, we can estimate photosynthetic carbon uptake by measuring the drawdown of carbonyl sulfide over ecosystems.  I wrote an introduction to the many uses of carbonyl sulfide observations at cosanova.org.  My latest paper on this subject is in New Phytologist: https://nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/nph.18337?af=R

Sulfur Cycling
More than half of the sulfur in the air is from human activity, making the global sulfur cycle (arguably) the most perturbed of all the global elemental cycles.  Observing how sulfur-containing gases are exchanged over ecosystems will allow us to understand potential climate feedbacks and effects of geo-engineering.
My current project involves interpreting observations of terrestrial dimethyl sulfide, the "smell of the ocean".  This gas is an important precursor to cloud condensation nucleii.  Trace amounts are produced in terrestrial ecosystems and play a role in local precipitation dynamics.  My last paper on this subject is in Biogeochemistry.

Research Groups

I'm pleased to work with many excellent research and public outreach groups as part of my work.

UC Santa Cruz

My measurement and modeling approach has benefited from the mutual exchange of information with Elliott Campbell and his research group at UC Santa Cruz.  Elliott taught me how to model winds, and I taught him how to set up a laser spectrometer without blinding anyone.    

Lamont-Doherty

By moving to Rutgers University, I get to be closer to Roisin Commane at Lamont Doherty Earth Observatory. Roisin worked on one of the first carbonyl sulfide lasers, and now our lab groups have the benefit of more regular, mutual support.

cosanova.org

Founded at the American Geophysical Union in 2014, the Carbonyl Sulfide Research Group (COSANOVA) is an international organization of researchers studying creative ways to measure photosynthetic carbon uptake, cosanova.org.  We'll work together with a funded EU project, cos-ocs.eu.  

carnegie institution for science

The Carnegie Institution for Science Department of Global Ecology supports the investigation of ecological processes across spatial scales. Here I work with Joe Berry's vibrant research group, using multiple approaches to estimate photosynthesis, globalecology.stanford.edu.