Researchers at Columbia Engineering and the Georgia
Institute of Technology have published a study in the online Early Edition of
the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) showing –
for the first time – that certain volatile organic gases can promote cloud
formation in a way never considered before by atmospheric scientists. The study
will be published during the week of February 4, 2013.
“This is the first time gases have been shown to affect
cloud formation in this way,” said V. Faye McNeill, associate professor in
chemical engineering at Columbia University’s Fu Foundation School for
Engineering and Applied Science, and co-leader of the research team. “This is a
very exciting finding that will improve our ability to model cloud formation,
an important component of climate.”