Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences

Innovative Research Program Projects, 2004

proposals submitted: 22
amount allocated: $124,000

A ONE-SECOND FREQUENCY RESPONSE FROM A ONE-KM-LONG TILTMETER? Roger Bilham and Naia Suscek (Geology) are building and testing an extremely fast response tiltmeter that may provide new insights of Earth's tilt previously unavailable to researchers. [ PDF, 6.1 MB ]

UNDOCUMENTED NITROGEN FIXATION IN WATER BY COLONIAL BLUE-GREEN ALGAE EMBEDDED IN MUCUS. Mark Bradburn and Bill Lewis are investigating the remarkable ability of an aquatic cyanobacteria to simultaneously conduct photosynthesis and fix nitrogen in processes that are normally mutually exclusive.

NOVEL TECHNIQUE TO MEASURE ULTRAFINE PARTICLE SIZE DISTRIBUTIONS. Charles Brock (NOAA/AL) and José Jimenez (Chemistry) are developing a fast response scanning condensation particle counter (SCPC) to measure ultrafine (4-70 nm) particles that are of great atmospheric and environmental importance. [ PDF, 151 KB ]

AN ELECTROCHEMICAL ION SOURCE FOR THERMAL IONIZATION MASS SPECTROMETRY. Lang Farmer and Emily Verplanck (Geology) with Carl Koval (Chemistry) are devising a new class of metal ion emitter for Thermal Ionization Mass Spectrometry (TIMS) that would provide improved sensitivity in isotope geology and geochronology studies. [ PDF, 2.4 MB ]

Michael Jensen, Rod Frehlich and Ben Balsley (CIRES)
AN OPPORTUNITY TO DEVELOP A STATE-OF-THE-ART TETHERED LIFTING SYSTEM. Extending the unique capabilities of their CIRES-developed platform to produce high-resolution profiles of winds, temperatures, humidity, turbulence and trace gases in the boundary layer.[ PDF, 322 KB ]

ORGANIC AEROSOLS AS REACTORS IN PRESENT, PAST AND PLANETARY ATMOSPHERES. Veronica Vaida and Teresa Eliason (Chemistry) are probing the role of organic aerosol interfaces in promoting reactions and couple it to atmospheric, oceanic and biospheric models to establish their role in the chemical evolution, climate and composition of planetary atmospheres.