Dr. Sherri A. Mason
Associate Professor of Chemistry
220 Houghton Hall
SUNY College at Fredonia
Fredonia, NY 14063
Tel: (716) 673-3292
Fax: (716) 673-3347
Schedule
Sherri.Mason@Fredonia.edu

Research Interests:

My research is focused on modeling tropospheric chemistry at the local and regional levels.

Tropospheric chemistry, like most natural chemical systems, is fundamentally complex due to the multiple coupled interactions and nonlinear nature of the governing equations, which often contain positive and negative feedback terms. The goal of this work is to understand these complexities by investigation of both simplified and detailed kinetic models. We often focus on which chemical reactions are most important in determining the atmospheric processing cycle and how anthropogenic and biogenic emissions into the troposphere affect this processing.

We are currently working on two primary research projects:

1) Our first project is in the area of model development with a focus on understanding the fate and transport of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). We currently have up and running the EPA Models-3/CMAQ regional atmospheric chemical transport model with a 12 km² grid resolution centered about New York State. Goals of this project include: a) Increasing the resolution of the model to 4 km² over New York State; b) Inclusion of a multi-phase gas/particle partitioning module; and c) Extension of the current chemical mechanisms to more accurately describe the photochemistry of PAH species. This project is being performed in collaboration with the NYS DEC.

2) Our second research project is based upon two years of data on polychlorinated dibenzodioxins and furans (PCDDs/Fs) concentrations in the Lake Ontario region. The measurements were obtained by a departmental colleague (Dr. Michael Milligan) as part of a collaborative study between SUNY- Fredonia, SUNY- Oswego and Clarkson University. We are using an EPA dispersion model in order to gain insight into the causal relationships between emission fluxes, meteorology, physical removal processes, and possible chemical transformations, which led to the measured atmospheric concentrations.

In addition to the above primary research areas, we also have some smaller side projects going in the area of molecular modeling.

It is our objective and our hope that modeling and investigation of the tropospheric photochemistry occurring at the local and regional scales will provide a solid foundation upon which future, larger, global models can be based.

Publications:

Mason, S. A., R. J. Field, R. J. Yokelson, M. A. Kochivar, M. R. Tinsley, D. E. Ward, and W. M. Hao, Complex effects arising in smoke plume simulations due to inclusion of direct emissions of oxygenated organic species from biomass combustion, J. Geophys. Res., 106, 12527, 2001.

Trentmann, J., R. J. Yokelson, P. V. Hobbs, T. Winterrath, T. J. Christian, M. O. Andreae, and S. A. Mason, ‘An Analysis of the Chemical Processes in the Smoke Plume from a Savanna Fire,’ J. Geophys. Res., 110, D12301, 2005.

Mason, S. A., J. Trentmann, T. Winterrath, R. J. Yokelson, T. J. Christian, L. J. Carlson, T. R. Warner, L. C. Wolfe, and M. O. Andreae, ‘Intercomparison of Two Box Models of the Chemical Evolution in Biomass-Burning Smoke Plume Models,’ J. Atoms. Chem., accepted July 2006, in press.