Prof. Alan Robock

My current research is on stratospheric aerosols, either natural or potentially produced by humans. I study the effects of volcanic eruptions on climate, using climate models and observations, and also the related areas of remote sensing of stratospheric aerosols and time series of past forcing from volcanic eruptions. In addition, I investigate the benefits and risks of geoengineering (climate intervention or climate engineering) using stratospheric aerosols and marine cloud brightening, and co-direct the Geoengineering Model Intercomparison Project (GeoMIP). But my most important work is on the climatic consequences of regional and superpower nuclear conflicts. In the past, I also worked on soil moisture observations, maintaining the Global Soil Moisture Data Bank for many years, which has been used by researchers around the world as a source of data for use in climate model development and evaluation, remote sensing, and studying climate change. It is now housed at the International Soil Moisture Network.