Stephen Montzka
Stephen Montzka
Research Chemist
NOAA
Global Monitoring Division
325 Broadway
Boulder
CO
80305
Phone
Website
Fields of interest
Global atmospheric science and chemistry
Biospheric influences on atmospheric composition
Understanding the atmospheric budgets of halogenated gases
Tracking ozone depleting gases and their changes over time
Understanding the sensitivity of trace gas budgets on climate change and ENSO events
Biospheric influences on atmospheric composition
Understanding the atmospheric budgets of halogenated gases
Tracking ozone depleting gases and their changes over time
Understanding the sensitivity of trace gas budgets on climate change and ENSO events
Description of scientific projects
Interpreting trace gas measurements using a range of techniques, including simple correlative analyses to complex inverse modeling analyses.
At the present time, I'm particularly interested in understanding trends and variability in the concentration of methyl bromide and methyl chloride. Concentrations of these gases show variability over time suggesting a strong sensitivity to ENSO events. This sensitivity is not well quantified on a global scale but is needed for improving our understanding of how concentrations of these gases (and their influence on stratospheric ozone) could change in the future. Additionally, our measurements over the U.S. show evidence for surface uptake and for the phase-out of use in this country, and modeling analysis of these results should enable a better quantification of these influences for the first time.
At the present time, I'm particularly interested in understanding trends and variability in the concentration of methyl bromide and methyl chloride. Concentrations of these gases show variability over time suggesting a strong sensitivity to ENSO events. This sensitivity is not well quantified on a global scale but is needed for improving our understanding of how concentrations of these gases (and their influence on stratospheric ozone) could change in the future. Additionally, our measurements over the U.S. show evidence for surface uptake and for the phase-out of use in this country, and modeling analysis of these results should enable a better quantification of these influences for the first time.