Kenneth E. Pickering Research Professor Ph.D., University of Maryland, College Park

Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Science Emeritus Scientist University of Maryland Atmospheric Chemistry and Dynamics Laboratory, Code 614 College Park, Maryland 20742 NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Phone: (301) 405-7639 Greenbelt, Maryland 20771 Fax: (301) 314-9482 Phone: (301) 614-5986 Fax: (301) 614-5903
pickerin@umd.edu

Research Interests:

Biographical Sketch

Dr. Pickering is a Research Professor in the Atmospheric and Oceanic Science (AOSC) Department at the University of Maryland, where he advises graduate student research and collaborates with other faculty members. He also is Emeritus Scientist in the Atmospheric Chemistry and Dynamics Laboratory at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. Dr. Pickering leads analyses of NO2 data from the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) on NASA?s Aura satellite and from the TROPOMI instrument on the Copernicus Sentinel 5P satellite for the purpose of estimating the amount of NOx production by lightning. Dr. Pickering also has led air quality applications using data from OMI. He leads cloud-resolved model simulations to examine convective transport of trace gases by deep convective clouds and lightning NOx production. He has also directed regional air quality modeling simulations using the CMAQ and WRF-Chem models. He served as Co-Chair of the Air Quality Working Group for the Aura Science Team and has directed projects sponsored by NASA's Applied Sciences Air Quality Program. Dr. Pickering was the Project Scientist for the NASA Earth Venture - 1 DISCOVER-AQ (Deriving Information on Surface Conditions from Column and Vertically-Resolved Observations Relevant to Air Quality) project under which major field experiments were conducted in the Baltimore-Washington area, the San Joaquin Valley, Houston, and the Front Range region of Colorado from 2011 to 2014. He has led other projects aimed at evaluating convective transport in NASA's global chemical transport model (GMI) and chemistry and climate model (GEOS-5 CCM). From 2005 to 2016 he was a Senior Physical Scientist, employed by NASA Goddard, and from 1994 to 2005, Dr. Pickering was a research faculty member in AOSC at the University of Maryland, where he conducted model development and applications on scales ranging from individual convective clouds to regional and global domains. From 1988 to 1994, Dr. Pickering worked for research organizations on-site at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. From 1976 to 1984, he performed air quality modeling for GEOMET, Inc. in Rockville, MD. Dr. Pickering received his Ph. D. in Meteorology from the University of Maryland in 1987, a MS in Atmospheric Science from the State University of New York at Albany in 1975 and a BS in Meteorology from Rutgers University in 1973.

Research Interests - Details

Chemical transport modeling

Modeling on scales ranging from individual convective clouds, to regional scales, and to global scales

Convective transport of trace gases

Analysis of aircraft and satellite data to estimate transport of trace gases from the boundary layer to the upper troposphere

Cloud-resolving model simulations of convective storms and their tracer transport

Lightning NOx production

Estimating production of NOx by lightning through use of the combination of cloud-resolved modeling and aircraft observations in thunderstorm anvils

Estimates of NOx production per flash based on NO2 observations by Aura/OMI and Sentinel 5P TROPOMI

Investigation of relationship between column amounts of trace gases and surface air quality

Project Scientist for NASA Earth Venture - 1 DISCOVER-AQ mission

Application of satellite observations for air quality

Evaluation of regional air quality models using Aura data

Continental export of air pollution

Regional and global model estimates of fluxes of trace gases entering and leaving North America

Recent Projects

DISCOVER-AQ (Deriving Information on Surface Conditions from Column and Vertically-Resolved Observations Relevant to Air Quality); DISCOVER-AQ Project Scientist; Led forecasting/flight planning team; Led regional modeling efforts for individual study regions.

Tropospheric Transport Processes for Trace Gases and Aerosols: Regional to Global Effects on Atmospheric Chemistry and Climate; Global and regional modeling of trace gases and aerosols over North America and East Asia; Examination of role of anthropogenic and natural emissions on tropospheric ozone and its radiative forcing over and downwind of North America; Simulation of aerosol effects on radiative forcing in East Asia

Estimates of Lightning NOx from OMI and TROPOMI; Development and application of a retrieval algorithm for lightning NOx using NO2 data from Aura/OMI and Copernicus Sentinel 5P/TROPOMI; Produced estimates of lightning NOx production per flash

Positions/Employment

3/2017 - Present Research Professor Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Science, University of Maryland

9/2005 - 9/2016 Senior Physical Scientist NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD Modeling, analysis, satellite application, atmospheric field studies. Adjunct Professor - University of MD

4/1994 - 9/2005 Research Professor Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Science, University of Maryland, College Park, MD Modeling and analysis, atmospheric field studies, teaching, advising graduate students

4/1991 - 4/1994 Associate Research Scientist Universities Space Research Association, Greenbelt, MD Modeling and anaysis, atmospheric field studies

4/1988 - 4/1991 Associate Scientist Applied Research Corporation, Greenbelt, MD Modeling and analysis.

8/1984 - 4/1988 Graduate Research Assistant Department of Meteorology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD Modeling and analysis, atmospheric field studies

2/1976 - 8/1984 Research Scientist GEOMET, Inc., Rockville, MD Air quality modeling, wind energy analysis

6/1975 - 2/1976 Meteorologist NOAA, Marlow Heights, MD Improve satellite temperature and moisture profile retrievals

8/1973 - 6/1975 Graduate Research Assistant State University of New York at Albany, Albany, NY Atmospheric field studies

Teaching Experience

Graduate-level Synoptic Meteorology I - Fall 1999, Fall 2000, Spring 2002, Spring 2003, Spring 2004

Education

Ph.D. Meteorology, 1987 University of Maryland, College Park

M.S. Atmospheric Science, 1975 State University of New York at Albany

B.S. Meteorology, 1973 (with highest honors) Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey

Professional Societies

American Geophysical Union, 1984 - Present

American Meteorological Society, 1973 - Present

Air and Waste Management Association, 1977 - Present

European Geosciences Union, 2005 - Present

Professional Service

Reviewer for: Journal of Geophysical Research; Geophysical Research Letters; Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology; Atmospheric Environment; Journal of Atmospheric Chemistry; Meteorologische Zeitschrift; Atmosphere; Atmospheric Research; Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics

Research proposal reviewer for: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA); National Science Foundation (NSF); National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA); UK Natural Environment Research Council

Member American Meteorological Society, Committee on Atmospheric Chemistry, 1999-2001; 2016-present

Member of UCAR University Relations Committee, 1999-2005

Contributor: Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Working Group 1 - Scientific Assessment of Climate Change, Third Assessment Report, 2000.

Contributor: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Criteria Document for Ozone, Spring 2003

Served as State Climatologist for Maryland, November 1998-September 2005. Provided climate data to researchers, students, the media, and the general public.

Served as a member of NCAR-led Steering Committee for planning the Deep Convective Clouds and Chemistry (DC3)field project.

Served as Co-Chair of the Air Quality Working Group for the Aura Science Team (2006 to 2011).

Serving as a member of the Goddard Earth Sciences Data and Information Service Center User Working Group (2009 to 2016).

Funded as a member of the Scientific Working Group for planning NASA's GEO-CAPE satellite (2009 to 2018).

Awards

1992 - NASA/GSFC Atmospheric Chemistry and Dynamics Branch Contractor Award for Scientific Achievement

1993 - Universities Space Research Association Scientific Excellence Award

2003 - University of Maryland, Dept. of Meteorology Distinguished Alumnus Award

Recent Grants

06/01/2010 - 09/30/2015 DISCOVER-AQ, Deriving Information on Surface Conditions from Column and Vertically-Resolved Observations Relevant to Air Quality?, Earth-Venture-1 mission, NASA, Earth Venture - 1; Project Scientist

01/01/2009 - 09/30/2012 Convective Transport and Wet Removal in the GEOS-5 CCM and GMI CTM, NASA Modeling, Analysis and Prediction Program; Principal Investigator

04/01/2008 - 09/30/2010 Monitoring Air Quality Effects of Anthropogenic Emission Reductions and Estimating Emissions from Natural Sources, NASA, Applied Sciences Air Quality Program; Principal Investigator

04/01/2011 - 09/30/2013 Observations of Lightning NOx from OMI, NASA Aura Science Team; Principal Investigator

04/01/2014 - 09/30/2016 Observations of Lightning NOx from OMI: Global, National, and Case Study Analyses, NASA Aura Science Team; Principal Investigator

04/15/2011 - 06/30/2015 DC3 Lightning NOx Investigations using WRF-Chem, National Science Foundation, Principal Investigator

08/5/2015 - 10/31/2020 Cloud-Resolved Chemistry Simulations of Selected DC3 Thunderstorms, National Science Foundation, Principal Investigator

Special Experience

Serves as Research Advisor for graduate students: Graduates: 7 PhD 8 MS degrees Co-Advised graduates: 6 PhD degrees

Publications List

Complete Publication List

1990s Research projects:

  • Multiscale Atmospheric Transport Modeling for Subsonic Assessment (Funded by NASA Atmospheric Effects of Aviation Program, 1995-1997)
  • Collaborators:

    Shian-Jiann Lin, Wei-Kuo Tao, Yansen Wang, Ricky Rood, Anne Douglass

  • Vertical Transport Processes in the SASS/GMI Chemical Transport Model: Development, Evaluation, and Assessment Activities (Funded by the NASA Atmospheric Effects of Aviation Program, 1998-2000)
  • Collaborators:

    Dale Allen, Ricky Rood, Wei-Kuo Tao, Yansen Wang

  • Tropospheric Convection and Stratosphere-Troposphere Exchange: Effects on Photochemistry, Aerosols and Climate (An Earth Observing System Interdisciplinary Science Investigation (EOS/IDS) funded by NASA Office of Earth Science, 1997-2000)
  • Collaborators:

    Georgiy Stenchikov, Russ Dickerson, Michael Fox-Rabinovitz, Robert Hudson, Wei-Kuo Tao, Dale Allen, Grad. Res. Asst. Rokjin Park

    Project Description

  • Numerical Simulation of Clouds and Photochemistry for STERAO-A Deep Convection: Nowcasts and Post-mission Diagnostic Studies (Funded by NSF Atmospheric Chemistry Program, 1996-1999)
  • Collaborators:

    Georgiy Stenchikov, John Scala, Anne Thompson, Grad. Res. Asst. Alex DeCaria

    STERAO-A Pictures

  • Participation in SONEX (SASS(Subsonic Assessment) Ozone and Nitrogen Oxides Experiment) (Funded by NASA Atmospheric Effects of Aviation Program through Dr. Anne Thompson, PI, NASA/GSFC, 1997-1999)
  • Participation in PEM Tropics-B (Pacific Exploratory Mission - Tropics Part B) (Funded by NASA Tropospheric Chemistry Program through Dr. Anne Thompson, PI, NASA/GSFC, 1998-2000)



  • Prepared by Ken Pickering (pickerin@umd.edu) - Last updated on January 21, 2021