This Thursday! Martian Atmospheric Chemistry with Professor Christopher Blaszczak-Boxe

Please join us for this week’s colloquium:
“New Insights into Martian Atmospheric Chemistry”
Professor Christopher Blaszczak-Boxe, EES and Chemistry Programs, Graduate Center and Medgar Evers College

5:30-7:00 Science Center, Room 4102, Graduate Center

Reception to follow.

Abstract: Mars has been the primary test-bed for planetary exploration and finding life beyond Earth. From an atmospheric scientist perspective, Mars is intriguing as it is dominated by carbon (and to a lesser extent nitrogen) chemistry and dynamics. Using Caltech-JPL’s 1-dimensional photochemical model and chemical kinetic data (derived from ab initio calculations), Professor Blaszczak-Boxe will delineate the impact of a gas never considered before – HOCO – in its CO/CO2 dominated atmosphere. The talk will conclude with a brief overview of ongoing numerical-modeling activities that will quantify all chemical cycles that govern the abundance of trace gases in the Martian atmosphere.