Environmental Science & Technology, the flagship journal of the American Chemical Society (ACS), has named an article by Dr. Hans Paerl, on “Mitigating the Expansion of Harmful Algal Blooms Across the Freshwater-to- Marine Continuum” as their feature article of 2018.

Additionally, Environmental Science & Technology Letters, another journal of the ACS, has selected a paper co-authored by  Dr. Jason Surratt,  and Dr. Yue Zhang, “Effect of the Aerosol-Phase State on Secondary Organic Aerosol Formation from the Reactive Uptake of Isoprene-Derived Epoxydiols (IEPOX)” — as one of the journal’s five best papers of the past year.

Professor Paerl, Professor Surratt and Zhang, a National Science Foundation postdoctoral fellow, all work in the environmental sciences and engineering department at the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health.

The paper co-authored by Surratt and Zhang investigated the complex chemistry, morphology and gas-to-particle partitioning of secondary organic aerosols (SOA), which is a topic at the forefront of atmospheric chemistry research. Modeling suggested that SOA coatings on acidic sulfate particles play a significant role in the production of IEPOX-derived SOA.

In their feature article, meanwhile, Paerl and co-authors clarified how human nutrient pollution, coupled with rising temperatures and an increasing frequency of extreme storms and droughts, is promoting a global expansion of harmful algal blooms (HABs) across the freshwater-to-marine continuum from river headwaters to the coastal ocean. HABs pose serious consequences for water supplies, fisheries, recreational use, tourism and property values.

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