Classifying Aerosol Types and Emission Sources in Arctic and Urban Coastal Regions – Combining Optical Techniques with The Lagrangian Particle Dispersion Model (FLEXPART)

During her PhD studies, Zihui Teng researched the types and sources of aerosols in the Arctic and in urban coastal regions. Atmospheric aerosols are solid and liquid particles suspended in the air which originate from a variety of sources, including both human-made and natural. The composition of aerosols determines their impacts on human health and the climate. High-resolution optical techniques combined with an FLEXPART model and aerosol size distribution were mainly applied in the studies.

Two field campaigns were conducted: one at Aarhus Bay in spring 2023, where black carbon from local vehicles and high-scattering marine aerosols were found to be the dominant types; one at a remote research station in northern Greenland in summer 2024, where dust originating from Iceland and high-scattering marine aerosols were detected. These results improve our understanding of aerosols in these regions and help to reduce uncertainty about the effects of coastal aerosols. 

The PhD study was completed at Kemi, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Aarhus University.

This summary was prepared by the PhD student.

Time: Thursday, 9 July 2026 at 13:30
Place: Building 1530, room, AUD VI, Department of Chemistry, Aarhus University, Langelandsgade 140, DK-8000 Aarhus C, Denmark.
Title of PhD thesis: Aerosol Optical Properties in Coastal Areas — Understanding emission sources of aerosols in Scandinavia and High-Arctic based on multi-wavelength scattering and absorption measurements
Contact information: Zihui Teng, e-mail: zihuitengg@gmail.com, tel.: +45 91943761
Members of the assessment committee:
Assoc. Prof. Gloria Titos Vela, Department of Applied Physics, The University of Granada, Spain
Dr. Suzanne Crumeyrolle, Department of Physics, The University of Lille, France
Assoc. Prof. Henrik Stapelfeldt (chair), Department of Chemistry, Aarhus University, Denmark
Main supervisor: Asst. Prof. Bernadette Rosati, Department of Chemistry, Aarhus University, Denmark
Co-supervisor: Prof. Merete Bilde, Department of Chemistry, Aarhus University, Denmark
Language: The PhD dissertation will be defended in English

The defence is public.
The PhD thesis is available for reading at the Graduate School of Natural Sciences/GSNS, Langelandsgade 140, DK-8000 Aarhus C.