Overview

My research group and I are focused on understanding global and regional scale atmospheric transport of biogeochemically important species such as desert dust. We are interested in how humans are perturbing the natural environment, especially through perturbations to aerosols. We look at these issues through a combination of 3-dimensional global transport and climate models, as well as analysis of satellite and in situ data.

Research Focus

Dr. Mahowald`s research focuses on understanding interactions between aerosols and biogeochemistry and climate. Much of her research has focused on characterizing and understanding global and regional variability of desert dust (mineral aerosols) during the last 20,000 years and human impacts on desert dust. She has also worked on understanding how iron in the desert dust becomes bioavailable to ocean biota and may impact the ocean carbon cycle. In addition, she works on the variability and impact of other "natural " aerosols and how humans may be impacted by these aerosols. Finally, she is interested in the feedback of these aerosols onto downwind biogeochemistry and climate.

Instruction Focus

Climate Change, Atmospheric Modeling; Human/Environmental Interaction Education.

Additional Links

• Natalie Mahowald

Honors, Awards and Appointments

• Henry G. Houghton Award from American Meteorological Society - 2006

Professional Activities

• American Meteorological Society Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA (invited talk, January 2008). - 2008
• Iron Fertilization Workshop at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, October 2007. - 2007
• American Geophysical Union (AGU) Fall 2007 Meeting (invited talk, co-chaired session). - 2007
• American Geophysical Union, Spring 2007 Meeting (2 invited talks). - 2007
• University of Maryland - 2006
• NOAA Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory - 2006
• Columbia University - 2006
• Lamont-Doherty Laboratory - 2006
• National Aeronautics and Space Sciences Administration, Goddard Institute for Space Studies (NASA/GISS) - 2006
• National Science Foundation Beckman Conference on Scientific Frontiers for Outstanding Young Scientists - 2004
• Iron Fast Track Project of IGBP member, working workshop). - 2004

Selected Publications

• Nevison, C. N. Mahowald, R. Weiss, R. Prinn, Interannnual and seasonal variability in atmospheric N2O, Global Biogeochemical Cycles, 21 (3), GB3017, 2007.
• H. Planquette, P. Statham, G. Fones, A. Charette, M. Moore, I. Salter, F. Nedelec, S. Taylor, M. French, A. Baker, N. Mahowald, T. Jickells, Dissolved iron in the vicinity of the Crozet Islands, Southern Ocean, Deep Sea Research II, Topical studies in Oceanography, 54 (18-20), 1999-2019, 2007.
• Mahowald, N. M. (2007), Anthropocene changes in desert area: Sensitivity to climate model predictions, Geophys. Res. Lett., 34, L18817, doi:10.1029/2007GL030472. Text and figures.
• N. Mahowald, J.-A. Ballentine, J. Feddema, N. Ramankutty, Global trends in visibility: implications for dust sources, Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, 7, 3309-3337, 2007.
• Thornton, P. E., J. Lamarque, N. A. Rosenbloom, and N. M. Mahowald (2007), Influence of carbon-nitrogen cycle coupling on land model response to CO_2 fertilization and climate variability, Global Biogeochem. Cycles, 21, GB4018, doi:10.1029/2006GB002868.
• Mahowald, N., M. Yoshioka, W. Collins, A. Conley, D. Fillmore, D. Coleman, Climate response and radiative forcing from mineral aerosols during the glacial maximum, pre-industrial, current and doubled-carbon dioxide climates, GRL, 33, L20705, doi:10.1029/2006GL026126, 2006. AGU copyright.
• Mahowald, N. M., D. R. Muhs, S. Levis, P. J Rasch, M. Yoshioka, C. S. Zender, and C. Luo (2006), Change in atmospheric mineral aerosols in response to climate: Last glacial period, preindustrial, modern, and doubled carbon dioxide climates, J. Geophys. Res., 111, D10202, doi:10.1029/2005JD006653. AGU copyright. Text +
• Mahowald, N., J.-F. Lamarque, X. Tie, E. Wolff, Sea salt aerosol response to climate change: last glacial maximum, pre-industrial and doubled carbon dioxide climates, JGR-Atmospheres, (111), D05303, doi:10.1029/2005JD006459, 2006. text and color figures. AGU copyright, online supplement
• Mahowald, N.; Artaxo, P.; Baker, A.; Jickells, T.; Okin, G.; Randerson, J.; Townsend, A. Impacts of biomass burning emissions and land use change on Amazonian atmospheric phosphorus cycling and deposition, Global Biogeochem. Cycles, Vol. 19, No. 4, GB4030, 10.1029/2005GB002541, 2005.
• Luo,C., N. Mahowald, N. Meskhidze, Y. Chen, R. Siefert, A. Baker, A. Johansen, Estimation of iron solubility from observations and a global aerosol model, J. Geophys. Res., 110, D23307, doi:10.1029/2005JD006059.
• Mahowald, N., R. Bryant, J. del Corral, L. Steinberger, Ephemeral lakes and desert dust sources, GRL, vol 30, no 2,10.1029/2002GL01641, January, 2003.

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