Assoc Professor, Assoc Directr

Environmental Program

Lynne Gratz is an atmospheric scientist who studies the fate and transport of air pollutants, such as mercury and ozone, over varying spatiotemporal scales. Her work is motivated by the potential negative impacts that atmospheric emissions can have on sensitive ecosystems and human populations. In her research, Lynne uses both ground-based and airborne chemical and meteorological measurements to investigate the reactions and removal processes that pollutants undergo in the atmosphere. She also utilizes statistical and meteorological models together with these measurements to distinguish between local, regional, and global emission sources of atmospheric contaminants.

Lynne's research focuses on the following three areas: atmospheric mercury chemistry and biogeochemical cycling, long-range transport of atmospheric pollutants, and impacts of urban/industrial emissions on local and regional air quality. In particular, she studies the chemical mechanisms for mercury oxidation and reduction in the free troposphere, as well as the fate of mercury emissions from point sources. She is also interested in understanding the long-term trends in background ozone concentrations and the relative contributions from local, regional and global sources to ozone in the Western U.S. Lynne is additionally interested in developing new measurement techniques, such as stable-isotope analysis, to study the atmospheric chemistry and biogeochemical cycling of mercury.

While Lynne's academic training is in the field of atmospheric science, her scholarly activities cut across a number of scientific areas, including meteorology, geochemistry, engineering, and public health. Her approach to research and teaching is therefore decidedly interdisciplinary and covers topics that range from local to global in scale. She strongly values the use of field-based research and teaching methods, as well as the application of scientific exploration toward contemporary issues of human health, climate change, and environmental policy.

For more information about Lynne's ongoing work please visit her website: http://sites.coloradocollege.edu/lynnegratz/

Publications