Darin W. Toohey is an American

atmospheric scientist Atmospheric science is the study of the Atmosphere of Earth, Earth's atmosphere and its various inner-working physical processes. Meteorology includes atmospheric chemistry and atmospheric physics with a major focus on weather forecasting. Climat ...

. He is a professor of atmospheric and oceanic sciences and of environmental studies at the

University of Colorado Boulder The University of Colorado Boulder (CU Boulder, CU, or Colorado) is a public research university in Boulder, Colorado. Founded in 1876, five months before Colorado became a state, it is the flagship university of the University of Colorado sy ...

since 1999. Toohey's research addresses the role of trace gases and aerosols on Earth's climate, atmospheric oxidation, and air quality. He was a Jefferson Science Fellow at the

United States Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the Federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government responsible for the country's fore ...

, 2011-2012.

Career

Toohey received a B.S. in chemistry and a B.A. in physics at

California State University, Fullerton California State University, Fullerton (CSUF or Cal State Fullerton) is a public university in Fullerton, California. With a total enrollment of more than 41,000, it has the largest student body of the 23-campus California State University (CSU) ...

in 1982 and a Ph.D. in applied physics at

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

in 1988. He was a postdoctoral fellow in applied physics under Professor James G. Anderson at Harvard, 1988-1991. In 1991 he joined the Department of Earth System Science at the

University of California Irvine The University of California, Irvine (UCI or UC Irvine) is a public land-grant research university in Irvine, California. One of the ten campuses of the University of California system, UCI offers 87 undergraduate degrees and 129 graduate and pr ...

, which he helped establish and served as assistant and associate professor from 1991 until 1998. The following year he joined the

as an associate professor, achieving full professor in 2004. At Colorado, Toohey has been a director of the Baker Residential Academic Program, interim director of the Sustainability and Social Innovation Residential Academic Program, and director of the Global Studies Residential Academic Program.

Research

His research addresses the chemistry and dynamics of Earth's atmosphere, with particular emphasis on observations of

trace gas Trace gases are gases that are present in small amounts within an environment such as a planet's atmosphere. Trace gases in Earth's atmosphere are gases other than nitrogen (78.1%), oxygen (20.9%), and argon (0.934%) which, in combination, make u ...

es and aerosols and their impact on

stratospheric ozone The ozone layer or ozone shield is a region of Earth's stratosphere that absorbs most of the Sun's ultraviolet radiation. It contains a high concentration of ozone (O3) in relation to other parts of the atmosphere, although still small in relat ...

, the

oxidative Redox (reduction–oxidation, , ) is a type of chemical reaction in which the oxidation states of substrate change. Oxidation is the loss of electrons or an increase in the oxidation state, while reduction is the gain of electrons or a d ...

capacity of the atmosphere, and radiation balance. His group studies stratospheric ozone depletion over the Arctic, the impact of rockets on stratospheric chemistry, long-range transport of pollutants, and the role of aerosols in modification of cloud properties. He has participated in over forty field campaigns, most involving research aircraft and scientific balloons. They have conducted work in

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest cont ...

, Spitsbergen, New Zealand, Sweden,

Nepal Nepal (; ne, :ne:नेपाल, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in S ...

, the

Virgin Islands The Virgin Islands ( es, Islas Vírgenes) are an archipelago in the Caribbean Sea. They are geologically and biogeographically the easternmost part of the Greater Antilles, the northern islands belonging to the Puerto Rico Trench and St. Cro ...

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S. ...

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only state ...

, and throughout the continental United States. He develops instruments for fast-response ''in situ'' measurements from the ground, balloons, and aircraft. His work helped demonstrate the link between chlorine-containing and bromine-containing compounds on the destruction of ozone over the

Arctic The Arctic ( or ) is a polar region located at the northernmost part of Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean, adjacent seas, and parts of Canada (Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut), Danish Realm (Greenland), Finland, Iceland, N ...

and Antarctic.

References

External links

Darin Toohey Faculty Homepage

{{DEFAULTSORT:Toohey, Darin W. California State University, Fullerton alumni Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences alumni Year of birth missing (living people) Living people University of Colorado faculty Atmospheric chemists Jefferson Science Fellows Place of birth missing (living people)