Xin Yang

Biography

I am an atmospheric chemistry modeller. Before I joint British Antarctic survey in 2014, I had been working in the Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge for 12 years. My major research field is using global chemistry transport model and chemistry climate coupling models to investigate regional and global chemistry issues in both troposphere and stratosphere. I have expertise in atmospheric halogen (mainly bromine) chemistry simulations and sea ice-sourced sea salt aerosol production and its potential indications to polar climate.

Research Interest

I have specific interest in atmospheric halogen, especially tropospheric bromine and polar boundary layer ‘bromine explosion’ event. I am one of the first to apply a detailed tropospheric bromine chemistry in a global model to study its effect on tropospheric ozone. My recent research interests focus on the newly identified sea salt aerosol source over sea ice zone and its application to atmosphere and climate. The mechanism of sea salt production from blown salty snow particle on sea ice (via a sublimation process) that I hypothesized has recently been proved by a winter cruise in the Weddell sea. I am currently interested in the potentials of this new sea salt aerosol source as 1) sea ice extent proxy for the past climate — using ice core recorded sea salt to derive past sea ice coverage, and 2) cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) and/or ice nuclei (IN) in high latitudes, especially in the Southern Ocean, where current climate models show largest bias in short-wave radiation.