Dr.
Robert L. Herman is a research scientist at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL),
where he has worked since 1998. He
is the Principal Investigator of the JPL Laser Hygrometers (JLH) for the NASA
ER-2, DC-8, and WB-57F research aircraft. He
received his PhD in 1998 in Geochemistry from the California Institute of
Technology for studies of chemical tracers (N2O, CH4, and
CO) in the stratosphere measured from aircraft and balloon platforms.
His
research focuses on the interactions between water vapor, clouds, and climate.
Recent studies include:
Measurements of humidity within aircraft contrails at low temperature
(-76 C) from the NASA Cirrus Regional Study of Tropical Anvils and Cirrus Layers
- Florida Area Cirrus Experiment (CRYSTAL-FACE) [in preparation].
“Aircraft Icing at Low Temperatures in Tropical Storm Chantal
(2001)” from the NASA Fourth Convection and Moisture Experiment (CAMEX-4)
[Herman and Heymsfield, 2003].
“Hydration, dehydration, and the total hydrogen budget of the
1999-2000 winter Arctic stratosphere” from the NASA SAGE III Ozone Loss and
Validation Experiment (SOLVE) [Herman et al., 2003].
Scientific
questions of interest include:
What
supersaturations are required for condensation of water in the upper
troposphere, lower stratosphere, aircraft contrails, and rocket plumes?
Under what physical conditions are ice particles nucleated?
What
are the physical properties of ice particles in cirrus clouds?
What
are the distribution and variability of water in the upper troposphere/lower
stratosphere?
What
are the dominant mechanisms for transport from the troposphere to the
stratosphere?
Why
does the abundance of stratospheric water appear to be increasing?
How large are the various climate forcings due to
water vapor, clouds, and aerosols?
Websites of Interest:
Electronic mail address
Robert.Herman@jpl.nasa.gov
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