The atmosphere is a mixture of natural phenomena overlapping and interacting with each other in seemingly chaotic way, yet we can observe some of them if we just stick our heads outside the window. This combination of complex phenomena with everyday observations was the core reason why I ended up studying meteorology at the University of Helsinki. In my research I have specialized on meteorology taking place close to the ground (i.e. mikrometeorology) and in detail on how different flow patterns transport gases and heat between the atmosphere and the underlying ecosystems. We can for instance observe the carbon sequestration of a whole forest by measuring how different air movements are transporting carbon dioxide above the forest.
In my PhD dissertation (2016, University of Helsinki) I utilized these micrometeorological measurement methods to study methane emissions from peatlands. Starting from September 2018 I have been working in my own three-year post-doc project funded by the Academy of Finland. During these three years I will concentrate on nocturnal air motions during such nights when there is no wind and the sun is not heating the surface. What are the air motions at play in such conditions and how they transport gases and heat? These are some of the questions on which I’m hoping to find answers.