The  Numerical Modeling of Atmospheric Chemistry and Climate research group led by Maria Kanakidou is based at the Department of Chemistry, University of Crete, as part of the Environmental Chemical Processes Laboratory (ECPL) of the Division of Environmental and Analytical Chemistry.

Maria Kanakidou's group research focuses on understanding atmospheric chemistry and physics, biogeochemical cycles and climate changes due to human activities, natural variability and feedback mechanisms.

The group research activities cover studies of the changes in the oxidizing power of the atmosphere, the aerosol composition and atmospheric acidity due to human activities and their interactions with biogeochemical cycles and climate. The group also studies the impact of Atmospheric Deposition on Biogeochemical Cycles, the Marine Ecosystem functioning and marine carbon sequestration and consequently on climate.

To achieve this, the major tools are box, 1-dimensional and global 3-dimensional models that simulate atmospheric transport, homogeneous and heterogeneous tropospheric chemistry, aerosol formation and growth, atmospheric acidity, gas/particle interactions, interactions with radiation and atmospheric deposition of nutrients and trace elements. Marine biology models are used in collaboration with HCMR scientists to evaluate the impact of atmospheric deposition on the marine environment and thereby on climate. These models are developed by the group in the frame of international collaborations supported by EU and national funds via competitive projects.  Evaluation of the model results is performed by comparison with in-situ and satellite observations.

@ M. Kanakidou               web version 31st March 2006