Adam Cooper

Runoff at US-Mexico border causes airborne health risks Sol y aerosol...

I had a fantastic chat with The Naked Scientists about our investigation into the airborne impacts of the Tijuana Sewage Crisis, ending with the need to update our Air Quality Standards in a world of mass chemical pollution. Give it a listen: www.thenakedscientists.com/articles/int...

Identifying wastewater chemicals in coastal aerosols Wastewater-derived chemicals entering riverine and coastal waters contribute to airborne pollutants within coastal aerosols.

🌊💨 You might be breathing wastewater

Chemicals from the polluted Tijuana River (including methamphetamine and sunscreen) are becoming airborne via sea spray. These pollutants travel north along the coast, potentially exposing nearby communities.

🔗 doi.org/10.1126/scia...

#SciComm #AirPollution 🧪

Pollution From the Tijuana River Affects Air Quality in San Diego A new study from UC San Diego examines how pollutants from the Tijuana River travel and are transmitted in the atmosphere through coastal aerosols. The study found a mixture of drugs and chemicals fro...

⚠️ Pollution from the Tijuana River—including sewage and industrial waste—is impacting air quality in San Diego, according to a new study led by @ucsandiego.bsky.social researchers. Learn more about the research led by @chemcooper.bsky.social and
@kprather.bsky.social. ⬇️ @ucsdphysci.bsky.social

Identifying wastewater chemicals in coastal aerosols Wastewater-derived chemicals entering riverine and coastal waters contribute to airborne pollutants within coastal aerosols.

My last paper from my PhD is out now in Science Advances! We measured pollution in the Tijuana River, ocean and atmosphere along the San Diego coast. Read all about it: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

An Atmospheric Chemistry Perspective on Airborne Micro- and Nanoplastic Particles Micro- and nanoplastic particles (MNPPs) are emerging pollutants with significant environmental impacts due to their persistence, increasing concentrations, and potential health risks. Most MNPP studies have focused on identifying, quantifying, and assessing their ecotoxicological impacts in water or soil. However, the atmosphere is crucial in transporting and chemically transforming MNPPs. Further, well-established aerosol particle characterization techniques are underutilized and inconsistently applied in existing atmospheric MNPP studies. This perspective synthesizes the existing literature and addresses future research needs unique to atmospheric MNPPs, highlighting the need to bridge the microplastics and atmospheric aerosol communities to better understand their sources, chemical transformations, transport mechanisms, as well as their health effects and ecological impacts, which differ from those in soil and water. Advancing research in these areas requires standardized methods and a multidisciplinary approach to comprehensively assess MNPP interactions across environmental compartments, providing essential insights into their environmental fate and risks.

Excited to share our new perspective paper in ES&T on atmospheric micro- & nanoplastic particles! 🧪
We cover recent advances & future directions in this emerging area. Great collaboration with Nate Slade, Arthur Chan & Andy Ault!
📄 pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/...
#AtmosChem #Microplastics #Nanoplastics

Some academic victories this week: I got my favorite chapter of my thesis accepted to Science Advances & hit 50 overall citations 🥳

In dark times, it's good to read the story of a small group of organized people having a dramatic impact in making social change.

The wins of the grassroots movement in the U of California published today!

www.frontiersin.org/articles/10....

@jamesgyke.bsky.social, @thierryaaron.bsky.social