John Mak
Professor
Education:
Ph.D.1992
- University of California, San Diego/Scripps Institution of Oceanography
Research Topics:
Trace gas isotopic composition for the reconstruction of atmospheric chemistry in
the paleo atmosphere, trace gas emissions from the biosphere, development of instrumentation
platforms for research aircraft.
- Bio/Research
Bio/Research
Research Interests (also see https://you.stonybrook.edu/johnmak/mak-lab/)
We are currently working on atmospheric chemistry projects in the New York City region. Among the most recent topics is the impact of the statewide shutdown during the COVID-19 pandemic (NYS PAUSE) on regional chemistry using observations of volatile organic compounds from a high resolution proton transfer time of flight mass spectrometer (Cao et al., ES&T, in press), where we observer both a significant reduction and a significant subsequent increase in VOC emissions driven by reductions in anthropogenic emissions and an abnormal increase in biogenic emissions, respectively, during and immediately after the regional economic shutdown in 2020. These data are now being compared to observations made at the Flax Pond Marine Laboratory, on the north shore of Long Island about 60 miles east of New York City, using the same instrumentation (Cao et al., in prep). This work has been supported by New York State’s Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC), the Northeast States for Coordinated Air Use Management (NESCAUM), and the National Science Foundation (NSF).
This line of research will be continuing in the summer of 2023 and beyond, with GOTHAAM (Greater New York Trace Gas, Halogen, and Aerosol Airborne Mission) having been postponed to the summer of 2024 (www.gothaam.science; https://you.stonybrook.edu/johnmak/mak-lab/). Mak is lead PI of this NSF funded highly collaborative project with the University of California Irvine (Carlton), the University of Washington (Thornton and Jaegle), the University of Colorado (Mauldin and Cantrell), Colorado State University (Farmer), the University of Maryland (Rheem), NASA (Wolfe), the University of Michigan (Pratt), Purdue University (Laskin), and colleagues at Stony Brook (Shepson and Knopf).
Along with Prof Greg Henkes in Earth and Space Sciences at SBU, I am working on the quantification of the multiply substituted isotopologue (clumped isotope) of atmospheric carbon monoxide. Because of the unique fractionation during the CO+OH reaction, it is hypothesized that atmospheric CO has a 13C18O abundance that significantly deviates from the thermodynamic equilibrium value. We show this is in a recent paper (Henkes et al., in review). This work is supported by the National Science Foundation.
In the future we will be focusing our attention on mineral dust/sea salt aerosol (MDSA) mechanisms for the catalytic removal of atmospheric methane. A recent paper (van Herpen et al., PNAS, in press) has illustrated that observations made by Mak et al. (2003) can now be explained by an as-yet unobserved process that may be significant for the removal of atmospheric methane in the remote tropical troposphere.
Previous work
In 2010 we published a paper that indicated the contribution of biomass burning to the Southern Hemisphere was much more variable in past centuries than previously supposed (Z. Wang*, J. Chappellaz, K.H. Park*, and J.E. Mak, Large Variations in Southern Hemisphere Biomass Burning During the Last 650 Years, Science, 30, 1663-1666, 2010) and Additional PDF. As a followup to this work we are analyzing samples for 13C and 18O in CO from the Vostok ice core and from WAIS Divide. In 2015 we were funded by NSF to analyze samples from the recently drilled South Pole Ice Core (SPICECORE.ORG) to extend the paleo-CO record to the last glacial maximum (LGM). In addition to this work, we are developing a new analytical technique to measure 17O in CO from ice cores. C17O has been shown to be an effective proxy of OH abundance, thus measuring 17CO from ice cores will allow us to constrain OH in the paleo atmosphere.In 2013 we were funded by the US EPA (along with co-PIs Alex Guenther, UC Irvine, and Allen Goldstein, UC Berkeley) to participate in the SAS (Southeast Atmosphere Study). During the summer of 2013 my team of 6 spent 6 weeks in Alabama quantifying the emissions and chemistry of select OVOC’s including acetaldehyde, acetone, methyl butenol, and select terpenes from our own aircraft and a forest tower using our high resolution time of flight proton transfer mass spectrometer (PTR-TOFMS). Senior PhD candidate Luping Su has been working on the quantification of OVOCs (oxygenated volatile organic compounds) for eddy covariance studies using the PTR-TOFMS data (see Su et al., ACP, doi:10.5194/acp-16-7725-2016). He is currently using three different boundary layer models to help interpret our observations.
We also develop instrumentation for research aircraft, including the WASP (Whole Air Sample Profiler) system that was deployed in the summer of 2013 in Alabama. In 2016 we were part of a team that published a cover article in BAMS showing unique and novel airborne observations of boundary layer turbulence (http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/BAMS-D-14-00253.1).
News related to the Mak Lab
In 2020, our latest project was funded by the National Science Foundation; GOTHAAM (GreaterNY Oxidant, Trace gas, Halogen and Aerosol Airborne Mission). This highly collaborative project will utilize NSF’s Hercules C-130 research aircraft, which is operated by the Environmental Observations Laboratory (EOL) of the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR). SOMAS at Stony Brook is the lead institution (Mak is the lead PI), and will be joined by colleagues from the University of Washington, University of California at Irvine, Colorado State University, University of Colorado, University of Michigan, and University of Maryland. This project was originally scheduled for the summer of 2021, however because of the pandemic, the project now will be postponed until the summer of 2023.
What Can Ice Reveal About Fire? from NSF (2010)
Research Highlight: Dr. John Mak’s Research on the Use of Isotopes as Tracers of the Chemistry, Origin and Transport in Atmospheric and Marine Environments (2011)
Stony Brook Professor John Mak Flies into New Research Territory - Publications
Publications
Publications (peer reviewed) (*= students/postdoc)
Wei, D*, C.Cao*, A. Karambelas, J.E. Mak, A. Reinmann, R. Commane, High-resolution modeling of summertime biogenic isoprene emissions in New York City, Environ. Sci. Technol., in review.
Coggon, M., et al., inc. J.E. Mak,J. Marcantonio* and C. Cao*, Identifying and correcting interferences to PTR-ToF-MS measurements of isoprene and other urban volatile organic compounds, Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 801–825, 2024.
Henkes, G., P. Place*, J.E. Mak, Large, Negative Clumped Isotope Values Observed in Atmospheric Carbon Monoxide, AGU Advances, in press 2024.
van Herpen, M. M. J. W.; Li, Q.; Saiz-Lopez, A.; Röckmann, T.; Cuevas, C. A.; Fernandez, R. P.; Mak, J.E.; Mahowald, N. M.; Johnson, M. S., Photocatalytic Production of Chlorine by Mineral Dust-Sea Spray Aerosols, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci., 2023-03974R, 2023.
Cao, C*, D. Gentner, R. Commane, R. Toledo-Crowe, J.E.Mak, Policy-related gains in urban air quality may be offset by increased emissions in a warming climate, Environ. Sci. Technol., 57, 26, 9683–9692, 2023.
Khare, P. et al., inc. J.E. Mak and C. Cao*, Ammonium-adduct chemical ionization to investigateanthropogenic oxygenated gas-phase organic compounds in urban air, Atmos. Chem. Phys., acp-2022-421, 2022.
Kim, S., et al., inc J.E. Mak and L. Su*, The roles of suburban forest in controlling vertical trace gas and OH reactivity distributions – a case study for Seoul Metropolitan Area, Faraday Disc., 226, 537, 2021.
Zhang, J., J.E. Mak Z. Wei, M. Niineman, J. Marto, J. Schwab, Long Island Enhanced Aerosol Event during LISTOS 2018: Association with heat wave and marine influences, Env. Poll., 270, 116299-116303, 2021 doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2020.116299.
Sanchez et al., inc J.E. Mak, Contributions to OH reactivity from unexplored volatile organic compounds measured by PTR-ToF-MS – A case study in a suburban forest of the Seoul Metropolitan Area during KORUS-AQ 2016, Atmos. Chem. Phys., doi.org/10.5194/acp-2020-174, 2020.
Carlton, A.M., inc J.E. Mak, The Southeast Atmosphere Studies (SAS): coordinated investigation and discovery to answer critical questions about fundamental atmospheric processes. Bull. Am. Met. Soc., 99(3): 547-567, doi:10.1175/BAMS-D-16-0048.1, 2018.
Colle, M. Sienkowicz, C. Archer, D. Veron, F. Veron, W. Kimpton, and J.E. Mak, Meteorological Observations for U.S. East Coast Offshore Wind Power: Improving the Mapping and Prediction of Offshore Wind Resources (IMPOWR), Bull. Am. Met. Soc., 97, 8, 1377-1390, 2016.
Su*, E.G. Patton, J. Vilà-Guerau de Arellano, A.B. Guenther, L. Kaser, B. Yuan, F. Xiong, P.B. Shepson, L. Zhang, D.O. Miller, W.H. Brune, K. Baumann, E. Edgerton, A. Weinheimer, P.K. Misztal, J.-H. Park, A.H. Goldstein, K.M. Skog, F.N. Keutschand J.E. Mak, Understanding isoprene photo-oxidation using observations and modeling over a subtropical forest in the Southeast US, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 7725-7741, doi:10.5194/acp-16-7725-2016, 2016.
Park*,Z. Wang, L. K. Emmons, J. E. Mak,Variation of atmospheric CO, δ13C and δ18O at high northern latitude during 2004-2009: observations and model simulations, J. Geophys.Res.-Atmos., 120, 11,024–11,036, doi:10.1002/2015JD023191, 2015.P.K. Misztal et al., inc. J.E. Mak, Atmospheric benzenoid emissions from plants rival those from fossil fuel, Nature Sci. Rep., 5, 12064, 2015.
Park*, L. K. Emmons, Z. Wang and J. E. Mak, Joint Application of Concentration and δ18O to Investigate the Global Atmospheric CO Budget, Atmosphere, 6, 547-578; doi:10.3390/atmos6050547, 2015.
Thalman et al., inc J.E. Mak, Instrument inter-comparison of glyoxal, methyl glyoxal and NO2 under simulated atmospheric conditions, Atmos. Meas. Tech., 8, 1835-1862, 2015.
J.E. Mak, L. Su*, A. Guenther, T. Karl, A Novel Whole Air Sample Profiler (WASP) for Collecting Vertical Profiles of Selected Volatile Organic Compounds above a Forest Canopy, Atmos. Meas. Tech., 6, 4153-4182, 2013.
Peñuelas et al., inc J.E. Mak, Intensive measurements of gas, water, and energy exchange between vegetation and troposphere during the MONTES campaign in a vegetation gradient from short semi-desertic shrublands to tall wet temperate forests in the NW Mediterranean Basin, Atmos. Env., 75, 348-364, 2013.
K.H. Park*, L. Emmons, J.E. Mak, Large Interannual Variations in Biogenic Volatile Organic Compound Emissions based on Measurements of Carbon Monoxide, Geophys. Res. Lett., 40, 1, 221-226, 2013.
Petrenko et al., inc. Z. Wang* and J.E. Mak, A 60 Year Record of Atmospheric Carbon Monoxide Reconstructed from Greenland Firn Air, Atmos. Chem. Phys. Disc., 12, 18993-19037, 2012.
Wang*, J. Chappellaz, P. Martinerie, K. Park, V. Petrenko, T. Blunier, C. Brenninkmeijer, J. E. Mak, The isotopic record of Northern Hemisphere atmospheric carbon monoxide since 1950; Implications for the CO budget, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 12, 4365-4377, 2012.
Oikawa*, M. Giebel, L. Sternberg, L. Li, M. Timko, P. Swart, D. Riemer, J.E. Mak, M.T. Lerdau, Leaf and root pectin methylesterase activity and 13C/12C stable isotopic ratio measurements of methanol emissions give insight into methanol production in Lycopersicon esculentum, New Phytologist, 191, 4, 1031-1040, 2011.
Oikawa*, L. Li, J.E. Mak, M. Timko, M.T. Lerdau, Indirect effects of light on MeOH emissions in Lycopersicon esculentum, Biogeosciences, 8, 4, 1023-1030, 2011.
Wang*, J. Chappellaz, K.H. Park*, and J.E. Mak, Large Variations in Southern Hemisphere Biomass Burning During the Last 650 Years, Science, 30, 1663-1666, 2010.
Wang* and J.E. Mak, A new CF-IRMS system for the quantification of the stable isotopes of carbon monoxide from ice cores and small air samples, Atmos. Meas. Tech., 3, 1307-1317, 2010.
Jardine*, T. Karl, M. Lerdau, P. Harley, A. Guenther, J.E. Mak, Carbon isotope analysis of acetaldehyde emitted from leaves following mechanical stress and anoxia, Plant Biology, 11, 4, 591-597, 2009.
Jardine*, P. Harley, T. Karl, A. Guenther, M. Lerdau, J.E. Mak, Plant physiological and environmental controls over the exchange of acetaldehyde between forest canopies and the atmosphere, Biogeosciences, 5, 1559-1572, 2008.
M.C. Krol, J-F Meirink, P Bergamaschi, J.E. Mak, D. Lowe, P. Jöckel, S. Houweling, What do 14CO measurements tell us?, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 8, 16, 5033-5044, 2008.
Lelieveld, C.A.M. Brenninkmeijer, P. Joeckel, I. Isaaksen, M. Krohl, J.E. Mak, E. Dlugokencky, S.A. Montzka, P.C. Novelli, P.P. Tans, New Directions: Watching over tropospheric hydroxyl, Atmos. Env., 40, 5741-5746, 2006.
Funk*, J.E. Mak, M.T. Lerdau, Stress-induced changes in carbon sources for isoprene production in Populus deltoids, Plant, Cell and Environment, 27, 6, 747-755, 2004.
Landman, J. K. Cochran, J.E. Mak, R. Cerrato, Habitat and age of the giant squid (Architeuthis sanctipauli) inferred from isotopic analyses, Mar. Bio., 144, 685-691, 2004.
T.S. Rhee, J.E. Mak, T. Rockmann, C.A.M. Brenninkmeijer, Continuous-flow isotope analysis of the D/H ratio in atmospheric H2, Rap. Comm. Mass. Spect., 18, 299-306, 2003.
J.E. Mak, T. Sandomenico*, P. Bergamaschi, Stable isotopic composition of carbon monoxide at a remote tropical Atlantic site, J. Geophys. Res., 108, D20, 4635-4642, 2003.
Zhu*, R.C. Aller, J.E. Mak, Stable carbon isotope cycling in mobile coastal muds of Amapa, Brazil, Cont. Shelf Res., 22, 2065-2079, 2002.
J.E. Mak, M.R. Manning, D.C. Lowe, Aircraft observations of d13C of atmospheric methane over the Pacific in August 1991 and 1993: Evidence of an enrichment in 13CH4 in the Southern Hemisphere, J. Geophys. Res., 105, D1, 1329-1335, 2000.
J.E. Mak, J.R. Southon, and C.A.M. Brenninkmeijer, Direct measurement of 14C production rates at Earth’s surface, Geophys. Res. Lett., 26, 22, 3381-3384, 1999.
J.E. Mak and G. Kra*, The isotopic composition of carbon monoxide at Montauk Point, Long Island, Chemosphere-Global Change Science, 1, 205-218, 1999.
J.E. Mak and W. Yang, A technique for analysis of air samples for 13C and 18O in carbon monoxide via continuous flow isotope ratio mass spectrometry, J. Anal. Chem., 70, 5159-5161, 1998.
J.E. Mak and J.R. Southon, Assessment of tropical OH seasonality using atmospheric 14CO measurements from Barbados, Geophys. Res. Lett., 25, 15, 2801-2804, 1998.
J.E. Mak and C.A.M. Brenninkmeijer, Measurement of 13CO and C18O in the Free Troposphere, J. Geophys. Res., 103, D15, 19347-19358, 1998.
J.E. Mak, C.A.M. Brenninkmeijer, J. Tamaresis, Atmospheric 14CO Observations and their use for Estimating Carbon Monoxide Removal Rates, J. Geophys. Res., 99, 22915, 1994.
J.E. Mak and C.A.M. Brenninkmeijer, Compressed Air Sample Technology for the Isotopic Analysis of Atmospheric Carbon Monoxide, J. Atmos. Ocean. Tech., 11, 2, 425-431, 1994.
J.E. Mak, C.A.M. Brenninkmeijer, M.R. Manning, Evidence for a Missing Carbon Monoxide Sink Based on Tropospheric Measurements of 14CO, Geophys. Res. Lett., 19, 14, 1467-1470, 1992.
Number of published abstracts/presentations at professional meetings: >120
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