Thread by @CUBoulder

Hello! My name is Denise Mondragon! I'm a first-year Master's student in geography (@cugeography) and a graduate researcher in @INSTAAR. I studied #hydrogen from car emissions as an undergraduate at @UCIrvine.
At @CUBoulder, I'll study cryosphere biogeochemistry.

#RHRNClimate

My undergraduate research measured #hydrogen emissions from vehicles. Hydrogen is important and has gained popularity as a possible polluter of the environment due to notions of a hydrogen-based energy economy.

My hydrogen emission study evolved from a discrepancy in H2:CO emissions after catalytic converters were introduced in the 1970s. My objective was to understand the link between CO and H2 to quantify ratio uncertainty. This study aimed to better comprehend the global H2 budget.

My study found that post and pre catalytic converter data sets are different, indicating a change in H2:CO after their introduction. A H2:CO ratio of 0.24±0.03 was most indicative of my data, implying the modern fleet global H2 emission from this research was 4.01±20.9 Tg/yr.

In my study, a Chevrolet Spark and Toyota Camry Hybrid recorded high H2:CO emissions. The results were unexpected since "eco-friendly" automobiles are marketed as having reduced emissions. This suggests that more research is needed on hybrid emissions.

My current research @CUBoulder is in the early phases, but I'll be working with Dr. Melisa Diaz @EarthMAD to better understand water chemistry from chemical weathering dust on glaciers. Follow my grad school work on twitter @DennyMondragon. Thanks for reading!