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Colin D. O'Dowd

Colin D. O'Dowd

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Environmental Sciences
Ireland
2026

D-Index & Metrics

Environmental Sciences

D-Index
105
Citations
40207
World Ranking
267
National Ranking
1

Research.com Recognitions

  • 2026 - Research.com Environmental Sciences in Ireland Leader Award
  • 2025 - Research.com Environmental Sciences in Ireland Leader Award
  • 2023 - Research.com Environmental Sciences in Ireland Leader Award
  • 2022 - Research.com Environmental Sciences in Ireland Leader Award
  • 2018 - Member of Academia Europaea
  • 2013 - Gold Medal, Royal Irish Academy Environmental Sciences & Geosciences
  • 2011 - Member of the Royal Irish Academy

Overview

Colin D. O'Dowd is affiliated with the National University of Ireland, Galway. Their research primarily focuses on environmental science and earth and planetary sciences, with particular emphasis on atmospheric science and related subfields.

The scientist's publication record highlights significant contributions in topics including atmospheric chemistry and aerosols, air quality and health impacts, atmospheric aerosols and clouds, atmospheric ozone and climate, air quality monitoring and forecasting, vehicle emissions and performance, and atmospheric and environmental gas dynamics.

Frequent co-authors in their work include:

  • Jurgita Ovadnevaitė (43 collaborations)
  • Darius Čeburnis (42 collaborations)
  • Chunshui Lin (32 collaborations)
  • Ru-Jin Huang (27 collaborations)
  • Wei Xu (21 collaborations)

Key publication venues where O'Dowd has contributed multiple papers include:

  • Atmospheric chemistry and physics (17 publications)
  • npj Climate and Atmospheric Science (4 publications)
  • The Science of The Total Environment (4 publications)
  • Journal of Geophysical Research Atmospheres (3 publications)
  • Atmosphere (3 publications)

Notable recent papers include:

  • European aerosol phenomenology − 8: Harmonised source apportionment of organic aerosol using 22 Year-long ACSM/AMS datasets, 2022, Environment International
  • Water-Insoluble Organics Dominate Brown Carbon in Wintertime Urban Aerosol of China: Chemical Characteristics and Optical Properties, 2020, Environmental Science & Technology
  • Summertime and wintertime atmospheric processes of secondary aerosol in Beijing, 2020, Atmospheric chemistry and physics
  • Characterization of the light-absorbing properties, chromophore composition and sources of brown carbon aerosol in Xi'an, northwestern China, 2020, Atmospheric chemistry and physics
  • The fingerprint of the summer 2018 drought in Europe on ground-based atmospheric CO2 measurements, 2020, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences

The research covers a wide range of aspects within atmospheric science, focusing in particular on aerosol composition, optical properties, and atmospheric processes that influence air quality and climate.

O'Dowd's work has been recognized with various honors including membership in the Academia Europaea since 2018, the Gold Medal from the Royal Irish Academy awarded in 2013 in Environmental Sciences & Geosciences, and membership in the Royal Irish Academy since 2011.

Best Publications

  • Flood or drought: How do aerosols affect precipitation?

    Daniel Rosenfeld;Ulrike Lohmann;Graciela B. Raga;Colin D. O'Dowd

  • Biogenically driven organic contribution to marine aerosol.

    Colin D. O'Dowd;Maria Cristina Facchini;Fabrizia Cavalli;Darius Ceburnis

  • Mobility particle size spectrometers: harmonization of technical standards and data structure to facilitate high quality long-term observations of atmospheric particle number size distributions

    A. Wiedensohler;W. Birmili;A. Nowak;A. Sonntag

  • Atmospheric composition change – global and regional air quality

    P.S. Monks;Claire Granier;Claire Granier;Claire Granier;S. Fuzzi;A. Stohl

  • Marine aerosol formation from biogenic iodine emissions

    Colin D. O'Dowd;Colin D. O'Dowd;Jose L. Jimenez;Richard C. Bahreini;Richard C. Flagan

  • Atmospheric composition change: Ecosystems–Atmosphere interactions

    D. Fowler;Kim Pilegaard;M.A. Sutton;Per Ambus

  • Marine aerosol production: a review of the current knowledge

    Colin D O'Dowd;Gerrit de Leeuw

  • The effect of physical and chemical aerosol properties on warm cloud droplet activation

    G. Mcfiggans;P. Artaxo;Urs Baltensperger;H. Coe

  • Marine aerosol, sea-salt, and the marine sulphur cycle: a short review

    Colin D. O'Dowd;Michael H. Smith;Ian E. Consterdine;Jason A. Lowe

  • Production flux of sea spray aerosol

    Gerrit de Leeuw;Gerrit de Leeuw;Edgar L Andreas;Magdalena D. Anguelova;C. W. Fairall

  • On the formation, growth and composition of nucleation mode particles

    M. Kulmala;M. Dal maso;J. M. Mäkelä;L. Pirjola

  • Aerosol formation: atmospheric particles from organic vapours.

    Colin D. O'Dowd;Colin D. O'Dowd;Pasi Aalto;Kaarle Hmeri;Markku Kulmala

  • Primary submicron marine aerosol dominated by insoluble organic colloids and aggregates

    Maria Cristina Facchini;Matteo Rinaldi;Stefano Decesari;Claudio Carbone

  • Physical characterization of aerosol particles during nucleation events

    Pasi Aalto;Kaarle Hämeri;E. D. O. Becker;Rodney Weber

  • Advances in characterization of size-resolved organic matter in marine aerosol over the North Atlantic

    F. Cavalli;M.C. Facchini;S. Decesari;Mihaela Mircea

  • Important source of marine secondary organic aerosol from biogenic amines.

    Maria Cristina Facchini;Stefano Decesari;Matteo Rinaldi;Claudio Carbone

  • Physicochemical properties of aerosols over the northeast Atlantic: Evidence for wind‐speed‐related submicron sea‐salt aerosol production

    Colin D. O'Dowd;Michael H. Smith

  • Overview of the international project on biogenic aerosol formation in the boreal forest (BIOFOR)

    M. Kulmala;K. Hämeri;K. Hämeri;P. P. Aalto;J. M. Mäkelä

  • Organic aerosol components derived from 25 AMS data sets across Europe using a consistent ME-2 based source apportionment approach

    M. Crippa;F. Canonaco;V.A. Lanz;M. Äijälä

  • Molecular-scale evidence of aerosol particle formation via sequential addition of HIO3.

    Mikko Sipilä;Nina Sarnela;Tuija Jokinen;Henning Henschel

  • General overview: European Integrated project on Aerosol Cloud Climate and Air Quality interactions (EUCAARI) - integrating aerosol research from nano to global scales

    M. Kulmala;A. Asmi;H. K. Lappalainen;H. K. Lappalainen;U. Baltensperger

Frequent Co-Authors

Darius Ceburnis
Darius Ceburnis University of Galway
Markku Kulmala
Markku Kulmala University of Helsinki
S. G. Jennings
S. G. Jennings University of Galway
Maria Cristina Facchini
Maria Cristina Facchini Institute of Atmospheric Sciences and Climate
Matteo Rinaldi
Matteo Rinaldi Institute of Atmospheric Sciences and Climate
Ru-Jin Huang
Ru-Jin Huang Chinese Academy of Sciences
Roy M. Harrison
Roy M. Harrison University of Birmingham
Pasi Aalto
Pasi Aalto University of Helsinki
Michael H. Smith
Michael H. Smith University of Georgia
Karine Sellegri
Karine Sellegri University of Clermont Auvergne

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