Kimberly A. Prather
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About
Kimberly A. Prather is a pioneering atmospheric chemist whose research has fundamentally reshaped our understanding of how ocean biology influences climate. Her primary focus is on sea spray aerosols—the tiny particles ejected from the ocean surface—and their profound role in cloud formation, radiative forcing, and global climate systems. Prather’s most notable contribution is her comprehensive 2013 review on sea spray aerosol production, which synthesized decades of work on their number concentration, size distribution, chemical composition, and optical properties. This seminal paper, cited over 60 times, addressed one of the most uncertain components of the aerosol–radiation–climate problem, highlighting how marine aerosols have been historically overshadowed by terrestrial and anthropogenic sources. Beyond this, Prather is renowned for developing and deploying advanced real-time mass spectrometry techniques, including aerosol time-of-flight mass spectrometry (ATOFMS), which allow for the direct chemical characterization of individual particles. Her work has demonstrated that biological activity in the ocean—such as phytoplankton blooms—directly alters aerosol composition and ice-nucleating ability, linking marine ecosystems to cloud properties. A Distinguished Professor at UC San Diego and director of the NSF Center for Aerosol Impacts on Chemistry of the Environment, Prather’s research has been instrumental in advancing climate modeling and informing policy on aerosol–cloud interactions.
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