Research

We combine physical models of the atmosphere with machine learning and Bayesian statistics. Our goal is to transform remote sensing observations of atmospheric composition into actionable information about the source and fate of reactive air pollutants and greenhouse gases.

See below for peer-reviewed publications.

All papers

2026

Evaluation for the machine learning based PM2.5 estimation using different spatial resolution of geostationary satellite AOD over megacities in Korea

Juhee Lee, Jhoon Kim, Yeseul Cho, Seoyoung Lee, Drew C. Pendergrass, …, Hahn Chul Jung, Kwang-Min Myung, Young-Doh Kim, Kyung Man Han, Ja-Ho Koo

Atmospheric Environment · 01 May 2026 · doi:10.1016/j.atmosenv.2026.121941

Attributing 2019–2024 methane growth using TROPOMI satellite observations

Megan He, Daniel J. Jacob, Lucas A. Estrada, Daniel J. Varon, Melissa Sulprizio, …, Joannes D. Maasakkers, Philip G. Brodrick, Christian Frankenberg, Kevin W. Bowman, Lori Bruhwiler

Science Advances · 10 Apr 2026 · doi:10.1126/sciadv.adz9007

paper methane climate

Shifting Drivers of China's Methane Emissions amid Economic Growth and Mitigation between 2019–2024

Yifan Li, Drew Pendergrass, Daniel Jacob, Yunxiao Tang, Jiaxin Qiu, Bo Zheng

EGUSphere · 07 Apr 2026 · doi:10.5194/egusphere-2025-6284

preprint climate cheereio methane

Large and increasing stratospheric contribution to tropospheric ozone over East Asia

Nadia K. Colombi, Daniel J. Jacob, Xingpei Ye, Robert M. Yantosca, Kelvin H. Bates, Drew C. Pendergrass, Laura Hyesung Yang, Ke Li, Hong Liao

Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics · 18 Feb 2026 · doi:10.5194/acp-26-2623-2026

paper ozone aq climate

2025

Seasonality and Declining Intensity of Methane Emissions from the Permian and Nearby US Oil and Gas Basins

Daniel J. Varon, Daniel J. Jacob, Lucas A. Estrada, Nicholas Balasus, James D. East, …, Sudhanshu Pandey, John R. Worden, Kevin W. Bowman, Joannes D. Maasakkers, Robert L. Kleinberg

Environmental Science & Technology · 22 Dec 2025 · doi:10.1021/acs.est.5c08745

paper climate methane

Quantifying CO emissions from boreal wildfires by assimilating TROPOMI and TCCON observations

Sina Voshtani, Dylan B. A. Jones, Debra Wunch, Drew C. Pendergrass, Paul O. Wennberg, …, Elena Kozlova, Thomas Seitz, Martin Steinbacher, Reza Mahdi, Isao Murata

Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics · 13 Nov 2025 · doi:10.5194/acp-25-15527-2025

paper aq cheereio

Trends and seasonality of 2019–2023 global methane emissions inferred from a localized ensemble transform Kalman filter (CHEEREIO v1.3.1) applied to TROPOMI satellite observations

Drew C. Pendergrass, Daniel J. Jacob, Nicholas Balasus, Lucas Estrada, Daniel J. Varon, …, Megan He, Todd A. Mooring, Elise Penn, Hannah Nesser, John R. Worden

Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics · 03 Nov 2025 · doi:10.5194/acp-25-14353-2025

General audience explainer

paper climate cheereio methane

Wintertime Trends of Fine Particulate Matter PM sub 2.5 sub in South Korea, 2012 2022: Response of Nitrate and Organic Components to Decreasing NO sub x sub Emissions

Wintertime Trends of Fine Particulate Matter (PM _2.5 ) in South Korea, 2012–2022: Response of Nitrate and Organic Components to Decreasing NO _x Emissions

Drew C. Pendergrass, Daniel J. Jacob, Yujin J. Oak, Ruijun Dang, Laura Hyesung Yang, …, Jin‐soo Choi, Jin‐soo Park, Soontae Kim, Ke Li, Hong Liao

Geophysical Research Letters · 10 Oct 2025 · doi:10.1029/2025GL116091

General audience explainer

paper pm2.5 aq

A continuous 2011–2022 record of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) in East Asia at daily 2-km resolution from geostationary satellite observations: Population exposure and long-term trends

Drew C. Pendergrass, Daniel J. Jacob, Yujin J. Oak, Jeewoo Lee, Minseok Kim, Jhoon Kim, Seoyoung Lee, Shixian Zhai, Hitoshi Irie, Hong Liao

Atmospheric Environment · 01 Apr 2025 · doi:10.1016/j.atmosenv.2025.121068

General audience explainer

paper pm2.5 aq

Ethanol and Methanol in South Korea and China: Evidence for Large Anthropogenic Emissions Missing from Current Inventories

Ellie Beaudry, Daniel J. Jacob, Kelvin H. Bates, Shixian Zhai, Laura H. Yang, …, Isobel J. Simpson, Armin Wisthaler, James R. Hopkins, Ke Li, Hong Liao

ACS ES&T Air · 27 Mar 2025 · doi:10.1021/acsestair.4c00210

paper aq

Air quality trends and regimes in South Korea inferred from 2015–2023 surface and satellite observations

Yujin J. Oak, Daniel J. Jacob, Drew C. Pendergrass, Ruijun Dang, Nadia K. Colombi, Heesung Chong, Seoyoung Lee, Su Keun Kuk, Jhoon Kim

Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics · 17 Mar 2025 · doi:10.5194/acp-25-3233-2025

paper pm2.5 ozone aq

Assessment of Hydrogen's Climate Impact Is Affected by Model OH Biases

L. H. Yang, D. J. Jacob, H. Lin, R. Dang, K. H. Bates, J. D. East, K. R. Travis, D. C. Pendergrass, L. T. Murray

Geophysical Research Letters · 04 Mar 2025 · doi:10.1029/2024GL112445

paper climate

2024

A Satellite-Based Indicator for Diagnosing Particulate Nitrate Sensitivity to Precursor Emissions: Application to East Asia, Europe, and North America

Ruijun Dang, Daniel J. Jacob, Shixian Zhai, Laura Hyesung Yang, Drew C. Pendergrass, …, Jin-soo Choi, Jin-soo Park, Zirui Liu, Peifu Xie, Hong Liao

Environmental Science & Technology · 28 Oct 2024 · doi:10.1021/acs.est.4c08082

paper pm2.5 aq

Is the smoke aloft? Caveats regarding the use of the Hazard Mapping System (HMS) smoke product as a proxy for surface smoke presence across the United States

Tianjia Liu, Frances Marie Panday, Miah C. Caine, Makoto Kelp, Drew C. Pendergrass, Loretta J. Mickley, Evan A. Ellicott, Miriam E. Marlier, Ravan Ahmadov, Eric P. James

International Journal of Wildland Fire · 02 Oct 2024 · doi:10.1071/wf23148

paper pm2.5 aq

Interpreting Geostationary Environment Monitoring Spectrometer (GEMS) geostationary satellite observations of the diurnal variation in nitrogen dioxide (NO ₂ ) over East Asia

Laura Hyesung Yang, Daniel J. Jacob, Ruijun Dang, Yujin J. Oak, Haipeng Lin, …, Soontae Kim, Eunhye Kim, Katherine R. Travis, James H. Crawford, Hong Liao

Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics · 18 Jun 2024 · doi:10.5194/acp-24-7027-2024

paper aq

2023

Diagnosing the Sensitivity of Particulate Nitrate to Precursor Emissions Using Satellite Observations of Ammonia and Nitrogen Dioxide

Ruijun Dang, Daniel J. Jacob, Shixian Zhai, Pierre Coheur, Lieven Clarisse, …, Drew C. Pendergrass, Jin‐soo Choi, Jin‐soo Park, Zirui Liu, Hong Liao

Geophysical Research Letters · 23 Dec 2023 · doi:10.1029/2023gl105761

paper pm2.5 aq

CHEEREIO 1.0: a versatile and user-friendly ensemble-based chemical data assimilation and emissions inversion platform for the GEOS-Chem chemical transport model

Drew C. Pendergrass, Daniel J. Jacob, Hannah Nesser, Daniel J. Varon, Melissa Sulprizio, Kazuyuki Miyazaki, Kevin W. Bowman

Geoscientific Model Development · 24 Aug 2023 · doi:10.5194/gmd-16-4793-2023

General audience explainer

paper climate aq cheereio methane

Continuous weekly monitoring of methane emissions from the Permian Basin by inversion of TROPOMI satellite observations

Daniel J. Varon, Daniel J. Jacob, Benjamin Hmiel, Ritesh Gautam, David R. Lyon, …, Xiao Lu, Alba Lorente, Tobias Borsdorff, Joannes D. Maasakkers, Ilse Aben

Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics · 11 Jul 2023 · doi:10.5194/acp-23-7503-2023

paper climate methane

Satellite quantification of methane emissions and oil–gas methane intensities from individual countries in the Middle East and North Africa: implications for climate action

Zichong Chen, Daniel J. Jacob, Ritesh Gautam, Mark Omara, Robert N. Stavins, …, Xiao Lu, Lu Shen, Zhen Qu, Drew C. Pendergrass, Sarah Hancock

Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics · 31 May 2023 · doi:10.5194/acp-23-5945-2023

paper climate methane

Coarse particulate matter air quality in East Asia: implications for fine particulate nitrate

Shixian Zhai, Daniel J. Jacob, Drew C. Pendergrass, Nadia K. Colombi, Viral Shah, …, Taehyoung Lee, Jin-Seok Han, Bruce E. Anderson, Ke Li, Hong Liao

Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics · 12 Apr 2023 · doi:10.5194/acp-23-4271-2023

paper pm2.5 aq