Eric A. Kort

Eric A. Kort is a Professor in the Department of Climate and Space Sciences and Engineering at the University of Michigan. He holds a Ph.D. and S.M. in Applied Physics from Harvard University and a B.A. in Physics with Mathematics minor from Pomona College.

• Current research focuses on atmospheric composition changes driven by human and natural forces
• Develops ground-based, airborne, and space-based trace gas observation techniques
• Specializes in inverse/forward modeling of atmospheric transport and chemical transformation
• Active in urban CO2 emission quantification and methane emission source attribution

Key research areas include:

• Atmospheric methane sources and sinks
• Nitrous oxide emissions from agricultural and industrial sources
• Airborne and space-based greenhouse gas monitoring
• Flaring efficiency in fossil fuel production
• Urban climate pollution dynamics
• Remote sensing of tropical wetland emissions

Recent publications (2024) demonstrate:

• Heavy-tailed N2O emissions from agricultural sources
• Improved satellite-based urban CO2 monitoring systems
• Underestimated tropical wetland methane emissions
• Temporal persistence of offshore oil/gas methane leaks
• Stratospheric influence on tropospheric N2O variability

Scientific contributions include:

• NSF CAREER Award recipient for nitrogen-atmosphere research
• Science Advances publication on Permian Basin methane emissions
• Science publication on Arctic ocean methane emissions
• PNAS perspective on atmospheric methane trends
• Member of National Academies Committee on Earth Science and Applications from Space

Research team includes:

• Postdocs: Natasha Dacic, Daniel Huber
• PhD students: Alan Gorchov Negron, Emily Yang
• Collaborators: NASA, NOAA, OCO-2/3 Science Team, Carbon Mapper Initiative