Glen Lesins

About

Dr. Glen Lesins is a leading atmospheric scientist whose research focuses on the intersection of aerosol physics, satellite remote sensing, and climate modeling. His key contributions lie in improving how general circulation models (GCMs) represent aerosol size distributions and their radiative effects. Lesins pioneered the use of ground-based AERONET measurements to derive geographically varying aerosol sizes, moving beyond the fixed-size constraints that had long limited GCM accuracy. His work demonstrating the use of satellite data from MODIS and the Multispectral Thermal Imager (MTI) to validate and constrain aerosol optical depth (AOD) retrievals has been foundational for remote sensing science. Notably, his 2017 study comparing a chemical transport model with four years of Arctic AERONET data (34 citations) provided critical insights into fine- and coarse-mode aerosol behavior in the sensitive polar region. With over 70 combined citations across his most influential papers, Lesins has established himself as a key figure in bridging observational data and climate models, directly advancing our understanding of aerosol-climate interactions and improving the fidelity of global climate simulations.

Research Focus

Key Achievements

Top Papers

1. 1
   Comparisons of a Chemical Transport Model with a Four-Year (April to September) Analysis of Fine- and Coarse-Mode Aerosol Optical Depth Retrievals Over the Canadian Arctic

   34 citations · 2017
2. 2
   Aerosol optical depth retrieval over the NASA Stennis Space Center: MTI, MODIS, and AERONET

   22 citations · 2005
3. 3
   GCM Aerosol Radiative Effects Using Geographically Varying Aerosol Sizes Deduced from AERONET Measurements

   10 citations · 2003
4. 4
   Using MODIS and AERONET to Determine GCM Aerosol Size

   7 citations · 2006

Key Collaborators

Contact & Links