About

Hosein Foroutan is an Associate Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Virginia Tech, and an Affiliate Faculty member at the Global Change Center and BIOTRANS. His research focuses on atmospheric microplastics, aquatic aerosols, atmospheric dust, bioaerosols, and the development of next-generation air quality models. His work involves studying the transport, dispersion, and impacts of various airborne particles and pollutants, with an emphasis on understanding their interactions with ecosystems and climate change. Professor Foroutan's background includes extensive research on atmospheric aerosols and environmental pollutants. His contributions include advancing the understanding of dust and microplastic transport in the atmosphere, as well as improving modeling techniques for air quality and pollutant dispersion. His research aims to address critical environmental challenges related to air pollution, microplastics, and their effects on ecosystems and human health.

Research topics

• Environmental science
• Oceanography
• Meteorology
• Geography
• Ecology
• Geology
• Environmental engineering
• Environmental health
• Waste management
• Fishery
• Medicine
• Remote sensing
• Engineering
• Biology
• Marine engineering
• Atmospheric sciences
• Aerospace engineering
• Chemistry

Selected publications

• Sensing atmospheric flows in aquatic environments using a multirotor small uncrewed aircraft system (sUAS)

  Environmental Science Atmospheres · 2023 · 19 citations

  • Environmental science
  • Remote sensing
  • Marine engineering

  Multirotor sUAS wind sensing capabilities are effective for resolving onshore and offshore atmospheric flow variations in aquatic environments where airborne hazardous agents threaten downwind communities.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Drone-based water sampling and characterization of three freshwater harmful algal blooms in the United States

  Frontiers in Remote Sensing · 2022 · 23 citations

  • Environmental science
  • Fishery
  • Ecology

  Freshwater harmful algal blooms (HABs), caused mostly by toxic cyanobacteria, produce a range of cyanotoxins that threaten the health of humans and domestic animals. Climate conditions and anthropogenic influences such as agricultural run-off can alter the onset and intensity of HABs. Little is known about the distribution and spread of freshwater HABs. Current sampling protocols in some lakes involve teams of researchers that collect samples by hand from a boat and/or from the shoreline. Water samples can be collected from the surface, from discrete-depth collections, and/or from depth-integrated intervals. These collections are often restricted to certain months of the year, and generally are only performed at a limited number of collection sites. In lakes with active HABs, surface samples are generally sufficient for HAB water quality assessments. We used a unique DrOne Water Sampling SystEm (DOWSE) to collect water samples from the surface of three different HABs in Ohio (Grand Lake St Marys, GLSM and Lake Erie) and Virginia (Lake Anna), United States in 2019. The DOWSE consisted of a 3D-printed sampling device tethered to a drone (uncrewed aerial system, or UAS), and was used to collect surface water samples at different distances (10–100 m) from the shore or from an anchored boat. One hundred and eighty water samples (40 at GLSM, 20 at Lake Erie, and 120 at Lake Anna) were collected and analyzed from 18 drone flights. Our methods included testing for cyanotoxins, phycocyanin, and nutrients from surface water samples. Mean concentrations of microcystins (MCs) in drone water samples were 15.00, 1.92, and 0.02 ppb for GLSM, Lake Erie, and Lake Anna, respectively. Lake Anna had low levels of anatoxin in nearly all (111/120) of the drone water samples. Mean concentrations of phycocyanin in drone water samples were 687, 38, and 62 ppb for GLSM, Lake Erie, and Lake Anna, respectively. High levels of total phosphorus were observed in the drone water samples from GLSM (mean of 0.34 mg/L) and Lake Erie (mean of 0.12 mg/L). Lake Anna had the highest variability of total phosphorus with concentrations that ranged from 0.01 mg/L to 0.21 mg/L, with a mean of 0.06 mg/L. Nitrate levels varied greatly across sites, inverse with bloom biomass, ranging from below detection to 3.64 mg/L, with highest mean values in Lake Erie followed by GLSM and Lake Anna, respectively. Drones offer a rapid, targeted collection of water samples from virtually anywhere on a lake with an active HAB without the need for a boat which can disturb the surrounding water. Drones are, however, limited in their ability to operate during inclement weather such as rain and heavy winds. Collectively, our results highlight numerous opportunities for drone-based water sampling technologies to track, predict, and respond to HABs in the future.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• How mobility restrictions policy and atmospheric conditions impacted air quality in the State of São Paulo during the COVID-19 outbreak

  Environmental Research · 2021 · 30 citations

  • Environmental science
  • Geography
  • Meteorology
  DOI

• Air Quality in Southeast Brazil during COVID-19 Lockdown: A Combined Satellite and Ground-Based Data Analysis

  Atmosphere · 2021 · 21 citations

  Senior authorCorresponding
  • Environmental science
  • Atmospheric sciences
  • Meteorology

  With the current COVID-19 pandemic being spread all over the world, lockdown measures are being implemented, making air pollution levels go down in several countries. In this context, the air quality changes in the highly populated and trafficked Brazilian states of São Paulo (SP) and Rio de Janeiro (RJ) were addressed using a combination of satellite and ground-based daily data analysis. We explored nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and fine particulate matter (PM2.5) daily levels for the month of May from 2015–2020. Daily measurements of NO2 column concentrations from the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) aboard NASA’s Aura satellite were analyzed and decreases of 42% and 49.6% were found for SP and RJ, respectively, during the year 2020 compared to the 2015–2019 average. Besides NO2 column retrievals, ground-based data measured by the Brazilian States Environmental Institutions were analyzed and correlated with satellite retrievals. Correlation coefficients between year-to-year changes in satellite column and ground-based concentrations were 77% and 53% in SP and RJ, respectively. Ground-based data showed 13.3% and 18.8% decrease in NO2 levels for SP and RJ, respectively, in 2020 compared to 2019. In SP, no significant change in PM2.5 was observed in 2020 compared to 2019. To further isolate the effect of emissions reduction due to the lockdown, meteorological data and number of wildfire hotspots were analyzed. NO2 concentrations showed negative and positive correlations with wind speed and temperature, respectively. PM2.5 concentration distributions suggested an influence by the wildfires in the southeast region of the country. Synergistic analyses of satellite retrievals, surface level concentrations, and weather data provide a more complete picture of changes to pollutant levels.

  DOI

Recent grants

• CAREER: Micro- and Nanoplastics in Sea Spray: Emission, Transport, and Deposition in the Environment

  NSF · $505k · 2022–2027

Frequent coauthors

• Jonathan Pleim

  21 shared

• E.M. Monbureau

  Jacobs (United States)

  18 shared

• Havala O. T. Pye

  Research Triangle Park Foundation

  14 shared

• Robert C. Gilliam

  Environmental Protection Agency

  14 shared

• Jerold A. Herwehe

  Environmental Protection Agency

  13 shared

• Savas Yavuzkurt

  National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University

  13 shared

• David K. Heist

  Environmental Protection Agency

  12 shared

• Steven G. Perry

  Research Triangle Park Foundation

  12 shared

Labs

• AIRFlowS LabPI

Education

• PhD, Mechanical Engineering

  The Pennsylvania State University

  2015

• MS, Mechanical Engineering

  Iran University of Science and Technology

  2009

• BS, Mechanical Engineering

  Iran University of Science and Technology

  2006

Awards & honors

• NSF CAREER Award (2022)
• Junior Fellow Award, Fralin Life Sciences Institute, Virgini…
• The Early Career Research Award, European Association for th…
• The National Research Council (NRC) of the National Academie…
• Hydro Research Foundation (HRF) / U.S. Department of Energy…

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