Alain Malo
Specialist in research, development and operations of atmospheric transport and dispersion models of pollutants for environmental emergency operational response
Current research and/or projects
- Research, development and operations in atmospheric transport and dispersion modelling of pollutants
- Environmental emergency operational response for atmospheric and aquatic events
- Radiological and nuclear material, chemical substances, volcanic ash and sulfur dioxide clouds, forest fire smoke, foot-and-mouth disease virus, avian influenza, Legionella bacteria, petroleum products
- Model validation and verification against observations : Fukushima Daiichi (Japan) nuclear power plant accident, medical isotopes production facilities, forest fires in Canada, volcanic ash from eruptions in Alaska, Iceland, Russia and Chile
Education and awards
Education
- M. Sc. Physics, Université de Montréal, 1998
- B. Sc. Mathematics-Physics, Université de Montréal, 1996
Awards
- Health Canada Deputy Minister’s Award for Excellence in the category of “Science” representing the highest honour bestowed upon employees at Health Canada. Member of Airborne ruthenium-106 Assessment Team having demonstrated over the past year that he deserves such distinction, 14 June 2019.
- 2019 Assistant Deputy Minister Award for Excellence from Health Canada’s Healthy Environments and Consumer Safety Branch in the category of “Science”. Member of Airborne ruthenium-106 Assessment Team having demonstrated outstanding contributions relevant to the protection and promotion of the health of Canadians and supported long-term research and effective dissemination of scientific information, encouraging information sharing between scientific and policy communities, 30 May 2019.
- Outstanding contributions made to the Environment Canada Toronto 2015 Pan American and Parapan American Games Project, 6 November 2015.
- Environment Canada citation of excellence – Teamwork, Partnership and Collaboration: Outstanding involvement and dedication as a member of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games Team.
Key publications
Hoffman, I., Malo, A., Ungar, K., 2022, “Uncertainty and source term reconstruction with environmental air samples”, Journal of Environmental Radioactivity, 246, 106836, doi:10.1016/j.jenvrad.2022.106836.
Hoffman, I., Malo, A., Mekarski, P., Yi, J., Zhang, W., Ek, N., Bourgouin, P., Wotawa, G., Ungar, K., 2020, “Mapping the deposition of 137Cs and 131I in North America following the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi Reactor accident”, Atmospheric Environment: X, 6, 100072, doi:10.1016/j.aeaoa.2020.100072.
Maurer, C., Baré, J., Kusmierczyk-Michulec, J., Crawford, A., Eslinger, P.W., Seibert, P., Orr, B., Philipp, A., Ross, O., Generoso, S., Achim, P., Schoeppner, M., Malo, A., Ringbom, A., Saunier, O., Quèlo, D., Mathieu, A., Kijima, Y., Stein, A., Chai, T., Ngan, F., Leadbetter, S.J., De Meutter, P., Delcloo, A., Britton, R., Davies, A., Glascoe, L.G., Lucas, D.D., Simpson, M.D., Vogt, P., Kalinowski, M., Bowyer, T.W., 2018, “International challenge to model the long-range transport of radioxenon released from medical isotope production to six Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty monitoring stations”, Journal of Environmental Radioactivity, 192, 667–686, doi:10.1016/j.jenvrad.2018.01.030.
Marcotte, G., Malo, A., Legault-Ouellet, É., Gauthier, J.-P., Mercier, G., 2017, “A statistical method to determine the number of Lagrangian elements for optimal gridded field representation of random displacement model outputs”, Proceedings of the 40th AMOP Technical Seminar on Environmental Contamination and Response, Environment and Climate Change Canada, Ottawa, ON, Canada, 610–628.
Pavlovic, R., Chen, J., Davignon, D., Moran, M. D., Beaulieu, P.-A., Landry, H., Sassi, M., Gilbert, S., Munoz-Alpizar, R., Anderson, K., Englefield, P., O’Neill, S. M., Larkin, N. K., Racine, J., Cousineau, S., Ménard, S., Malo, A., Gauthier, J.-P., Ek, N., Marcotte, G., Bourgouin, P., Bouchet, V., 2016, “FireWork – A Canadian Operational Air Quality Forecast Model with Near-Real-Time Biomass Burning Emissions”, The Canadian Wildland Fire and Smoke Newsletter, Fall 2016.
Sioris, C. E., Malo, A., McLinden, C. A., D’Amours, R., 2016, “Direct injection of water vapor into the stratosphere by volcanic eruptions”, Geophysical Research Letters, 43 (14), 7694–7700, doi:10.1002/2016GL069918.
Lebel, L., Bourgouin, P., Chouhan, S., Ek, N., Korolevych, V., Malo, A., Bensimon, D., Erhardt, L., 2016, “The Sensitivity of Atmospheric Dispersion Calculations in Near-Field Applications: Modeling of the Full Scale RDD Experiments with Operational Models in Canada, Part I”, Health Physics, 110 (5), 499–517, doi:10.1097/HP.0000000000000365.
Lebel, L., Bourgouin, P., Chouhan, S., Ek, N., Korolevych, V., Malo, A., Bensimon, D., Erhardt, L., 2016, “Radiation Modeling and Finite Cloud Effects For Atmospheric Dispersion Calculations in Near-Field Applications: Modeling of the Full Scale RDD Experiments with Operational Models in Canada, Part II”, Health Physics, 110 (5), 518–525, doi:10.1097/HP.0000000000000366.
Eslinger, P. W., Bowyer, T. W., Achim, P., Chai, T., Deconninck, B., Freeman, K., Generoso, S., Hayes, P., Heidmann, V., Hoffman, I., Kijima, Y., Krysta, M., Malo, A., Maurer, C., Ngan, F., Robins, P., Ross, J. O., Saunier, O., Schlosser, C., Schöppner, M., Schrom, B. T., Seibert, P., Stein, A. F., Ungar, K., Yi, J., 2016, “International challenge to predict the impact of radioxenon releases from medical isotope production on a comprehensive nuclear test ban treaty sampling station”, Journal of Environmental Radioactivity, 157, 41–51, doi:10.1016/j.jenvrad.2016.03.001.
Saito, K., Shimbori, T., Draxler, R., Hara, T., Toyoda, E., Honda, Y., Nagata, K., Fujita, T., Sakamoto, M., Kato, T., Kajino, M., Sekiyama, T. T., Tanaka, T. Y., Maki, T., Terada, H., Chino, M., Iwasaki, T., Hort, M. C., Leadbetter, S. J., Wotawa, G., Arnold, D., Maurer, C., Malo, A., Servranckx, R., Chen, P., 2015, “Contribution of JMA to the WMO Technical Task Team on Meteorological Analyses for Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant Accident and Relevant Atmospheric Transport Modelling at MRI”, Technical Reports of the Meteorological Research Institute, No. 76, 239 pp, doi:10.11483/mritechrepo.76.
Katata, G., Chino, M., Kobayashi, T., Terada, H., Ota, M., Nagai, H., Kajino, M., Draxler, R., Hort, M. C., Malo, A., Torii, T., Sanada, Y., 2015, “Detailed source term estimation of the atmospheric release for the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station accident by coupling simulations of an atmospheric dispersion model with an improved deposition scheme and oceanic dispersion model”, Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, 15 (2), 1029–1070, doi:10.5194/acp-15-1029-2015.
D’Amours, R., Malo, A., Flesch, T., Wilson, R., Gauthier, J.-P., Servranckx, R., 2015, “The Canadian Meteorological Centre’s Atmospheric Transport and Dispersion Modelling Suite”, Atmosphere-Ocean, 53 (2), 176–199, doi:10.1080/07055900.2014.1000260.
Draxler, R., Arnold, D., Chino, M., Galmarini, S., Hort, M., Jones, A., Leadbetter, S., Malo, A., Maurer, C., Rolph, G., Saito, K., Servranckx, R., Shimbori, T., Solazzo, E., Wotawa, G., 2015, “World Meteorological Organization’s Model Simulations of the Radionuclide Dispersion and Deposition from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant Accident”, Journal of Environmental Radioactivity, 139, 172–184, doi:10.1016/j.jenvrad.2013.09.014.
Stocki, T. J., Ungar, R. K., D’Amours, R., Bean, M., Bock, K., Hoffman, I., Korpach, E., Malo, A., 2011, “North Korean nuclear test of October 9th, 2006: The utilization of health Canada’s radionuclide monitoring network and environment Canada’s atmospheric transport and dispersion modelling”, Radioprotection, 46 (6), S529–S534, doi:10.1051/radiopro/20116803s.
D’Amours, R., Malo, A., Servranckx, R., Bensimon, D., Trudel, S., Gauthier, J.-P., 2010, “Application of the atmospheric Lagrangian particle dispersion model MLDP0 to the 2008 eruptions of Okmok and Kasatochi volcanoes”, Journal of Geophysical Research, 115 (D2), 1–11, doi:10.1029/2009JD013602.
Joly, A., Smargiassi, A., Kosatsky, T., Fournier, M., Dabek-Zlotorzynska, E., Celo, V., Mathieu, D., Servranckx, R., D’Amours, R., Malo, A., Brook, J., 2010, “Characterisation of particulate exposure during fireworks displays”, Atmospheric Environment, 144 (34), 4325–4329, doi:10.1016/j.atmosenv.2009.12.010.
Ek, N., Malo, A., Servranckx, R., 2009, “Environmental emergency response at the Canadian Meteorological Centre”, Proceedings of the 32nd AMOP Technical Seminar on Environmental Contamination and Response, Environment Canada, Ottawa, ON, Canada, 1, 315–321.
Stocki, T.J., Armand, P., Heinrich, P., Ungar, R.K., D’Amours, R., Korpach, E.P., Bellivier, A., Taffary, T., Malo, A., Bean, M., Hoffman, I., Jean, M., 2008, “Measurement and modelling of radioxenon plumes in the Ottawa Valley”, Journal of Environmental Radioactivity, 99 (11), 1775–1788, doi:10.1016/j.jenvrad.2008.07.009.
Malo, A., Wesemael, F., Bergeron, P., 1999, “Physical Processes in the Atmospheres of Cool White Dwarfs and the Nature of the Non-DA Gap”, The Astrophysical Journal, 517 (2), 901–905, doi:10.1086/307231.
ORCID