Kenneth Davis | Institute of Energy and the Environment

IEE Faculty Member

IEE Fellow

Professor, Meteorology and Atmospheric Science

512 Walker Bldg
University Park, PA 16802

Research Summary

Research interests include boundary layer meteorology, terrestrial carbon and hydrologic cycles, and flux measurement methods, and application of these tools to better understand the climate system and the urban environment.

Earth-Atmosphere Interactions Lab

In the News

Q&A: How better climate data supports smarter environmental decisions | Penn State University

May 27, 2026

Q&A: How better climate data supports smarter environmental decisions

Faculty, student excellence recognized at annual EMS Wilson Awards celebration | Penn State University

Apr 21, 2026 | psu.edu

Faculty, student excellence recognized at annual EMS Wilson Awards celebration

Irrigation gaps in weather models could skew air quality forecasts, study finds | Penn State University

Mar 4, 2026

Irrigation gaps in weather models could skew air quality forecasts, study finds

Four researchers named Institute of Energy and the Environment Fellows | Penn State University

Oct 17, 2025

Four researchers named Institute of Energy and the Environment Fellows

Where America’s CO emissions come from – what you need to know, in charts

Aug 13, 2025

Where America’s CO2 emissions come from – what you need to know, in charts

Lawn story: Turfgrass data may improve urban greenhouse gas emission estimates | Penn State University

Jun 6, 2025 | psu.edu

Lawn story: Turfgrass data may improve urban greenhouse gas emission estimates

Research Keywords

These keywords and phrases come from the publications and other research output of this person. See other researchers related to these topics by clicking on any keyword.

Eddy Covariance

United States Of America

Net Ecosystem Exchange

Atmospheric Transport

Planetary Boundary Layer

Methane Emission

Atmospheric Boundary Layer

Atmospheric CO2

Projects

satellite image of mid-atlantic united states

MidAtlantic Meteorology, Air Quality and Health: Communities, Challenges and Opportunities

The Pittsburgh skyline is shown in the evening through trees

Urban Green Infrastructure and the Day-Night “Humid-Heat Islands” of the Northeast U.S.

pittsburgh coke steel plant

Community Engagement and Interdisciplinary Collaboration to Direct Air Quality Research at Industrial Sites Near Pittsburgh

Holstein cows grazing in a grassy farm pasture with red barn and silo

Toward a Lower-Carbon Food System: Quantification of Methane Emissions from Animal Agriculture

Recent Publications

Significant Influence of Lateral Carbon Fluxes on Regional U.S. Carbon Budgets

Byrne, B., Liu, J., Domke, G. M., Ogle, S. M., Ferreira, G. D., Bar-On, Y. M., Nesser, H., Bilir, E., Bloom, A. A., Hayes, D. J., Poulter, B., Bowman, K. W. & Davis, K. J., Mar 2026, In: Global Biogeochemical Cycles. 40, 3, e2025GB009020.

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Estimating and Evaluating Roughness Length and Displacement Height in Heterogeneous Urban Environments

Horne, J. P., Pan, Y. & Davis, K. J., May 2026, In: Boundary-Layer Meteorology. 192, 5, 25.

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

The INFLUX network-eddy covariance in and around an urban environment

Horne, J. P., Richardson, S. J., Murphy, S. L., Kenion, H. C., Haupt, B. J., Ahlswede, B. J., Miles, N. L. & Davis, K. J., Feb 3 2026, In: Earth System Science Data. 18, 2, p. 823-843 21 p.

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Improving Air Quality Simulations in California's San Joaquin Valley Using Land Surface Remote Sensing

Jiang, Y., Zhang, L., Wu, F., Kulkarni, S., Cui, Y. Y., Cai, C., Peng, W. & Davis, K. J., Apr 16 2026, In: Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres. 131, 7, e2025JD045616.

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Laboratory and field assessment of mid-infrared absorption (MIRA) instrument performance for methane and ethane dry mole fractions

Liu, Y., Miles, N. L., Richardson, S. J., Barkley, Z. R., Miller, D. O., Kofler, J., Handley, P., DeVogel, S. & Davis, K. J., Feb 10 2026, In: Atmospheric Measurement Techniques. 19, 3, p. 965-981 17 p.

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Evaluating surface fluxes in WRF using eddy-covariance flux measurements in the Western and Eastern U.S.

Wu, F., Davis, K. J., Zhang, L., Anderson, R. G., Horne, J. P., Goslee, S., Munger, W., Cai, C., Cui, Y. Y., Zhao, Z. & Zhong, M., Mar 15 2026, In: Agricultural and Forest Meteorology. 379, 111029.

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Impacts of Transport Uncertainty on CO₂ Over North America: Insights From Assessments of Two Global Models With Aircraft and Tower Measurements

Zhang, L., Davis, K. J., Schuh, A. E. & Jacobson, A. R., Feb 16 2026, In: Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres. 131, 3, e2025JD044053.

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Mid-Atlantic US observations of radiocarbon in CO₂: Fossil and biogenic source partitioning and model evaluation

Baier, B. C., Miller, J. B., Sweeney, C., Lehman, S. J., Wolak, C., Digangi, J. P., Choi, Y., Davis, K., Feng, S. & Lauvaux, T., Sep 15 2025, In: Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics. 25, 18, p. 10479-10497 19 p.

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Examining Daily Temporal Characteristics of Oil and Gas Methane Emissions in the Delaware Basin Using Continuous Tower Observations

Barkley, Z. R., Davis, K. J., Miles, N. L. & Richardson, S. J., Mar 28 2025, In: Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres. 130, 6, e2024JD042050.

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Application of PRIM for understanding patterns in carbon dioxide model-observation differences

Gerken, T., Davis, K. J., Keller, K. & Feng, S., Oct 22 2025, In: Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics. 25, 20, p. 13327-13341 15 p.

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

The Impact of Turfgrass on Urban Carbon Dioxide Fluxes in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA

Horne, J. P., Jin, C., Miles, N. L., Richardson, S. J., Murphy, S. L., Wu, K. & Davis, K. J., Apr 2025, In: Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences. 130, 4, e2024JG008477.

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

An Unexpected Seasonal Cycle in U.S. Oil and Gas Methane Emissions

Hu, L., Andrews, A. E., Montzka, S. A., Miller, S. M., Bruhwiler, L., Oh, Y., Sweeney, C., Miller, J. B., McKain, K., Ibarra Espinosa, S., Davis, K., Miles, N., Mountain, M., Lan, X., Crotwell, A., Madronich, M., Mefford, T., Michel, S. & Houwelling, S., May 27 2025, In: Environmental Science and Technology. 59, 20, p. 9968-9979 12 p.

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Simulating Complex CO₂ Background Conditions for Indianapolis, IN, With a Simple Ecosystem CO₂ Flux Model

Murphy, S. L., Davis, K. J., Miles, N. L., Barkley, Z. R., Deng, A., Horne, J. P., Richardson, S. J. & Gourdji, S. M., Jun 2025, In: Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences. 130, 6, e2024JG008518.

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Seizing the policy opportunities for health- and equity-improving energy decisions

Peng, W., Anenberg, S., Bistline, J., Budolfson, M., Constantino, S. M., Crawford, K., Davis, K., DeCarlo, P., Fawcett, A., Hashimoto, H., Helgeson, C., Huang, X., Iyer, G., Keller, K., Kennard, H., Kennedy, K. M., Laumbach, R., Limaye, V. S., Mayfield, E. & McFarland, J. & 10 others, Meyer, M., Miller, P., Place, A., Roy, N., Schell, C., Scovronick, N., Smith, S. J., Srikrishnan, V., Vorhees, D. & Xie, Y., Feb 21 2025, In: One Earth. 8, 2, 101171.

Research output: Contribution to journal › Comment/debate › peer-review

Network of networks: Time series clustering of AmeriFlux sites

Reed, D. E., Chu, H., Peter, B. G., Chen, J., Abraha, M., Amiro, B., Anderson, R. G., Arain, M. A., Arruda, P., Barron-Gafford, G. A., Bernacchi, C., Beverly, D. P., Biraud, S. C., Black, T. A., Blanken, P. D., Bohrer, G., Bowler, R., Bowling, D. R., Bret-Harte, M. S. & Bretfeld, M. & 110 others, Brunsell, N. A., Bullock, S. H., Celis, G., Chen, X., Classen, A. T., Cook, D. R., Cueva, A., Dalmagro, H. J., Davis, K., Desai, A., Duff, A. J., Dunn, A. L., Durden, D., Edgar, C. W., Euskirchen, E., Bracho, R., Ewers, B., Flanagan, L. B., Florian, C., Foord, V., Forbrich, I., Forsythe, B. R., Frank, J., Garatuza-Payan, J., Goslee, S., Gough, C., Green, M., Griffis, T., Helbig, M., Hill, A. C., Hinkle, R., Horne, J., Humphreys, E., Ikawa, H., Iwahana, G., Jassal, R., Johnson, B., Johnson, M., Kannenberg, S. A., Kelsey, E., King, J., Knowles, J. F., Knox, S., Kobayashi, H., Kolb, T., Kolka, R., Krauss, K. W., Kutzbach, L., Lamb, B., Law, B., Lee, S. C., Lee, X., Liu, H., Loescher, H. W., Malone, S. L., Matamala, R., Mauritz, M., Metzger, S., Meyer, G., Mitra, B., Munger, J. W., Nesic, Z., Noormets, A., O'Halloran, T. L., O'Keeffe, P. T., Oberbauer, S. F., Oechel, W., Oikawa, P., Olivas, P. C., Ouimette, A., Pastorello, G., Perez-Quezada, J. F., Phillips, C., Posse, G., Qu, B., Quinton, W. L., Reba, M. L., Richardson, A. D., Picasso, V., Rocha, A. V., Rodriguez, J. C., Ruzol, R., Saleska, S., Scott, R. L., Schreiner-McGraw, A. P., Schuur, E. A. G., Silveira, M., Sonnentag, O., Spittlehouse, D. L., Staebler, R., Starr, G., Staudhammer, C., Still, C., Sturtevant, C., Sullivan, R. C., Suyker, A., Trejo, D., Ueyama, M., Vargas, R., Viner, B., Vivoni, E. R., Wang, D., Ward, E. J., Wiesner, S., Windham-Myers, L., Yannick, D., Yepez, E. A., Zenone, T., Zhao, J. & Zona, D., Sep 15 2025, In: Agricultural and Forest Meteorology. 372, 110686.

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

512 Walker Bldg
University Park, PA 16802

Elsevier Pure Profile

IEE Research Themes

Climate and Natural Systems

Water Sustainability