Dr D Spracklen, Dr S Arnold, Prof A Gouldson
No more applications being accepted
Funded PhD Project (Students Worldwide)
About the Project
Project summary
Rapid economic growth combined with inadequate environmental legislation has led to serious air quality problems across Asia. Poor understanding of the sources and causes of this air pollution hinders policy efforts to improve air quality. Recent work has assessed the potential for low-carbon cities to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide, but little is known about the impacts of such policy choices on air quality. In this project, you will explore the co-benefits of low carbon cities to air quality in Asia, and will combine atmospheric models with observations of atmospheric composition to improve our understanding of the pollution sources across Asia. This project will help to identify realistic and effective measures to rapidly mitigate poor air quality in the region.
Background
Each year, around 3 million people die prematurely as a result of poor air quality; 70% of these deaths are in Asia (Apte et al., 2015). Efforts to improve Asian air quality are hindered by poor understanding of pollutant sources and processes that lead to unhealthy air. It is likely that Asia will need different approaches to improving air quality than those implemented in Europe and the US. However, the most effective air pollution mitigation options have not yet been identified for Asia.
The project will have a specific focus on the Hong Kong – Pearl River Delta region, one of the largest urban areas in the world, that has experienced rapid deterioration in air quality over the past few decades (Xujia et al., 2015). It has been estimated that poor air quality in the PRD region now causes 12 800 premature deaths each year (Huang et al., 2012).
The adoption of low emission development strategies in urban areas – co called, low carbon cities – can reduce carbon dioxide emissions and be economically beneficial (Gouldson et al., 2016). These strategies may also improve air quality – but such co-benefits are not well understood.
Objectives
The aim of this project is to identify realistic and effective measures to rapidly mitigate poor air quality across Asia. Specifically, the studentship will:
1. Improve understanding of the sources and processes affecting Asian air quality.
2. Make the first assessment of the co-benefits of low carbon cities to Asian air quality.
3. Translate and communicate new knowledge to policy makers, NGOs and the business sector.
You will use a high-resolution atmospheric model to help interpret in-situ and remote sensed observations of atmospheric composition across Asia. You will use the model to explore the impact of adoption of low emission development strategies on air quality.
Funding Notes
This award will provide full funding for a UK/EU candidate for 3.5 years to include tuition fees, tax-free stipend at RCUK level (£14,296 for 2015/16). The studentship is open to international (non-EU) candidates as a 3 year funded award, to include full tuition fees at the international rate, and a tax-free stipend of ~£10,000pa.
References
Apte, J. S., Marshall, J. D., Cohen, A. J., and Brauer, M.: Addressing Global Mortality from Ambient PM2.5, Environmental Science & Technology, 49, 8057-8066, 2015.
Gouldson, A., Colenbrander, S., Sudmant, A., Papargyropoulou, E., Kerr, N., McAnulla, F., and Hall, S.: Cities and climate change mitigation: Economic opportunities and governance challenges in Asia, Cities, 54, 11-19, 2016.
Huang, D., Xu, J., and Zhang, S.: Valuing the health risks of particulate air pollution in the Pearl River Delta, China, Environmental Science & Policy, 15, 38-47, 2012