Optical properties of atmospheric aerosol measured by laser tweezers

You will work in the Rutherford-Appleton laboratory using Laser Tweezers to capture and measure the optical properties of atmospheric aerosol sampled from the atmosphere. You will model your measured optical properties in atmospheric models to calculate the warming or cooling contribution to modern climate change.

Particulate matter in the atmosphere effects the radiative balance of the planet directly and indirectly. Directly, by scattering and absorbing solar radiation, and indirectly, by acting as cloud condensation nuclei. The scattering and absorption cross-sections of a homogeneously pure aerosol can be calculated by solving Mie theory and depends on the refractive index, density and size. Increasing the refractive index of an aerosol, will tend to increase the cooling effect (and vice-versa for decreasing the refractive index). The real component of atmospheric aged particles is considered to be in the range 1.35–1.56..

You will spend the majority of your time at Rutherford-Appleton Laboratory (Oxfordshire)and submit a thesis by concurrent publication (your collected published papers) You will collect and extract atmospheric aerosol from filter samples and measure the refractive index on the laser tweezers system. The student is expected to present their results at international conferences and attend international schools in atmospheric science and optics. The studentship represents an amazing oppotunity for a chemist or physicist to develop interdisciplinary skills on bleeding edge techniques at an internationally renowned facility.

Interested – please contact Martin King (01784 414048, [Email Address Removed]) for further discussions. Applications will be through the University of London Doctoral Training partnership (http://london-nerc-dtp.org) in due course