Supporting climate change mitigation policy through atmospheric monitoring

Wage: £14,600 - 16,000

Atmospheric abundances of the major gases that control the Earth’s radiative budget (carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide) have risen to levels not seen in Earth’s recent history, while the purely anthropogenic halogenated species also exert significant influence. Understanding atmospheric composition will improve our knowledge of the sources and sinks of these gases, and has been highlighted as a growing scientific and societal priority. Making progress in atmospheric composition monitoring requires novel techniques and detailed interpretation of new measurements made using atmospheric models. While the atmospheric mole fractions of greenhouse gases (GHGs) have been studied extensively, the strength and identity of individual emission sources and sinks remains uncertain.

The PhD will be split into two projects: 1) Brand new greenhouse gas measurement methods (e.g. isotopic measurements) and deployments will come on line at the National Physical Laboratory within the first year of the studentship – the student will be directly involved with using these new analyses and interpreting them for the first time using computer models of the global and regional atmospheres. 2) No data set is complete without a thorough analysis of associated uncertainties. You will use data sets from NPL’s observatory at Heathfield in East Sussex, to study how direct measurements of meteorological data and other observables (such as 222Rn) can be used to bring a new level of certainty to interpretations of emissions at regional scales.

The studentship will be based mainly at the National Physical Laboratory in collaboration with scientists at the School of GeoSciences at the University of Edinburgh.

Training

A comprehensive training programme will be provided comprising both specialist scientific training and generic transferable and professional skills. You will receive support in data analysis and programming, and use of atmospheric transport models. You will also have the opportunity to take a course at the Met Office for formal training in running their NAME (numerical atmospheric modelling environment) model. The Global Change Research Institute (GCRI) within the School of GeoSciences provides an environment for collaborative engagement in a wider Earth system modelling community. And the National Physical Laboratory has a purpose built facility for training postgraduate students (www.npl.co.uk/pgi/). Your experience at the interface of measurement and modelling science in a policy relevant discipline will provide you with a firm knowledge foundation in which to apply for postdoctoral training, or employment in industry or government. The awarding institution will be the University of Edinburgh (ranked 5th in the UK in 2016 QS university rankings).

Requirements

Motivation to work in a multidisciplinary environment, requiring communication within a large field of collaborative scientists. Experience in computer programming is not essential from the start, however, an enthusiasm and ability to learn ‘on the job’ is required.