New PhD studentships in air pollution and transport emissions
Uncertainty in air pollution emissions from transport has been one of the most significant factors impacting air quality in the UK over the past decade. The well-publicised issues associated with urban nitrogen dioxide gas have highlighted the knowledge gaps that exist regarding current and future emissions from the transport sector in real-world conditions.
The Department for Transport (DfT) is supporting NERC in increasing the supply of highly trained individuals with PhD-level research and analysis skills associated with evaluating and predicting transport emissions. At this time three new NERC PhD awards are available, to start October 2018. Each award includes standard NERC stipend, fees and £11,000 Research Training Support Grant.
NCAS experts to participate in IPCC Sixth Assessment Report
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has invited five climate experts from NCAS and NCAS-funded research projects, based at the universities of Reading and East Anglia, to participate in Working Group I (physical science basis) of the Sixth Assessment Report.
Richard Allan, Nicolas Bellouin, Ed Hawkins, Tim Osborn, and Andrew Turner will help to produce the next world-leading climate change report, by reviewing existing scientific evidence on how the climate is changing and how it could change in future.
FAAM research aircraft identifies source of uncontrolled Elgin platform gas release
In 2012 the Facility for Airborne Atmospheric Measurements (FAAM) was part of a large-scale response to assess and control a gas leak from the Elgin Platform in the UK North Sea, and results from those research flights have now been published.
Scientists investigate impacts of 1.5°C and 2°C global warming scenarios on the Asian-Australian Monsoon Region
Climate researchers from the National Centre for Atmospheric Science and the University of Reading have investigated the projected impacts of global warming on the Asian-Australian Monsoon region. The research shows that an additional 0.5°C increase in global warming is likely to increase the severity of climate impacts, including daily temperature extremes and rainfall intensity and frequency.
The study compared two scenarios, one where the world warmed 2°C beyond the pre-industrial average, and one where the world warmed by 1.5°C. This enabled researchers to quantify the impact that an additional warming of 0.5°C would have on (1) the mean temperature and rainfall patterns and (2) the frequency, intensity and persistence of temperature and rainfall extremes. The paper has been published in Earth’s Future.