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Centre for Atmospheric Science

Research Associate

I am a research associate in Professor John Pyle's group in the Centre for Atmospheric Science, and co-ordinator for the Cambridge Centre for Climate Science (CCfCS). For 18 months until November 2013 I was also a NERC policy placement fellow, advising Defra on air quality modelling


I use computer models (pTOMCAT, a global 3D chemical transport model; NAME, a Lagrangian particle dispersion model; and CiTTyCAT, a Lagrangian photochemical model) combined with field observations to study atmospheric composition, processing and transport.


Research Interests


  • The quantification of different processes acting on the composition of an air mass during its transport
  • Using measurements in combination with models to improve our understanding of atmospheric composition 
  • How to represent small-scale processes (e.g. chemistry) in a global model
  • How to represent mixing in a Lagrangian model
  • The quantification of the magnitude and variability of methane emissions in the Arctic
  • The role of nighttime chemistry in relation to daytime chemistry, and the roles of gas-phase and heterogeneous chemistry at night.

Projects I work on/have worked on:


  • MAMM: Methane and other greenhouse gases in the Arctic – Measurements, process studies and Modelling.
  • RONOCO: the Role Of Nighttime chemistry in controlling the Oxidising Capacity of the atmOsphere
  • AMMA: African Monsoon Multidisciplinary Analyses
  • ITCT-2k4: Intercontinental Transport and Chemical Transformation 2004.

I am also interested in science communication and am the knowledge exchange representative for the MAMM project. Follow our activities on the MAMM project blog: http://arcticmethane.wordpress.com. 


I enjoy getting involed in all kinds of science communication activities, from open days with hands on activities to shcools lectures to writing articles and blogs for a more general audience. Here is a selection of some of the activities I've worked on:


Arctic methane: What’s the story? (13 August 2013)


My flight logs: 1, 2, 3.


Tag – you’re it! Chasing atmospheric tracers (22 March 2013)


Stock market crash hits EGU General Assembly shocker! (2 May 2012)


Megacities at EGU2012 (26 April 2012)


  • Featured on the Kung Fu Science web site, including videos discussing and demonstrating the physics behind breaking boards. Also featured in a 4 minute piece with BBC 1 for The One Show, which was broadcast on 18 February 2009.  
  • Given schools lectures on air quality and climate change, and the physics of kung fu.

Find me on twitter @civiltalker, and sporadically on my personal blog and my Experiments of a culinary chemist blog.


CV


2012-2013: NERC policy placement fellow at Defra. 


2009-present: PDRA at University of Cambridge.


2005-2009: University of Reading, PhD in Meteorology. Supervised by Dr John Methven and Dr Eleanor Highwood.


2002-2005: Communications officer at the Institute of Physics. 


1998-2002: University College London, MSci in Astrophysics, first class honours


 

Publications

Rising atmospheric methane: 2007–2014 growth and isotopic shift
EG Nisbet, EJ Dlugokencky, MR Manning, D Lowry, RE Fisher, JL France, SE Michel, JB Miller, JWC White, B Vaughn, P Bousquet, JA Pyle, NJ Warwick, M Cain, R Brownlow, G Zazzeri, M Lanoisellé, AC Manning, E Gloor, DEJ Worthy, EG Brunke, C Labuschagne, EW Wolff, AL Ganesan
– Global Biogeochemical Cycles
(2016)
30,
1356
Extensive release of methane from Arctic seabed west of Svalbard during summer 2014 does not influence the atmosphere
CL Myhre, B Ferré, SM Platt, A Silyakova, O Hermansen, G Allen, I Pisso, N Schmidbauer, A Stohl, J Pitt, P Jansson, J Greinert, C Percival, AM Fjaeraa, SJ O'Shea, M Gallagher, M Le Breton, KN Bower, SJB Bauguitte, S Dalsøren, S Vadakkepuliyambatta, RE Fisher, EG Nisbet, D Lowry, G Myhre, JA Pyle, M Cain, J Mienert
– Geophysical Research Letters
(2016)
43,
4624
Measurements of δ13C in CH4 and using particle dispersion modeling to characterize sources of Arctic methane within an air mass
JL France, M Cain, RE Fisher, D Lowry, G Allen, SJ O'Shea, S Illingworth, J Pyle, N Warwick, BT Jones, MW Gallagher, K Bower, M Le Breton, C Percival, J Muller, A Welpott, S Bauguitte, C George, GD Hayman, AJ Manning, CL Myhre, M Lanoiselle, EG Nisbet
– JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-ATMOSPHERES
(2016)
121,
14257
Evaluation of the performance of different atmospheric chemical transport models and inter-comparison of nitrogen and sulphur deposition estimates for the UK
AJ Dore, DC Carslaw, C Braban, M Cain, C Chemel, C Conolly, RG Derwent, SJ Griffiths, J Hall, G Hayman, S Lawrence, SE Metcalfe, A Redington, D Simpson, MA Sutton, P Sutton, YS Tang, M Vieno, M Werner, JD Whyatt
– Atmospheric Environment
(2015)
119,
131
Night-time measurements of HOx during the RONOCO project and analysis of the sources of HO2
HM Walker, D Stone, T Ingham, S Vaughan, M Cain, RL Jones, OJ Kennedy, M McLeod, B Ouyang, J Pyle, S Bauguitte, B Bandy, G Forster, MJ Evans, JF Hamilton, JR Hopkins, JD Lee, AC Lewis, RT Lidster, S Punjabi, WT Morgan, DE Heard
– Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics
(2015)
15,
8179
Evaluation of the performance of different atmospheric chemical transport models and inter-comparison of nitrogen and sulphur deposition estimates for the UK
AJ Dore, DC Carslaw, C Braban, M Cain, C Chemel, C Conolly, RG Derwent, SJ Griffiths, J Hall, G Hayman, S Lawrence, SE Metcalfe, A Redington, D Simpson, MA Sutton, P Sutton, YS Tang, M Vieno, M Werner, JD Whyatt
– ATMOSPHERIC ENVIRONMENT
(2015)
119,
131
Methane and carbon dioxide fluxes and their regional scalability for the European Arctic wetlands during the MAMM project in summer 2012
SJ O'Shea, G Allen, MW Gallagher, K Bower, SM Illingworth, JBA Muller, BT Jones, CJ Percival, SJB Bauguitte, M Cain, N Warwick, A Quiquet, U Skiba, J Drewer, K Dinsmore, EG Nisbet, D Lowry, RE Fisher, JL France, M Aurela, A Lohila, G Hayman, C George, DB Clark, AJ Manning, AD Friend, J Pyle
– Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics
(2014)
14,
13159
Methane and carbon dioxide fluxes and their regional scalability for the European Arctic wetlands during the MAMM project in summer 2012
SJ O'Shea, G Allen, MW Gallagher, K Bower, SM Illingworth, JBA Muller, B Jones, CJ Percival, SJ-B Bauguitte, M Cain, N Warwick, A Quiquet, U Skiba, J Drewer, K Dinsmore, EG Nisbet, D Lowry, RE Fisher, JL France, M Aurela, A Lohila, G Hayman, C George, D Clark, AJ Manning, AD Friend, J Pyle
– Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics Discussions
(2014)
14,
8455
Quantification of chemical and physical processes influencing ozone during long-range transport using a trajectory ensemble
M Cain, J Methven, EJ Highwood
– Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics
(2012)
12,
7015
A Lagrangian model of air-mass photochemistry and mixing using a trajectory ensemble: the Cambridge Tropospheric Trajectory model of Chemistry And Transport (CiTTyCAT) version 4.2
TAM Pugh, M Cain, J Methven, O Wild, SR Arnold, E Real, KS Law, KM Emmerson, SM Owen, JA Pyle, CN Hewitt, AR MacKenzie
– Geoscientific Model Development
(2012)
5,
193
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Centre Highlights

• January 2024: The CCPG have successfully submitted a proposal for PACESETTERS!

• September 2nd 2023: Dr Annela Anger-Kraavi has co-authored a paper analysing just transition narratives in European coal regions. Read the paper here

• December 13th 2022: The CCPG have co-authored a paper on game-changing innovations towards net-zero, published in Energy Strategy Reviews. Read the open access paper here.

• November 15th 2022: The final conference of PARIS REINFORCE is taking place today in Sorbonne. Read more about the event here

• October 24th 2022: The CCPG have successfully submitted a proposal for the Cambridge-Tsinghua joint research initiative! 

• May 5th 2022: We've submitted to the UNFCCC's Global Stocktake (GST). More information is available on our news page. 

• March 23rd 2022: Multiple CAS academics have published a paper investigating the future role of anthropogenic methane emissions. Read the open access paper here.

• Feb 18th 2022: Dr Parris and Dr Anger-Kraavi have co-authored a paper that develops a tool to support co-designed transformative change. Read the open access paper here.

• Dec 16th 2021: Dr Parris has co-authored a paper that introduces a tool to support plastic pollution policy. Read the open access paper here.

• Nov 22nd 2021: Dr Anger-Kraavi has co-authored a paper with Paris Reinforce. Read the open access version here


Want to know more about our high-profile publications? Check out our Publication Highlights!


 

Research scientist