Lead of the Schmidt Team, Dr Anja Schmidt is an interdisciplinary lecturer in climate modelling - jointly affiliated with the Departments of Chemistry and Geography.
Environmental and climatic effects of volcanic gases and aerosols
I combine expertise in atmospheric science, climate modelling and volcanology to advance the current understanding of volcanic impacts and hazards.
In particular, I investigate the impact of volcanism on atmospheric chemistry, climate, air quality, human health, ecosystems and aviation using a wide range of atmospheric models and volcanological datasets. I am particularly interested in continuously degassing volcanoes and effusive Icelandic volcanic eruptions and their effects on air quality and climate.
I am convinced that these eruptions serve as a perfect natural lab and can help better understand and quantify aerosol-cloud interactions.
Recent research
I have extensively studied the most recent Icelandic eruption at Holuhraun (Bárðarbunga volcano). Starting in August 2014, Holuhraun erupted effusively for 6 months and emitted up to nine times as much sulphur dioxide per day as all European industry combined, which led to a measurable episodic degradation of air quality across Northern Europe in September 2014.
Combining satellite observations with numerical modelling, we were also able to demonstrate that the eruption had a discernible effect on the brightness of low-level clouds over the North Atlantic.
