Yusuf Hamied Department of Chemistry

Professor of Atmospheric Science

Observational studies of atmospheric structure and photochemistry: from climate change to air pollution and human health

In our group we use a wide range of measurement and modelling techniques to study the chemical composition and physical structure of the earth’s atmosphere.

The atmosphere controls much of the complex environment in which we live. Ozone in the stratosphere protects us from harmful shortwave solar radiation, while changes in CO₂ and other greenhouse gases are influencing the world’s changing climate. In the troposphere, chemical processes act to remove many unwanted species, while at the same time contributing to poor air quality, impacting the health of many, and leading to millions of premature deaths, particularly in the developing world.

Low cost sensors for monitoring urban pollution

We develop low cost air quality sensors which allow us to probe urban pollution in unprecedented detail. You can find out more by watching our short video above.

NO and NO2 levels in Cambridge on one afternoon, illustrating how complex urban air pollution can be.

As part of our research we are demonstrating how these low cost air quality sensor networks can be used to address important scientific and political questions. Studies include low cost sensor network deployments at Heathrow airport, in Beijing and in Delhi.

Results from a recent sensor network deployment at Heathrow Airport, used to both quantify airport emissions and provide a prediction of the likely impact of an airport expansion.

Air quality and human health

We use portable air quality sensors to test the linkages between exposure to pollution and health impacts. These units allow us to develop activity models which we can use to predict air pollution dose far more accurately than before. They are now used for studies of Chronic Obsructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) in London, and wider health impacts (Beijing and elsewhere).

A portable air quality sensor used by the group, which includes GPS and accelerometers, with illustration of measurements.

Other projects

Other projects within the group range from using cavity ringdown spectroscopy and its variants for making ultrasensitive (sub-ppt level) airborne and ground based measurements of radical species (using the FAAM aircraft), balloon borne measurements of GHGs, volcanic emissions and many more.

Selected Presentations

AAMG Presentation 2016

Further information

If you are interested in joining us as a graduate student or postdoctoral researcher, please contact me at rlj1001@cam.ac.uk.

Publications

Probabilistic description of ice-supersaturated layers in low resolution profiles of relative humidity

NC Dickson, KM Gierens, HL Rogers, RL Jones

– Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics

(2010)

10,

6749

(doi: 10.5194/acp-10-6749-2010)

Temperature Dependent Absorption Cross‐sections and Atmospheric Photolysis Rates of Nitric Acid

O RATTIGAN, ER LUTMAN, RL JONES, RA COX

– Berichte der Bunsengesellschaft für physikalische Chemie

(2010)

96,

399

(doi: 10.1002/bbpc.19920960331)

Iodine-mediated coastal particle formation: An overview of the Reactive Halogens in the Marine boundary layer (RHaMBLe) Roscoff coastal study

G McFiggans, CSE Bale, SM Ball, JM Beames, WJ Bloss, LJ Carpenter, J Dorsey, R Dunk, MJ Flynn, KL Furneaux, MW Gallagher, DE Heard, AM Hollingsworth, K Hornsby, T Ingham, CE Jones, RL Jones, LJ Kramer, JM Langridge, C Leblanc, JP LeCrane, JD Lee, RJ Leigh, I Longley, AS Mahajan, PS Monks, H Oetjen, AJ Orr-Ewing, JMC Plane, P Potin, AJL Shillings, F Thomas, R von Glasow, R Wada, LK Whalley, JD Whitehead

– Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics

(2010)

10,

2975

(doi: 10.5194/acp-10-2975-2010)

Broadband Cavity Ring-Down Spectroscopy

S Ball, R Jones

(2010)

(doi: 10.1002/9781444308259.ch3)

Reactive Halogens in the Marine Boundary Layer (RHaMBLe): The tropical North Atlantic experiments

JD Lee, G McFiggans, JD Allan, AR Baker, SM Ball, AK Benton, LJ Carpenter, R Commane, BD Finley, M Evans, E Fuentes, K Furneaux, A Goddard, N Good, JF Hamilton, DE Heard, H Herrmann, A Hollingsworth, JR Hopkins, T Ingham, M Irwin, CE Jones, RL Jones, WC Keene, MJ Lawler, S Lehmann, AC Lewis, MS Long, A Mahajan, J Methven, SJ Moller, K Muller, T Muller, N Niedermeier, S O'Doherty, H Oetjen, JMC Plane, AAP Pszenny, KA Read, A Saiz-Lopez, ES Saltzman, R Sander, R von Glasow, L Whalley, A Wiedensohler, D Young

– Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics

(2010)

10,

1031

(doi: 10.5194/acp-10-1031-2010)

Intercomparison of measurements of NO2 concentrations in the atmosphere simulation chamber SAPHIR during the NO3Comp campaign

H Fuchs, SM Ball, B Bohn, T Brauers, RC Cohen, HP Dorn, WP Dube, JL Fry, R Haseler, U Heitmann, RL Jones, J Kleffmann, TF Mentel, P Musgen, F Rohrer, AW Rollins, AA Ruth, A Kiendler-Scharr, E Schlosser, AJL Shillings, R Tillmann, RM Varma, DS Venables, GV Tapia, A Wahner, R Wegener, PJ Wooldridge, SS Brown

– Atmospheric Measurement Techniques

(2010)

(doi: 10.5194/amt-3-21-2010)

Intercomparison of measurements of NO2 concentrations in the atmosphere simulation chamber SAPHIR during the NO3Comp campaign

H Fuchs, SM Ball, B Bohn, T Brauers, RC Cohen, HP Dorn, WP Dubé, JL Fry, R Häseler, U Heitmann, RL Jones, J Kleffmann, TF Mentel, P Müsgen, F Rohrer, AW Rollins, AA Ruth, A Kiendler-Scharr, E Schlosser, AJL Shillings, R Tillmann, RM Varma, DS Venables, G Villena Tapia, A Wahner, R Wegener, PJ Wooldridge, SS Brown

– Atmospheric Measurement Techniques

(2010)

(doi: 10.5194/amt-3-21-2010)

A upper limit for water dimer absorption in the 750 nm spectral region and a revised water line list

AJL Shillings, SM Ball, MJ Barber, J Tennyson, RL Jones

– Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics Discussions

(2010)

10,

23345

Solar driven nitrous acid formation on building material surfaces containing titanium dioxide: A concern for air quality in urban areas?

JM Langridge, RJ Gustafsson, PT Griffiths, RA Cox, RM Lambert, RL Jones

– Atmospheric Environment