James Weber

I have a MA and MSci in Natural Sciences from the University of Cambridge and I am currently studying for a PhD in Atmospheric Chemistry in the Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge. I have published a new chemical mechanism simulating aerosol precursors suitable for the UKCA global climate model in the journal Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics and a study examining the effect on climate of emission reductions from the COVID-19 pandemic in Geophysical Research Letters. I am interested in interactions between the biosphere and the climate, mediated via the chemical oxidation of biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOCs). BVOCs affect the atmosphere's oxidising capacity and thus methane lifetime (with consequences for the Earth's radiative budget) and contribute to aerosol formation and growth. Aerosols scatter radiation and aid cloud formation thus cooling the atmosphere. These interactions have the potential to cause feedback loops which could oppose or exacerbate climate change. As well as climate model analysis, I am also doing research on the fundamental chemistry behind the formation of the smallest particles, focusing on the interactions of peroxy radicals from various BVOCS, and incorporating this into the global climate models UKCA and UKESM. I have been involved in the 6th Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP6) looking at biogeochemcial feedbacks which will contribute to the evidence base used by the IPCC.

Impact

The world shut down for coronavirus. Why didn't it have an affect on climate change?