Profile

My work is a combination of chemistry, physics, maths and geology that normally has me working in Geography departments. This blend of knowledge in the sciences is crucial to studying the role of dust storms on the climate, people and the environment. I go to deserts around the world to measure dust storms directly with modified weather stations, wind tunnels and special cameras, and then create models to predict how these processes will affect other landscape processes. Dust storms block the radiation from reaching the surface by absorbing some of of  it and reflecting the rest, can cause health issues for any animals or humans that breathe the dust, and slowly pulls away any fertile nutrients on the ground that farmers require to keep their crops growing. By monitoring the climate, soils, and geology of an area I can see what impact dust storms are having on a certain area in the past, currently and in the future. I work with the UK Met Office to add these processes into their global climate models so that they can improve the forecast of the climate in the next 20 – 100 years.

Field work takes up a lot of my time and better represents a typical day for my work as a scientist (especially when filling this form in on a rainy day in the office). As I study dust storms all of my field site are located in deserts and a usually very remote. A day will start by packing up camp and driving a 4×4 a couple hours to our next site where we will have a modified weather station. I will download the data collected on the autonomous weather station data logger, check to make sure all the instruments are still working properly, change the filters on the dust sampling equipment and get all the instruments working again if any are broken. Additionally, soil samples are taken from the surrounding areas to be brought back to Oxford and analysed in the lab for their nutrient and other chemical properties. Lastly, I will use a portable wind tunnel to test the surrounding area to see at what wind speed the soil will start emitting dust. The wind tunnel also has a dust collector so that the samples can be returned to the lab for further analysis. Once satisfied with all the data and samples collected, we set up camp again somewhere protected from the wind and sun.  Someone starts a fire to cook dinner and make a well deserved cup of tea!