PhD Project: Air Quality-Cloud-Climate Interactions
PI name & contact details:
School:
Professor Colin O’Dowd, MRIA, DSc, FInsP, FRMetS
Tel: +353-87-811-4988 email: colin.odowd@nuigalway.ie
Physics (Agreed with Head of School)
Director: Centre for Climate & Air Pollution Studies (C-CAPS) Research Centre:
Research centre website:
PI website & CV: www.macehead.org
www.nuigalway.ie/c-caps http://www.nuigalway.ie/physics/staff_pages/c_odowd/
Summary of PI Metrics: Director of Ireland’s leading Centre for climate & air pollution research (65 researchers) with a particular focus on atmospheric composition and biogeochemical cycling, both measurement based (at the WMO Mace Head Supersite) and large-scale climate modelling. PhDs ~20 over last 8 years; Funding ~18M€; Large-scale international project/Coordination ~28; Publications: 180 papers (5
Nature / Science ), h -index 44. Awards : 2012 IoP Appleton Award ; 2011 Member Royal Irish Academy ; 2009
FRMetS ; 2007 DSc Uni.
Manchester; 2006 FInsP ; 2004 Smoluchowski Award . PI has high-level collaborative links with Brazilian Environmental Physics Professor Paulo Artaxo, University of São Paulo.
Currently, we coauthor two highly-cited papers.
Project Title: Air Quality-Cloud-Climate Interactions
Project Description: Air pollution has a direct impact on climate by producing regional haze layers and clouds which scatter and reflect incoming solar radiation. Global diming observed worldwide since the middle of last century turning into global brightening exacerbating global warming. A combined analysis of the air quality trends with those of global radiation across EMEP and IMPROVE networks will highlight future climate changes due to aerosol effects.
Key Words: Air quality, global radiation, cloud, climate forcing.
Unique selling points of PhD project in NUI Galway: • NUI Galway/C-CAPS operates the world leading marine Global Atmosphere Watch station which monitors and researches Essential Climate Variables and runs the most sophisticated aerosol-cloud in-situ and remotely-sensed measurements operationally – no other station operates the same level of instrumentation worldwide !. • The PI & NUI Galway were the 1 st in the country to implement a structured Graduate Education Research Programme (in Environment & Climate) to enhance the learning and training experience and opportunities. • C-CAPS is heavily connected to the leading groups in Europe having led, and participated on large-scale international projects within which researcher exchange, summer student schools, and advanced study schools are a regular occurrence.
Excellent exposure, exchange and collaborative opportunities exist for the student (e.g. the PI produced ~20 internationally-collaborative papers in each of the last four years and has the highest research metrics within the NUIG STEM areas currently). • C-CAPS operate large-scale climate-air pollution studies with a focus on marine continental interactions. Although most countries have such activities, the unique opportunity offered by CCAPS is an integrated Earth System approach specifically integrating the most current and advanced atmospheric measurements and process in the models.
Name & contact details for project queries: as above
Please indicate the graduates of which disciplines that should apply:
Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics, Geosciences

Ciência sem Fronteiras / Science Without Borders Priority Area:
Engineering and other technological areas
Pure and Natural Sciences (e.g. mathematics, physics, chemistry)/Physical Sciences (Mathematics,
Physics, Chemistry, Biology and Geosciences)
Health and Biomedical Sciences / Clinical, Pré-clinical and Health Sciences
Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs), Computing
Aerospace
Pharmaceuticals
Sustainable Agricultural Production
Oil, Gas and Coal
Renewable Energy
Minerals, Minerals Technology
Biotechnology
Nanotechnology and New Materials
Technologies for Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Disasters
Bioprospecting and Biodiversity
Marine Sciences
Creative Industry
New technologies in constructive engineering
Please indicate which of the following applies to this project (referring to Science Without Borders arrangements):
Suitable only as a Full PhD (Y/N): _ ____
Available to candidates seeking a Sandwich PhD arrangement (Y/N): _____
Suitable for either/Don’t know: _____
X