Prof Jerome Neufeld, Director
Professor of Earth and Planetary Fluid Dynamics, Institute for Energy and Environmental Flows, Dept of Earth Sciences,Dept of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics
Prof Sasha Turchyn, co-Director
Professor of Climate Change and Earth-Ocean-Atmosphere Systems, Dept of Earth Sciences
Prof John Taylor, co-Director
Professor of Oceanography, Dept of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics
Assistant Professor in Climate and Environmental Fluid Dynamics, Quentin Kriaa
Assistant Professor in Climate and Environmental Fluid Dynamics, Dept of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics.
Lecturers / Supervisors
Prof Alex Archibald
Alex’s research involves the development and application of state-of-the-art chemistry-climate models. With these models he is trying to answer a number of questions relevant to society: (i) What are the impacts of changes in man made emissions on the composition of the atmosphere (ii) how does the changing composition of the atmosphere affect climate (iii) how will a changing climate impact the composition of the atmosphere.
Prof Oscar Branson
Oscar is interested in working out how organisms take dissolved chemicals from seawater and turn them into a skeleton, and how these processes interact with global- and regional-scale biogeochemical processes to provide climate feedbacks. His research combines physiological and geochemical measurements with quantitative modelling techniques to understand the mechanisms of biomineralisation and their place within the natural environment. He is particularly interested in how biomineralising organisms will respond to global climate change and ocean-based carbon capture techniques.
Prof Colm-cille Caulfield
Colm-cille is Professor of Environmental and Industrial Fluid Dynamics and Head of the Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics (DAMTP). He is Co-Director of the Institute of Computing for Climate Science, supported by Schmidt Futures as part of both their Virtual Earth System Research Institute and their Virtual Institute for Scientific Software. He studies instability, turbulence and mixing in environmental and geophysical flow using a combination of theory, experiments and numerical simulations.
Prof Stuart Dalziel
Fluid mechanics of the environment in which we live and how our activities utilise fluid mechanics motivate much of Stuart’s research. His work is characterised by a blend of theoretical, numerical and experimental approaches, frequently with a mix of all three in any given project. Stuart has run DAMTP’s GK Batchelor Laboratory for over 25 years, and has not only led the development of the world-leading facilities, but has also been instrumental in developing the diagnostics and software used widely in the research community.
Prof Chiara Giorio
Chiara uses a multifaceted experimental approach, combining field measurements and laboratory experiments, to understand the evolution of particles in the atmosphere, and assess their effects on climate and on public health. She work on developing methods using advanced analytical tools, from high-resolution mass spectrometry to top notch microscopy and spectroscopy techniques, together with multivariate data analysis. She uses the fundamental information on particle reactivity and composition to reconstruct past compositional changes of the atmosphere from analysis of organic biomarkers in ice cores.
Prof Peter Haynes
Peter is Professor of Applied Mathematics. He develops theoretical and simple computational models to study fluid dynamics and its role in the atmosphere and ocean, including interactions with physical, chemical, and biological processes. His ongoing interests include dynamical coupling between stratosphere and troposphere, interactions between moisture and dynamics in the tropical atmosphere, the dynamics of atmospheric and oceanic jets, and transport and mixing processes in the tropopause region
Prof Duncan Hewitt
Duncan is an applied mathematician who is interested in using mathematics to model and better understand the world around us. His research lies in the broad fields of fluid dynamics and mathematical modelling, with applications to geophysical, industrial, and biological settings. His particular research interests include the mechanics of rheologically complex materials, flow through porous and deformable media, and the behaviour of granular suspensions.
Prof John Lister
John Lister has a wide range of interests both in fundamental fluid mechanics and in the application of fluid mechanics to understand processes in geophysics. Some indication of this range is provided by the following topics: Fluid driven crack propagation and dykes, Infinite-Prandtl number convection and mantle dynamics, Capillary pinch-off and film rupture, Similarity solutions and finite-time singularities, Viscous gravity currents and lava flows, Particle-laden flows, turbidity currents and sedimentation, The thermodynamics and fluid dynamics of the Earth’s core, Low Reynolds number flow, Flows with solidification or temperature-dependent viscosity.
Prof Ali Mashayek
Ali is an expert in climate dynamics, geophysical fluid dynamics, marine ecosystems, and data science. He leads the Modeling Ocean Dynamics & Ecosystems Lab, where his team studies the physical and biological processes in the ocean that lie at the heart of the ocean’s role in regulating the climate system on a wide range of timescales.
Dr Alison Ming
Alison’s research focuses on the large scale processes in the stratosphere. Some of her current interests include understanding the radiative and dynamical interactions taking place in the atmosphere, the chemical processes that affect stratospheric ozone and exploring the seasonal to decadal aspects of the circulation.
Prof Jerome Neufeld
Jerome uses mathematical models and laboratory experiments to understand the behaviour of Earth and other planetary bodies. His current research focuses on the consequeces of subglacial hydrology on supraglacial lake drainage and the tidal modulation of ice streams, the solidification of magma oceans and the early generation of magnetic fields on planetary bodies, the erosive dynamics of idealised river systems, the emplacement and solidification of magmatic flows, viscous tectonic mountain building, and the general fluid dynamics of geological carbon storage.
Prof Matthew Osman
Matthew research seeks to uncover the mechanisms of climate variability across seasonal to millennial time scales and across regional to global spatial scales. His work combines large and diverse climate “proxy” databases (in particular, ice cores and ocean sediments), state-of-the-art global climate simulations, physicochemical proxy models, and modern observations to understand past and present climate change in statistically sound, mechanistically grounded ways.
Prof John Taylor
John studies the fluid dynamics of the ocean. His current research focuses on ocean turbulence and mixing, ocean fronts and the surface boundary layer, microplastic dispersal and aggregation by ocean currents, ocean-driven melting of Antarctic ice shelves, the influence of ocean physics on biogeochemistry, and ocean-based solutions for carbon dioxide removal. The Ocean Dynamics group in the Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics use a combination of very high resolution computer simulations, real-world data, machine learning, and mathematical methods to study these topics.
Prof Ed Tipper
Ed studies climate change and earth-ocean-atmosphere systems with a focus on the links between the hydrosphere, atmosphere and lithosphere. Here, questions include: How do chemical reactions at the Earth’s surface mediate the chemistry of the atmosphere and seawater over geological time and how are these reactions influenced by rock composition and how do these reactions influence rock composition? To answer these geological questions, he uses geochemical methods, exploiting small variations in isotope ratios. He has been involved in developing Mg and Ca isotope tracers as geochemical tools to investigate the important role of chemical weathering to geochemical budgets.
Prof Sasha Turchyn
Sasha’s primary research interests involve understanding how the chemistry of the ocean has evolved over various timescales over Earth history. She is particularly interested in changes in biogeochemical cycles in response to perturbations to Earth’s climate and how different biogeochemical cycles are coupled. This leads to the study of the interface between geochemistry and microbiology and how these interplay in biogeochemical cycling. Geomicrobiology is a critical component of understanding and interpreting biogeochemical cycles in a paleoceanographic context. Her current research uses both analytical measurements of stable isotopes and quantitative modelling of biogeochemical cycles. She is particularly interested in understanding the impact of microbial processes in continental margin sediments and chemical alteration in hydrothermal systems on the chemistry of the ocean.
Prof Andy Woods
Andy’s research is focused on the mathematical and physical modelling of different flow processes, including experimental and theoretical models of geological carbon storage, geothermal heat recovery from superheated systems, turbulent buoyant plumes and gravity currents in the ocean and atmosphere, and models of explosive volcanism. He also works on air flows in buildings.
Prof Grae Worster
The broad areas of Grae Worster’s research encompass buoyancy-driven fluid flows, solidification and interactions between the two. He is particularly interested in the evolution of reactive porous media called mushy layers that commonly form during solidification of multi-component melts. Examples include the partially solidified regions formed during alloy production, solidification of magmas and the freezing of sea water to produce sea ice. Latterly, his research has been particularly focused on ice in our natural environment: sea ice, permafrost and glacial ice sheets.
Prof Marie Edmonds
Marie’s research focuses on understanding the impact of volcanoes on our environment and on the habitability of our planet. Volcanoes are sources of pollutants that can impact our environment, society and economy. Volcanoes also provide nutrients critical for life, green energy and sustainable resources. Edmonds’s research spans from deciphering the nature of the interior of the Earth, to magma transport and storage in the crust, to volcano monitoring, understanding ore deposits and the dynamic chemistry of volcanic gases in the atmosphere and climate.
Prof Adriano Gualandi
Adriano’s research focuses on the study of nonlinear dynamical systems in geophysics, extreme events and their related hazard. His main focus is on Solid Earth physics, with particular interest in seismology and geodesy, but he also works on the interactions between Solid and Fluid Earth as well as between volcanic and tectonic processes. He is interested in characterizing the predictability of extreme events, and in understanding and describing the causality link between different observables. He uses both physics-based and fully data-driven approaches, ranging from classical statistical techniques to more modern machine learning tools.
Prof Maximillian Van Wyk de Vries
Max is an Assistant Professor in Natural Hazards in the departments of Geography and Earth Sciences, and head of the Cambridge Complex and Multihazard research group (CoMHaz). His research focuses broadly on multihazard, in particular on landslides, volcanoes, cryospheric hazards, and the interactions between these. His work integrates remote sensing, numerical modelling, and fieldwork to understand the interactions between multiple hazards.
Prof Q. Kriaa
Quentin explores environmental and geophysical flows primarily through lab experiments, complemented by simplified theoretical and numerical approaches. A lot of his work focuses on multiphase turbulent flows, and how phase change or chemical reactions influence mixing and particle transport. Some of his recent interests include cloud dynamics, extreme precipitation events, microplastic dispersal, crystallizing magmatic flows and solidifying planetary cores.
Prof Luke Skinner
Luke’s research looks at climate change through the lens of the past: the aim is to provide a ‘long view’ on the environmental processes that regulate global- and regional climate on timescales that are relevant to human experience (i.e. decades to millennia). Luke’s research is primarily concerned with the web of interconnected processes that regulate our planet’s carbon cycle and energy budget, with a primary focus on the ocean as the main repository for carbon and heat at the Earth’s surface. Luke uses a combination of geochemical and numerical techiques, applied to a range palaeoclimate archives, from land and sea, to reconstruct past environmental change. A central strand of his work involves the use of radiocarbon as a carbon cycle tracer, providing insights into the evolution of ocean-atmosphere property exchange (e.g. carbon and heat).
Prof David Al-Attar
David works on mathematical and computational problems related to both the solid Earth and the climate system, with a particular interest in processes that couple the two. A major focus is on sea level change in response to the growth or melting of ice sheets and the associated deformation of the solid Earth. Methodologically, David is particularly interested in the solution of large-scale inverse problems. An example is the use of paleo sea level records to reconstruct ice sheets back into the last glacial while simultaneously constraining variations within the mantle’s viscosity. Within such inverse problems a major challenge is the quantification of uncertainty in a meaningful and computationally feasible manner, and this is a focus of his current research.
Prof Nick Tosca
Nick’s research focuses on the application of aqueous geochemistry and mineralogy to understand the processes that shape planetary surfaces and their environments through time. The molecular interactions between minerals and natural fluids drive many aspects of how our planet behaves as a system, now and in the distant past. The tools we use allow us to quantify and predict the response of Earth’s surface and subsurface to natural and anthropogenic disequilibria; they are applicable to a vast array of natural systems and important problems including global element cycles, the dynamics of planetary climates, and the habitability of modern and ancient environments.
Prof N.J.Butterfield
Research into cyclicity in a mid-Miocene palaeo-lake succession, reef development through time, impact of evolutionary innovations on biogeochemical cycling/climate, Cryogenian glaciations, faint young sun issues, etc.
Prof Rachael Rhodes
Rachael’s research uses geochemistry and associated numerical modelling to reconstruct changes in Earth’s past climate. Polar ice cores are her archive of choice because they preserve a direct record of past atmospheric composition within the air bubbles and chemical impurities. Rachael’s current research spans from the oldest continuous ice core to (hopefully!) be recovered from Antarctica, including a record of the enigmatic Mid-Pleistocene Transition in glacial-interglacial cycles, to some of the youngest ice and gas from Antarctica and Greenland, ideal for exploring the dynamics of the methane cycle.