Stephanie Batten

Stephanie Batten

Profile

During my undergraduate degree at the University of York I enjoyed exploring various areas of chemistry, but found the greatest curiosity in learning about our complex atmosphere and the methods used to understand it. I have recently completed my masters project whilst on placement at the FAAM Airborne Laboratory, where my research focused on anthropogenic sulphur emissions measured from the aircraft, and the calibration methods of the pulsed UV fluorescence spectrometer used to measure sulphur dioxide. Alongside my project I was also responsible for assisting the operation and development of the chemistry instrumentation both in the lab, and on fieldwork, such as during a recent project investigating shipping emissions in response to UN regulation changes. I look forward to building on my experience when using instrumentation to source and quantify natural GHG emissions during my PhD, and want to be part of the conversation in how we understand our atmospheric composition, and the implications of this.

Stephanie Batten

PhD title: Quantification and upscaling of greenhouse gas (GHG) fluxes from shallow waters, soils and trees in rural SE England.

The UK currently reports its GHG emissions to the UN based on ‘bottom-up’ methods, which estimates emissions from individual sources and totals them. As this method is not primarily measurement-based, this leads to inaccuracy if sources and sink emissions or uptake are incorrect, with uncertainty in natural emission sources contributing largely to this. The government has begun cross-checking their figures with ‘top-down’ emission estimates instead, which combine ambient measurements with atmospheric transport models. The project will contribute to quantifying and understanding GHG emissions from natural sources through this ‘top-down’ method, as well as evaluating specific methane sources through ratios of 13C/12C and 2H/1H. Through this, and elucidating environmental factors impacting fluxes, the project aims to inform environmental management decisions that reduce emissions of GHGs.

Conferences

  • RMetS Student & Early Career Scientists Conference 2022, Poster Abstract: ‘An investigation of shipping sulphur emissions following changes to UN regulations using the FAAM Airborne Laboratory research aircraft’