Project Description

Primary Supervisor - Professor Jan Kaiser

Scientific background:

Carbon dioxide (CO2) is the most important anthropogenic greenhouse gas. The 2015 Paris Agreement aims to avoid dangerous climate change by reducing emissions of CO2 and other greenhouse gases. Independent top-down constraints on emissions require accurate measurements of CO2 concentrations and fluxes, and robust attribution to natural and anthropogenic sources. Recent technological developments now allow analysis of extremely rare isotopic CO2 species, known as polyisotopologues, offering unprecedented insights into carbon sources, sinks and ecosystem productivity across the Earth system.

This studentship builds on the UKRI NERC POLYGRAM (https://polygram.ac.uk/) project and exploits unique datasets and measurement capabilities developed through this programme.

Main aim and hypothesis:

The project aims to determine whether atmospheric CO2 polyisotopologues can provide new quantitative constraints on ecosystem productivity and carbon cycling from local to global scales. It will test the central hypothesis that combined carbon and triple-oxygen isotope signatures contain information about these processes that cannot be obtained from conventional atmospheric CO2 observations alone.

Research methodology:

You will work with existing and newly collected data from the Weybourne Atmospheric Observatory (WAO), Alice Holt Forest Research Station, Atlantic ship transects and global atmospheric monitoring networks. Specifically, you will:

• analyse seasonal and interannual variability in triple-oxygen (16O, 17O, 18O) and stable-carbon (12C, 13C) isotope signatures of atmospheric CO2 at Weybourne

• quantify ecosystem-scale isotope variations at Alice Holt to investigate terrestrial carbon cycle processes

• evaluate isotope gradients from Atlantic transects and remote monitoring sites as indicators of global primary productivity.

Together, these analyses will test whether CO2 polyisotopologues provide robust indicators of carbon uptake and productivity across scales, while allowing you to develop additional hypotheses arising from the observations.

Training:

You will join a collaborative research team at UEA (COAS; https://www.uea.ac.uk/groups-and-centres/centre-for-ocean-and-atmospheric-sciences) and Utrecht University (IMAU; https://www.uu.nl/staff/TRockmann). You will develop proficiency in state-of-the-art laser-spectroscopic measurements of CO2 and H2O isotopologues, advanced statistical analysis and modelling of environmental time series, and scientific communication through conferences and peer-reviewed publications. Opportunities will include specialist training, field measurements and a research visit to Utrecht.

Person specification:

We seek an enthusiastic, self-motivated individual and team player with strong scientific interests and an interest in combining experimental measurements with quantitative data analysis.

Entry Requirements

At least UK equivalence Bachelors (Honours) 2:1. English Language requirement (Faculty of Science equivalent: IELTS 6.5 overall, 6 in each category).

Funding

ARIES studentships are subject to UKRI terms and conditions(opens in a new window). Successful candidates who meet UKRI’s eligibility criteria will be awarded a fully-funded studentship, which covers fees, maintenance stipend (£21,805 p.a. for 2026/27) and a research training and support grant (RTSG). A limited number of studentships are available for international applicants, with the difference between 'home' and 'international' fees being waived by the registering university. Please note, however, that ARIES funding does not cover additional costs associated with relocation to, and living in, the UK, such as visa costs or the health surcharge.

ARIES is committed to equality, diversity, widening participation and inclusion(opens in a new window) in all areas of its operation. We encourage applications from all sections of the community regardless of gender, ethnicity, disability, age, sexual orientation and transgender status. Projects have been developed with consideration of a safe, inclusive and appropriate research and fieldwork environment. Academic qualifications are considered alongside non-academic experience, with equal weighting given to experience and potential.

After submitting their application for the relevant ARIES project(s), applicants are expected to complete the ARIES Equality and Diversity Form Applicants - 2027 Entry – Fill in form(opens in a new window).One form is required per application, so applicants applying to more than one project must complete a separate form for each.

Please visit www.aries-dtp.ac.uk(opens in a new window) for further information.

References

Koren, G., Schneider, L., van der Velde, I. R., van Schaik, E., Gromov, S. S., Adnew, G. A., Mrozek Martino, D. J., Hofmann, M. E. G., Liang, M.-C., Mahata, S., Bergamaschi, P., van der Laan-Luijkx, I. T., Krol, M. C., Röckmann, T. and Peters, W. (2019) Global 3-D simulations of the triple oxygen isotope signature Δ17Ο in atmospheric CO2. Journal of Geophysical Research 124: 8808-8836 10.1029/2019JD030387

Steur, P. M., Scheeren, H. A., Nelson, D. D., McManus, J. B. and Meijer, H. A. J. (2021) Simultaneous measurement of δ13C, δ18O and δ17O of atmospheric CO2 – Performance assessment of a dual-laser absorption spectrometer. Atmospheric Measurement Techniques 14: 4279-4304 10.5194/amt-14-4279-2021

Hare, V. J., Dyroff, C., Nelson, D. D. and Yarian, D. A. (2022) High-precision triple oxygen isotope analysis of carbon dioxide by tunable infrared laser absorption spectroscopy. Analytical Chemistry 94: 16023-16032 10.1021/acs.analchem.2c03005

Adcock, K. E., Pickers, P. A., Manning, A. C., Forster, G. L., Fleming, L. S., Barningham, T., Wilson, P. A., Kozlova, E. A., Hewitt, M., Etchells, A. J. and Macdonald, A. J. (2023) 12 years of continuous atmospheric O2, CO2 and APO data from Weybourne Atmospheric Observatory in the United Kingdom. Earth Syst. Sci. Data Discuss. 2023: 1-47 10.5194/essd-2023-129

Thomas, M., Laube, J. C., Kaiser, J., Allin, S., Martinerie, P., Mulvaney, R., Ridley, A., Röckmann, T., Sturges, W. T. and Witrant, E. (2021) Stratospheric carbon isotope fractionation and tropospheric histories of CFC-11, CFC-12, and CFC-113 isotopologues. Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics 21: 6857-6873 10.5194/acp-21-6857-2021

Across land, oceans and the atmosphere: Decoding Earth's carbon cycle with CO2 polyisotopologues (KAISER_UEA_ARIES27)

Welcome to Norwich

Project Description

Entry Requirements

Funding

References