David Lowry

Dr

  • TW20 0EX

Personal profile

Personal profile

Reader in Stable Isotopes and Greenhouse Gases since 2018. Current and recent teaching includes the geological Evolution and deep Time Synthesis, Geological Mapping and Presentation Skills at UG level, Air Pollution, Greenhouse Gases, Climate Change and Waste Management at PGT level. Supervisor of 12 past and current PhD students working on atmospheric methane. Budget Management Leader for Earth Sciences. Participating author of 122 peer-reviewed publications and a further 15-20 reports and conference papers. Currently my Scopus h-index is 43.

Job Opportunity - Postdoctoral Research Associate - Join the MOMENTUM project characterising and quantifying UK CH4 emissions.

Application deadline 11-MAR-2024.

https://jobs.royalholloway.ac.uk/vacancy.aspx?ref=1123-489

 

Research interests

Key Research Topics: 1) Stable isotopes in the understanding of a) greenhouse gases b) past climate change c) mantle-derived mineralization; 2) Greenhouse gas sources, sampling, instrumentation and measurement. Mobile measurement and characterisation of methane emission sources.

The NERC-funded MOMEMTUM project started in September 2023, focussing on characterisation and quantification of UK methane sources using vehicle and drone measurements, providing targets for reduction on the road to Net Zero.

Since setting up the atmospheric laboratory and isotopic extraction lines at RHUL in 1994 I have become heavily involved in the use of carbon isotopes as tracers of environmental change. This has mostly involved the study of methane from understanding the seasonal to long term changes in global background, to investigating and understanding local sources, and more recently studying the potential of isotopic tracers as a validation tool for greenhouse gas reductions and inventory verification. One focus has been on the automation and reduction of sample sizes required for high-precision stable isotope analysis of greenhouse gases, including its application to diurnal cycles of greenhouse gases in urban areas.

Recent research project involvement included NERC funding for the MOYA and ZWAMPS projects, studying tropical wetland and burning methane sources, with the Equipt4Risk and DARE-UK projects foxussing on UK methane emissions and distribution, utilizing the NERC-funded MIGGAS mobile measurement facility. The POLYGRAM, MethaneD/H and IsoMET projects focus on deuterium and isotopologues of methane. Between 2017 and 2021 I was isotope WP2 leader on the Marie Curie Integrated Training Network (ITN) Methane goes mobile: measurement and Modelling (MEMO2),, a member of the BEIS-funded fracking baseline consortium, co-ordinator of the UN CCAC southern North Sea fugitive emission project and partner on other UN oil and gas fugitive emissions projects.  Main interests in these projects iare the use of laser spectroscopy for the measurement of carbon gases in the atmosphere, particularly mobile identification and quantification of methane emission plumes, and plume sampling for further lanalysis in our greenhouse gas laboratory, particularly carbon and hydrogen isotopes of methane.

Geological-focussed NERC projects in the 1992-1998 period included the application of stable isotopes to mantle or mantle-derived mineralization, mostly oxygen isotope work on diamond inclusions, mantle nodules, and chromites in ophiolites and layered intrusions, mostly in southern Africa, Greenland and Scotland (Rum, Shetland). Data are used to understand sources of oxygen, the heterogeneities of the mantle and temperatures of formation. More recent geological research has focussed on the use of the stable isotopes of S (pyrite) and C (carbonates, black shales) to better understand the Dalradian Supergroup of Scotland and Ireland, particularly the extreme Neoproterozoic climate fluctuations from greenhouse to icehouse between 720 and 580 Ma.

Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals

In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):

  • SDG 3 - Good Health and Well-being
  • SDG 7 - Affordable and Clean Energy
  • SDG 8 - Decent Work and Economic Growth
  • SDG 11 - Sustainable Cities and Communities
  • SDG 12 - Responsible Consumption and Production
  • SDG 13 - Climate Action
  • SDG 14 - Life Below Water
  • SDG 15 - Life on Land

Keywords

  • Geochemistry
  • stable isotopes
  • atmospheric chemistry
  • methane
  • instrumentation

Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years

Recent external collaboration on country/territory level. Dive into details by clicking on the dots or