Dr Neil Humpage

I am a postdoctoral research associate with the National Centre for Earth Observation, based at the University of Leicester. My primary research interests are in ground-based remote sensing of atmospheric composition, particularly greenhouse gases, using spectroscopic techniques.

The majority of my research involves working with Bruker EM27/SUN spectrometers. These are portable Fourier transform spectrometers that operate at shortwave infrared wavelengths, which measure direct sunlight by way of a solar tracker. We use the absorption of sunlight at specific wavelengths by molecules of carbon dioxide, methane, and carbon monoxide, as the sunlight passes through the atmosphere, to work out the amount of these gases that the sunlight has passed through, and therefore their concentration in the atmosphere. By deploying these instruments in locations of interest over extended periods of time, we can infer information about the emissions of these gases from the surrounding region. These measurements are also very useful for assessing the quality of satellite and model datasets which provide a global picture of greenhouse gas concentrations.

In addition to working with the EM27/SUNs, I also have a wider interest in both ground-based and airborne instrumentation for measuring atmospheric composition, and how we can use data from these instruments to better understand the processes influencing trends and patterns in the concentrations of different gases.

Some of my main research projects:

• GEMINI-UK (Greenhouse gas Emissions Monitoring network to Inform Net-zero Initiatives for the UK) is a national network of EM27/SUN spectrometers operated in automated weatherproof enclosures, that I am setting up in locations around the country. The aim is to provide continuous long-term observations of the total column concentrations of carbon dioxide and methane, which along with other data sources will feed in to atmospheric inversion models to help estimate the UK's carbon emissions on a regular basis. This is part of a wider NERC-funded initiative called GEMMA (Greenhouse gas Emissions Measurement and Modelling Advancement, https://www.npl.co.uk/greenhouse-gas-emissions-measurement-modelling), led by the National Physical Laboratory.
• DARE-UK (Detection and Attribution of Regional greenhouse gas Emissions in the UK) is another NERC-funded project, for which I have been processing and working with EM27/SUN observations of greenhouse gas column concentrations from three locations across London to help constrain and quantify the city's carbon emissions.
• I am also running EM27/SUN measurements in Jinja, Uganda, in collaboration with the National Fisheries Resources Research Institute (NaFIRRI). This was initially through another NERC project called MOYA (Methane Observations Yearly Assessments) to help improve our understanding of the carbon cycle in tropical Africa, but more recently this work has been supported by the European Space Agency (ESA) through the SVANTE-QA4S5P project. Data from this location has been contributed towards the COCCON (COllaborative Carbon Column Observing Network, https://www.imk-asf.kit.edu/english/COCCON.php) initiative, also supported by ESA, which aims to provide consistent data processing and handling amongst EM27/SUN users worldwide.

Humpage et al. Greenhouse gas column observations from a portable spectrometer in Uganda, Atmos. Meas. Tech. Discuss. [preprint], https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-2023-234, in review, 2023.

Parker et al. Evaluation of wetland CH4 in the Joint UK Land Environment Simulator (JULES) land surface model using satellite observations, Biogeosciences, 19, 5779–5805, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-5779-2022, 2022.

Alberti et al. Improved calibration procedures for the EM27/SUN spectrometers of the COllaborative Carbon Column Observing Network (COCCON), Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 2433–2463, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-2433-2022, 2022.

Humpage et al. GreenHouse gas Observations of the Stratosphere and Troposphere (GHOST): an airborne shortwave-infrared spectrometer for remote sensing of greenhouse gases, Atmos. Meas. Tech., 11, 5199-5222, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-5199-2018, 2018.

Palmer et al. A measurement-based verification framework for UK greenhouse gas emissions: an overview of the Greenhouse gAs Uk and Global Emissions (GAUGE) project, Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, 18 (16). 11753-11777. https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-11753-2018, 2018.

Sonderfeld et al. CH4 emission estimates from an active landfill site inferred from a combined approach of CFD modelling and in situ FTIR measurements,  Atmos. Meas. Tech., 10, 3931-3946, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-10-3931-2017, 2017.

Harris et al. Coordinated Airborne Studies in the Tropics (CAST). Bull. Amer. Meteor. Soc., 98, 145-162, https://doi.org/10.1175/BAMS-D-14-00290.1, 2017.

Fox et al. Analysis of far-infrared spectral radiance observations of the water vapor continuum in the Arctic, Journal of Quantitative Spectroscopy and Radiative Transfer, 155, 57-65, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jqsrt.2015.01.001, 2015.

Battaglia et al. G-band atmospheric radars: new frontiers in cloud physics, Atmos. Meas. Tech., 7, 321-375, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-7-1527-2014, 2014.

Harrison et al. Mid-infrared absorption cross sections for acetone (propanone), Journal of Quantitative Spectroscopy and Radiative Transfer, 112, 457-464, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jqsrt.2010.09.002, 2011.

I would be willing to provide co-supervision on:
- Remote sensing and in-situ measurements of atmospheric composition;
- Using observations (ground-base, airborne and satellite) to investigate greenhouse gas emissions.

I am happy to provide undergraduate (Physics, Natural Sciences) and masters (Satellite Data Science) project co-supervision, in addition to summer research projects, on:
- Remote sensing and in-situ measurements of atmospheric composition;
- Using observations (ground-based, airborne, and satellite) to investigate greenhouse gas emissions.

I'm willing to be contacted by journalists about:
- New technologies for monitoring greenhouse gas emissions;
- Ongoing measurements around the UK to quantify our carbon emissions footprint;
- The global carbon cycle, and how observations from space and from the ground can help us to better understand it.