Biography

Dr Emily Dowd is currently a Research Fellow in Greenhouse Gas Modelling at the University of Leeds. She graduated from her PhD at the University of Leeds in 2024 and her thesis focused on analysing methane across difference spatial and temporal scales. Emily’s research focuses on using satellite data and chemical transport models to investigate changes in atmospheric methane. She is currently working on a project which models clumped isotopes of methane in a global 3D chemical transport model. Alongside her research, Emily co-founded an outreach programme called SatSchool. SatSchool aims to introduce key Earth Observation concepts to 11-15 year olds by providing ready-made outreach materials which researchers can take into schools. This project has reached over 7000 students across the UK and continues to provide outreach in schools. 

Emily was a visiting researcher at the Science Hub in 2023, during her PhD studies in the School of Earth and Environment at the University of Leeds and I am part of the SENSE centre for doctoral training.

Research

Her research during her visit at the Science Hub focused on using satellite data, such as TROPOMI and GHGSat, and modelling to investigate changes in atmospheric methane. She worked on developing a nested grid model for the chemical transport model TOMCAT to facilitate high resolution comparisons with TROPOMI methane observations.