Rosie Lewis

Profile

My research investigates the concentrations, composition and spatiotemporal dynamics of volcanic air pollution on the Caribbean island of Montserrat, with the aim of understanding community exposure and supporting evidence‑based environmental health policy. I focus on sulphur dioxide (SO₂) and particulate matter (PM), combining multi‑year field campaigns, low‑cost sensor networks, reference‑grade instrumentation and geochemical sampling to evaluate air‑quality hazards in an active volcanic environment.

Since 2022, I have led three major field campaigns on Montserrat, working closely with the Montserrat Volcano Observatory, the Disaster Management Coordination Agency, and the Ministries of Health, Environment and Education. I designed and installed a 3-year, island‑wide air‑quality monitoring network, integrating 13 instruments, and developed calibration methods for lower‑cost sensors using co‑location experiments with reference‑grade monitors. I have also collected and analysed atmospheric samples for ICP‑MS compositional work to assess potential toxicity.

My research programme is strongly collaborative and impact‑led. Through multi‑stakeholder workshops, technical briefings and ongoing advisory work, I helped translate field data into actionable guidance that informed ongoing work towards establishing Montserrat’s first permanent air‑quality monitoring network. I continue to support its long‑term implementation through coordination with local partners, the UK Environment Agency and DEFRA.

Beyond Montserrat, I have contributed to additional international expeditions in Guatemala, the Aeolian Islands, Lanzarote and Italy, gaining experience across a diverse range of volcanic and cultural settings.

My broader research interests include volcanic degassing processes, environmental justice in hazard‑prone regions, atmospheric chemistry, and the use of low‑cost sensor networks for monitoring air quality in remote or resource‑limited settings.

As a keen science communicator, I have presented my work at international conferences — including Cities on Volcanoes and IAVCEI. I co‑designed an interactive exhibit at the Natural History Museum (London), have been interviewed on live radio and podcasts about my research. Alongside this, I have delivered outreach and curriculum‑development activities for schools in the UK and Caribbean.

I hold an Associate Fellowship of Advance HE, and have developed and delivered teaching across undergraduate, masters‑level and public‑engagement contexts, including international field courses and practical laboratory and data‑analysis sessions.

Research interests

Whilst large, explosive eruptions attract public interest in volcanism, chronic, invisible hazards such as long-term exposures to toxic volcanic gases often remain unnoticed, understudied and thus unaccounted for. The Montserrat government expressed concerns that its citizens and visitors are chronically exposed to volcanic air pollutants as the Soufrière Hills volcano continues to degas, despite not having erupted ash since 2010. The gas plume typically follows the trade winds westward into the abandoned capital of Plymouth, but residents report odours of sulphurous gases in the north of the island with changes in the wind direction. Measurements taken by the Montserrat Volcano Observatory (MVO) indicate that the volcano is emitting ~ 440 tonnes per day of sulphur dioxide (SO2) with recent spikes reaching up to 1000 tonnes per day. No particulate air quality assessment had been conducted on island for many years and ongoing SO2 diffusion tube monitoring efforts are not sensitive to real-time fluctuations.

Research Questions:

• How do SO2 and PM concentrations vary spatially and temporally on Montserrat?
• How does the geochemical composition of PM affect health risk?
• How can past and present air pollution data be used to inform current and future health risk?
• How can we optimise air quality sensors to measure volcanic (and other) particulates?

Qualifications

• BSc Geography, University of Manchester.
• MPhil Holocene Climates, University of Cambridge

Research groups and institutes

• Institute for Climate and Atmospheric Science
• Institute of Geophysics and Tectonics