Sarah Barr
- Email: eeslb@leeds.ac.uk
- Thesis title: The sources and activity of ice-nucleating particles in the high-latitudes
- Supervisors: Professor Benjamin Murray, Dr Ryan Neely III, Dr Jim McQuaid
Profile
I am a NERC Industrial CASE PhD student in the Ice Nucleation Group at the Institute for Climate and Atmospheric Science and the National Centre for Atmospheric Science.
Prior to starting my PhD, I did an MSc in Atmospheric and Climate Science at ETH Zurich and the Swiss Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research. My master’s research was on the effects of forest canopies on meteorological conditions and snowpack dynamics, with the aim being to improve parameterizations of sub-canopy meteorological variables in snow cover models.
Research interests
My PhD research focuses on ice-nucleating particles (INPs) and ice formation in high-latitude mixed-phase clouds. My work combines observations, laboratory analysis and modelling to investigate sources of INPs, such as high-latitude dust, and atmospheric INP concentrations. I also use remote sensing techniques to compare INP concentrations with cloud microphysical properties and explore primary and secondary ice formation. More generally, I am interested in aerosol-cloud interactions, cloud microphysics and boundary layer meteorology, particularly in cold regions. Much of my work is based on in-situ observations and I have experience conducting ground-, ship- and aircraft-based fieldwork in the Arctic, the Swiss Alps and the UK.
Teaching
SOEE3291/SOEE5690: Atmospheric Science Field Skills
Qualifications
- MSc. Atmospheric and Climate Science, ETH Zurich
- BSc. Environmental Science, Lancaster University
Research groups and institutes
- Atmospheric Chemistry and Aerosols
- Institute for Climate and Atmospheric Science