Personal profile
Biography
I joined UEA in 1993, having previously worked for Environment Canada, the University of Colorado, the US National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and the University of Essex. I received my PhD from the Environmental Sciences Department of Lancaster University in 1984, where I also graduated with a BSc (Hons) in Environmental Sciences.
I am presently Director of the new “EnvEast” Doctoral Training Partnership, and I am Director of the Climate Science BSc and MSci degrees. I teach atmospheric and environmental chemistry.
I have been much involved in long-running European projects to reconstruct historic atmospheric chemical composition from polar firn and ice (FIRETRACC, CRYOSTAT, NEEM). I am most recently of all involved in several projects in S.E. Asia investigating anthropogenic and natural sources of ozone-depleting and greenhouse warming gases in this region.
I have been a Chapter Lead author and/or Review Editor for all of the United Nations World Meteorological Organisation’s “Scientific Assessment of Ozone Depletion” reports since 1998, including the current 2014 Assessment that is currently under preparation.
I am a founder member and Executive Editor of the Open-Access international journal Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics (ACP), which has the highest Citation Index of any journal in the field of atmospheric science.
PhD Positions
Click here for current PhD opportunities in the School of Environmental Sciences. But feel free to email me to discuss projects outside these areas and alternative sources of funding.
Key Research Interests
My principal interests are in the occurrence, origins and chemical transformations of trace gases in the atmosphere; notably those that are important to stratospheric ozone depletion, global warming, and are components of regional and long-range air pollution. I am involved in projects making atmospheric measurements across the globe from the Polar Regions to the tropics, and from the surface to the stratosphere. I am interested in historic trends in trace gases as deduced from air trapped in deep polar snow and ice cores. Other projects are investigating the origins of trace gases from the biosphere, including marine and terrestrial sources.
Publications: EPrints Digital Repository
Key Responsibilities
- Course Director, BSc/MSci Climate Science
Key Responsibilities
- Director of the NERC EnvEast Doctoral Training Partnership
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):
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SDG 12 Responsible Consumption and Production -
SDG 13 Climate Action -
SDG 14 Life Below Water
Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years
Projects
- 17 Finished
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Closing The Global Methane Budget - NERC Highlight Topics - October 2015
Manning, A. (Principal Investigator), Nisbet, E. (Principal Investigator), Allen, G. (Co-Investigator), Boesch, H. (Co-Investigator), Chipperfield, M. (Co-Investigator), Jones, A. (Co-Investigator), Lewis, A. (Co-Investigator), Palmer, P. (Co-Investigator), Pyle, J. (Co-Investigator), Reeves, C. (Co-Investigator), Rigby, M. (Co-Investigator), Sturges, B. (Co-Investigator), Suntharalingam, P. (Co-Investigator), Watson, A. (Co-Investigator), Chen, Z. (Researcher), Forster, G. (Researcher), Newland, M. (Researcher), Pickers, P. (Researcher), Etchells, A. (Technician), Hewitt, M. (Technician) & Wilson, P. (Technician)
Natural Environment Research Council
1/05/16 → 30/04/20
Project: Research
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EXploring Chemistry, Composition and Circulation in the stratosphere with Innovative TEchnologies.
Laube, J. (Principal Investigator), Kaiser, J. (Co-Investigator) & Sturges, B. (Co-Investigator)
1/04/16 → 31/03/22
Project: Research
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UK-Taiwan Collaboration on Transport and Deposition of Air Pollution over the South China Sea
Oram, D. (Principal Investigator), Baker, A. (Co-Investigator), Jickells, T. (Co-Investigator), Laube, J. (Co-Investigator) & Sturges, B. (Co-Investigator)
Natural Environment Research Council
22/01/16 → 21/01/18
Project: Research
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Atmospheric Observations and Interpretation of trace gases, for inventory verification: LOT 2 – Management of and Data Collection at Station(s) in the UK to the Department of Energy and Climate Change.
Sturges, B. (Principal Investigator), Manning, A. (Co-Investigator), Oram, D. (Co-Investigator), Van Der Laan, S. (Researcher) & Humphrey, S. (Technician)
Department of Energy and Climate Change
18/09/15 → 17/09/18
Project: Research
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Isotopic Signatures of Atmospheric Gases In Ice Cores.
Sturges, B. (Principal Investigator)
1/10/14 → 31/03/18
Project: Training
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Observationally-derived Fractional Release Factors, Ozone Depletion Potentials, and Stratospheric Lifetimes of Four Long-Lived CFCs: CFC-13 (CClF3), CFC-114 (C2Cl2F4), CFC-114a (CF3CCl2F), and CFC-115 (C2ClF5)
Tuffnell, E. C., Leedham-Elvidge, E., Sturges, W. T., Bönisch, H., Adcock, K. E., Fraser, P. J., Krummel, P. B., Oram, D. E., Langenfelds, R. L., Röckmann, T., Western, L. M., Mühle, J. & Laube, J. C., 8 Apr 2026, In: Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics. 26, 7, p. 4583-4599 17 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open Access -
Novel quantification of regional fossil fuel CO2 reductions during COVID-19 lockdowns using atmospheric oxygen measurements
Pickers, P. A., Manning, A. C., Quéré, C. L., Forster, G. L., Luijkx, I. T., Gerbig, C., Fleming, L. S. & Sturges, W. T., 22 Apr 2022, In: Science Advances. 8, 16, abl9250.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile26 Citations (Scopus)28 Downloads (Pure) -
Sea ice concentration impacts dissolved organic gases in the Canadian Arctic
Wohl, C., Jones, A. E., Sturges, W. T., Nightingale, P. D., Else, B., Butterworth, B. J. & Yang, M., 17 Feb 2022, In: Biogeosciences. 19, 4, p. 1021-1045 25 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile14 Citations (Scopus)22 Downloads (Pure) -
Halocarbon emissions by selected tropical seaweeds exposed to different temperatures
Keng, F. S. L., Phang, S.-M., Abd Rahman, N., Yeong , H.-Y., Malin, G., Elvidge, E. & Sturges, B., Oct 2021, In: Phytochemistry. 190, 112869.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile14 Citations (Scopus)21 Downloads (Pure) -
Stratospheric carbon isotope fractionation and tropospheric histories of CFC-11, CFC-12, and CFC-113 isotopologues
Thomas, M., Laube, J. C., Kaiser, J., Allin, S., Martinerie, P., Mulvaney, R., Ridley, A., Röckmann, T., Sturges, W. T. & Witrant, E., 5 May 2021, In: Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics. 21, 9, p. 6857-6873 17 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile18 Downloads (Pure)