My research focuses on biogeochemical cycles of climatically important species in the atmosphere and ocean. I investigate the processes governing their distributions and budgets using numerical model simulations (global and regional) together with available measurements (land-based, aircraft, shipboard and satellite). My Ph.D thesis work, at Princeton University, focused on the processes governing marine nitrogen cycling and the ocean-to-atmosphere N2O flux. I then moved to the Atmospheric Chemistry Modelling group at Harvard to conduct research into aspects of the global carbon cycle, including (a) applying ‘top-down’ inverse analyses to quantify land and ocean carbon fluxes to the atmosphere, and (b) evaluating the potential value of measurements of other atmospheric trace species with similar sources and sinks (e.g., CO, COS) to constrain estimates of CO2 fluxes to the atmosphere. 

I have recently completed an RCUK Fellowship at the University of East Anglia’s School of Environmental Sciences. My research here combines my atmospheric and oceanic interests, and focuses on (a) understanding how the processes governing the global cycles of carbon, nitrogen and sulphur may change under changing anthropogenic and environmental conditions, and (b) in evaluating the potential feedbacks on climate. 

PhD Positions

Click here for current PhD opportunities in the School of Environmental Sciences.  However, feel free to email me to discuss projects outside these areas and alternative sources of funding.

• Senior Adviser

Biogeochemical cycles of carbon, nitrogen and sulphur; constraints from other chemical species on carbon cycling processes; numerical modelling; inverse analysis methods.

Significant Publications

• Suntharalingam, P., E. Buitenhuis, C. Le Quéré, F. Dentner, C. Nevison, J.H. Butler, H. Bange and G. Forster, Quantifying the Impact of Anthropogenic Nitrogen Deposition on Oceanic Nitrous Oxide Formation, Geophys. Res. Lett., Vol. 39, L07605, 2012.
• R. Nassar, D. B. A. Jones, S. S. Kulawik, J. R. Worden, K. W. Bowman, R. J. Andres, P. Suntharalingam, J. M. Chen, C. A. M. Brenninkmeijer, T. J. Schuck, T. J. Conway, and D. E. Worthy, Inverse modeling of CO2 sources and sinks using satellite observations of CO2 from TES and surface flask measurements,Atmos. Chem. Phys., 11, 6029-6047, 2011.
• Thomas, MA, Suntharalingam, P, Pozzoli, L, Devasthale, A, Kloster, S, Rast, S, Feichter, J and Lenton, TM, Rate of non-linearity in DMS-aerosol-cloud-climate interactions, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 11, 11175-11183, 2011.
• M. A. Thomas, P. Suntharalingam, L. Pozzoli, S. Rast, A. Devasthale, S. Kloster, J. Feichter, and T. M. Lenton, Quantification of DMS aerosol-cloud-climate interactions using the ECHAM5-HAMMOZ model in a current climate scenario, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 10, 7425-7438, 2010.
• Suntharalingam, P., A. J. Kettle, S. M. Montzka, and D. J. Jacob, Global 3-D model analysis of the seasonal cycle of atmospheric carbonyl sulfide: Implications for terrestrial vegetation uptake, Geophys. Res. Lett., 35, L19801, doi:10.1029/2008GL034332, 2008.
• Miller, C.E., D. Crisp, P.C. DeCola, S.C. Olsen, J.T. Randerson, P. Rayner, D.J. Jacob, P. Suntharalingam, D. Jones, S.C. Doney, S. Pawson, H. Boesch, L.R. Brown, B.J. Connor, I.Y. Fung, D.O'Brien, R.J. Salawitch, Precision requirements for space-based XCO2 data, J. of Geophys. Res., 112, D10314, 2007.

Publications: EPrints Digital Repository