Overview

I am a Postdoctoral Research Associate working with Prof Peter Cox, as part of the Met Office funded Climate Science for Service Partnership (CSSP) Brazil project.

I am currently working on trying to improve the representation of stomatal behaviour and plant hydraulic failure in the Met Office land surface model (JULES). Stomata regulate the exchange of gases, including carbon dioxide and water, between leaves and the atmosphere and play an important role within the climate system. However, their behaviour is highly complex and not well understood. We use a technique called stomatal optimisation theory which assumes that plants have evolved to optimise the accumulation of carbon against the costs of losing too much water (which include failures in their hydraulic systems). This is a powerful approach that allows us to more accurately model stomatal behaviour, while bypassing the need to represent the complex physiological mechanisms that underlie it.

My other interests include trying to improve the representation of non-structural carbohydrates (NSC) within land surface models such as JULES. NSCs are important carbon compunds that allow plants to continue growing and respiring when the supply of carbon from photoynthesis is reduced. They play an important role, in particular during periods of environmental stress such as drought, when plants are unable to draw in carbon from the atmosphere.

Land surface modelling discussion group

During term time I run a discussion group for those at the university working on land surface modelling. These usually run on Tuesdays in the Laver building. Please feel free to send me an email if you would like more info or to be included in the mailing list.