Lecturer in Climate Change Adaption

Contact Details

• Tel: 0116 252 3634
• Email: cls53@le.ac.uk
• Office: Bennett Building F12

Research Interests

My research interests are primarily associated with the interaction between atmospheric change and the local environment. The two main themes of my work encompass:

Adaptation to climate change:

This research uses monitoring and modelling methods to evaluate climate change impacts. The synthesis of meteorological, technological, socio-economic, energy and emissions data within a spatial framework enables a GIS-based analysis to be used to interrogate adaptation strategies. This work is primarily focused on the urban environment and sustainable buildings.

The use of speleothems (cave deposits such as stalagmites) for palaeoclimate reconstruction:

This research area focuses on the application and development of robust mathematical techniques to understand and extract the climate record captured within stalagmite stratigraphy and geochemistry.

Recent and Ongoing Projects

• Spatial characterisation of wind impacts in an urban environment, funded by EPSRC.
• Identifying Extreme Climate Thresholds which Negatively Impact on the Local Environment and/or Population: Examining the Past to Prepare for the Future, funded by Manchester Geographical Society.

Sustainable Cities: Options for Responding to climate CHange Impacts and Outcomes (SCORCHIO), funded by EPSRC

External Activities

• Associate Fellow of the Royal Meteorological Society
• Member of the International Association of Urban Climatology

PhD Supervision

Current

• Andrew Speak ‘ Quantification of the microclimate modification properties of green roofs in the urban environment ’ (with Dr Sarah Lindley, University of Manchester). Funded by NERC/CASE award.
• Joanne Robbins ‘Investigating generic methodologies for combining technical natural hazards models with social infrastructure datasets to generate a multi-hazard risk and impact product for the SW Pacific region of Papua New Guinea using models and data feeds from Meteorological Office records’ (with Prof Mike Petterson and Mr Ken Mylne, Met Office) 

Research Areas for PhD Supervision

Climate change adaptation in sensitive environments (e.g. urban, coastal); extreme weather events; decision support for urban and regional sustainable development; environmental applications of Geographical Information Science.

Enquiries: If you are interested in studying for a PhD in one of these research areas, please make informal enquiries via geogPhD@le.ac.uk

Most Recent Publications

Smith C. L., Webb, A., Levermore, G. J., Lindley, S.J. and Beswick, K. (2010). Fine-scale spatial temperature patterns across a UK conurbation. Climatic Change, Accepted for Publication.

Knight, S., Smith, C.L., Roberts, M. (2010). Mapping Manchester’s Urban Heat Island. Weather, 65: 188-193.

Full listing of publications