Eleanor Gershenson-Smith

Research Title

Understanding the Response of Air Pollution in Central London to Environmental Factors and Policy Interventions.

More about Eleanor

• 2022 – Present, University College London: Geography PhD Candidate
• 2018 - 2022, University College London: MSci Chemistry

Teaching

I am a Postgraduate Teaching Assistant on the following module: 

• Cities and Climate Change Module (GEOG0099)

Publications

Conferences and Talks

• Ryan, R. G., Marais, E. A., Gershenson-Smith, E., Ramsay, R., Muller, J.-P., Tirpitz, J.-L., and Frieß, U.: Measurement report: MAX-DOAS measurements characterise Central London ozone pollution episodes during 2022 heatwaves, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 7121–7139, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-7121-2023, 2023

Research Interests

London has a historic air pollution problem. Nitrogen oxides (NOx ≡ NO + NO2) are a major contributor. NOx contributes to the formation of fine particles (PM2.5) which are a leading cause of premature mortality from air pollution. NOx reacts with volatile organic compounds (VOCs) to form ozone (O3) pollution. NO2 exacerbates existing respiratory conditions, such as asthma, certain VOCs can cause breathing difficulties and O3 is a respiratory irritant. 

London is subject to experimental policies to reduce emissions, such as the Ultra-Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) to disincentivize vehicle use to reduce vehicular NOx emissions. There is an established surface air quality monitoring network, but a lack of measurements above the city. How emissions affect air quality above street level and how the exchange and reaction of higher and lower altitude pollutants affect air quality and public health is unknown.

The UCL Multi-Axis Differential Optical Absorption Spectroscopy (MAX-DOAS) instrument measures the vertical distribution of pollutants from street level to 8 km above the city. A state-of-the-art atmospheric model (GEOS-Chem) is used to interpret these observations. My research uses these tools to explore how environmental events and policy affect air quality in Central London.

Funding

• Funded by the European Research Council (ERC).