About Jim Haywood

Jim uses aircraft observations and numerical modelling to study atmospheric aerosols.

Areas of expertise:

• Aerosol measurements;

• Aerosol modelling;

• Aerosol radiative forcing of climate;

• Modelling potential impacts of geoengineering scenarios;

• Impact of aviation on climate.

Publications by Jim

Current activities

Jim is a Research Fellow engaged in wide-ranging aspects of aerosol research, and leads a team of five research staff. Jim makes use of aerosol and radiation instrumentation on the UK  FAAM aircraft to better understand the complex interaction of aerosols such as industrial pollution particles, smoke particles, and mineral dust particles with solar and terrestrial radiation. He also utilises data from satellite instruments to map the spatial distribution and radiative impacts of natural and diagnose the radiative forcing and hence climatic impact of increased concentrations of aerosols from human emissions. Jim also is involved in modelling aerosols at regional, continental, and global scales.

Jim was the Met Office Principal Investigator of the  FAAM aircraft for these measurement campaigns targeting industrial, biomass burning, and mineral dust aerosol:

• SAFARI-2000 (Namibia, 2000)
• SHADE (Cape Verde Islands, 2000)
• ADRIEX (Po Valley, Italy, 2004)
• DABEX (Niger, 2006)
• DODO (Senegal, 2006)
• GERBILS (Mauritania and Niger, 2007). 

He is currently involved in many domestic measurement campaigns such as VISibility in URBan environments (VISURB) which led to improved parameterization for aerosol and visibility in the UK forecast models, and the COntrailS evolving Into Cirrus (COSIC) measurement campaign which are joint ventures between the Met Office and UK university communities.

Jim improves the representation of aerosols and their associated radiative impacts in climate and in numerical weather prediction models. Recently, he has been assessing the potential impacts of proposed geoengineering ideas, the impact of contrail-induced-cirrus on climate, and the impacts of the Sarychev volcanic eruption.

Career background

Jim joined the Met Office in 1998 and worked as a scientist, senior scientist and aerosol research manager before being promoted to Research Fellow in 2008. His work spans across various research departments in the Met Office. Before joining the Met Office Jim was a PDRA at the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory, Princeton, USA for two years where he modelled the impact of aerosols in cloud resolving, and coupled atmosphere ocean models. Prior to that Jim completed his Phd at the University of Reading in 1995 investigating the radiative forcing of sulphate and black carbon aerosols.

External Recognition

• Associate Editor: Journal of Geophysical Research.
• Lead Author, IPCC, 1999.
• Lead Author, IPCC, 2001.
• Lead Author, IPCC, 2007.
• NOAA Oceans and Atmospheric Research: Outstanding Paper Award, 2000.
• AMS Henry G. Houghton award, 2004.
• IPCC: Nobel Peace Prize, 2007.
• Atmospheric Science Librarians International awards for publications, 2007; 2009.