Carlos Ordonez
Carlos works on regional air quality modelling with the Met Office Unified Model.
Areas of expertise
- Air quality modelling
- Atmospheric modelling of VSL halogenated substances, including bromine and iodine
- Tropospheric ozone trends and variability
- Use of observations for model verification
Current activities
Carlos works on model parameterisations to improve the ability of the AQUM configuration of the Unified Model to forecast air pollution.
Among other developments he has implemented the RAQ chemistry scheme in the United Kingdom Chemistry and Aerosols (UKCA) Model module of the Unified Model, PM diagnostics and a comprehensive scheme for the injection of emissions in United Kingdom Chemistry and Aerosols (UKCA) Model . He also contributes to model verification and conducts work to improve the representation of various processes (e.g. dry deposition, heterogeneous chemistry) with the aim of improving the air quality forecast.
Career background
Carlos did a five-year degree in Physics with Atmospheric Physics at Universidad Complutense of Madrid, Spain. After some years working for the private industry he did a PhD at the Laboratory of Atmospheric Chemistry, Paul Scherrer Institut, Switzerland. There he contributed to a number of EU projects and got involved in various topics, including tropospheric ozone variability and trends, field observations of air quality, statistical data analysis and evaluation of satellite observations of atmospheric composition. He got a PhD in Natural Sciences at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich in March 2006.
From May 2006 to Jan 2008 Carlos was postdoctoral researcher at CNRS - Laboratoire d'Aerologie, Toulouse, France. During that time he used MOZAIC regular aircraft observations and ozonesondes for the evaluation of global models within the Integrated European project, GEMS. He contributed to general model evaluation as well as to the evaluation of models under strong photochemical episodes and boreal biomass burning events.
In 2008 Carlos joined the Atmospheric Dispersion Group at the Met Office, where he worked on regional air quality modelling over the UK. From July 2010 to March 2012 he worked on atmospheric modelling of VSL halogenated substances at CSIC, the Spanish National Research Council. Then he joined NCAR for a four-month research stay to implement chemistry of VSL substances, including both bromine and iodine, in the CESM. Carlos returned to the Met Office in September 2012.