Advancing air pollution and climate change mitigation through high precision meteorological and atmospheric characterisation. Focussed on translating research into policy action and community education.
A mobile laboratory tour at the West Oakland Environmental Indicators Project (WOEIP) community group.
I am a Postdoctoral Researcher at the University of California Berkeley in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, working with Professors Allen Goldstein and Josh Apte. My research focuses on air pollution and climate change mitigation.
My work consists of making multi-dimensional, high resolution measurements of the atmosphere to identify and quantify emissions sources. I am especially interested in translating research findings into actionable insights for policymakers and affected communities. My studies target over burdened communities, or locations facing specific mitigation actions that require evaluation.
I completed my PhD Chemistry at the University of York in 2024, where I worked on urban air pollution emissions quantification. Prior to that, I received my Master's of Chemistry from the University of York where I made gas phase atmospheric measurements onboard the UK's large atmospheric research aircraft all around the world.
The CalMAPLab out measuring in the field in South San Francisco, California.
Many communities in California are overburded with air pollution but have minimal or no monitoring in the area to fully understand the sources. I deploy the recently developed CalMAPLab in 20 disadvantaged communities in California for over 1000 hours of mobile monitoring in 2025. With a public-engaged approach, we work closely with local community groups and use lived experiences to drive our measurement strategy.
A California Gull relaxing on a primary clarifier in a wastewater treatment plant.
Urban methane emissions in the U.S. are consistently underestimated in emissions inventories. We use long-term eddy covariance measurements from a tall tower in Berkeley, CA, and target individual facilities with mobile monitoring to try and reduce this discrepancy.
Live time series and geolocated data streams during a sampling drive in the UC Berkeley Mobile Air Pollution Laboratory (CalMAPLab).
Air pollution exposure is spatially heterogenous and exhibits hyperlocal variability largely uncaptured by regulatory monitoring sites. I designed and built the UC Berkeley Mobile Air Pollution Laboratory (CalMAPLab) equipped with research grade instrumentation for measurements of over 600 gas and particle phase compounds in the atmosphere. This facility enables real-time quantification and mapping of air pollution at meter level resolution.
The last diesel trains operating out of the Caltrain depot in San Francisco, California, before electrification.
In August 2024, the diesel-powered trains on the Caltrain commuter rail system between San Francisco and San Jose were fully replaced by electric models over a six week period. I deploy pop-up stationary monitoring sites and perform on-board measurements to quantify the significant air quality benefits of this transition.
Landscape view of the BT Tower Atmospheric Observatory in London, UK.
London, UK, is a world leader in road transport emissions mitigation policy. I make long-term eddy covariance emissions measurements from a tall tower in central London to study the impact of low emissions zones on urban NOx emissions and the sources of emerging importance left in their stead.
The FAAM Airborne Laboratory sampling ship plume emissions during a campaign in the summer of 2019.
Aircraft-based measurements unlock locations and spatial scales inaccessible to other measurement strategies. I operate the core chemistry instrumentation on > 40 research flights onboard the UK's large atmospheric research aircraft all around the world in 2019 and 2020. Studies ranged from quantifying the importance of Scandanavian wetlands for global CH4 emissions to investigating the pollution and climate impact of new marine diesel sulfur content regulations.
Cheng, Z., Hu, D., Flynn, M., Nemitz, E., Langford, B., Drysdale, W., Helfter, C., Cliff, S. J., et al. — Environ. Sci.: Atmos., 5, 7, 785-800
Cliff, S. J., McNamara-Byrne, H., Goldstein, A. H., Apte, J. S. — Environ. Sci. Technol. Lett., 12, 5, 587-592
Cliff, S. J., Drysdale, W. S., Lewis, A. C., Moller, S. J., Helfter, C., Metzger, S., Nemitz, E., et al. — Environ. Sci. Technol., 59, 9, 4399-4408
Cliff, S. J., Lewis, A. C., Shaw, M. D., Lee, J. D., Flynn, M., Andrews, S. J., Hopkins, J. R., Purvis, R. M., Yeoman, A. M. — Environ. Sci. Technol., 57, 8026-8034
Cliff, S. J., Drysdale, W. S., Lee, J. D., Helfter, C., Nemitz, E., Metzger, S., Barlow, J. — Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 2315-2330
Shaw, J. T., Foulds, A., Wilde, S. E., Barker, P., Squires, S., Lee, J., Purvis, R. M., Burton, R., Colfescu, I., Mobbs, S., Cliff, S. J., et al. — Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 1491-1509
Drysdale, W. S., Vaughan, A. R., Squires, F. A., Cliff, S. J., Metzger, S., Durden, D., Pingintha-Durden, N., et al. — Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 9413-9433
Barker, P., Allen, G., Pitt, J. R., Bauguitte, S. J. B., Pasternak, D., Cliff, S. J., France, J. L., et al. — Philos. Trans. Royal Soc. A, 380, 2215
Lee, J. D., Squires, F., Sherwen, T., Wilde, S. E., Cliff, S. J., Bauguitte, S. J. B., Reed, C., Barker, P., et al. — Environ. Sci.: Atmos., 1, 524-542
Barker, P. A., Allen, G., Bannan, T. J., Nisbet, E. G., Pitt, J. R., Bauguitte, S. J. B., Pasternak, D., Cliff, S. J., et al. — Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 15443-15459
Yu, C., Pasternak, D., Lee, J., Yang, M., Bell, T. G., Bower, K. N., Wu, H., Liu, D., Reed, C., Bauguitte, S. J. B., Cliff, S. J., et al. — Environ. Sci. & Technol., 54, 15604-15612
Cliff, S. J., et al. — Submitted, Atmospheric Measurement Techniques
Byrne, H. M., Katz, E., Cliff, S. J., et al. — Submitted, Environmental Science & Technology
Sheehan, A., Hicks, W., Tremper, A. H., Preistman, M., Punter, P., Kelly, F., Font, A., Alastuey, A., Minguillon, M. C., Querol, X., Via, M., Guervara, M., Allan, J., Coe, H., Flynn, M., Watson, N., Bloss, W., Hou, S., Harrison, R., Cliff, S. J., et al. — Submitted, Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment
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