Natasha Easton

PhD Studentship in a multidisciplinary investigation into urban air pollution in a port city

Hi, I'm Natasha Easton and I am a Leverhulme Trust Doctoral scholar studying within the Southampton Marine and Maritime Institute, University of Southampton.

I graduated in 2017 from the University of Southampton with an MChem in Chemistry. This was where I developed an interest in air quality research. During my degree I was fortunate enough to be awarded two summer studentships in quantitative analysis of indoor air (EXCEL Southampton and EPSRC, BMSS and RSC Separation Science Group). For my dissertation project I studied the characterisation of nanoparticles. Considering my background this project is ideal.

My research project focuses on particulate matter within Southampton’s air. There is a wide range of natural and anthropogenic sources affecting the city and its inhabitants. One of the key focusses of this project is shipping. Southampton has one of the busiest ports in the UK, yet the port’s contribution to air quality is very poorly quantified. I will be collecting particulate matter and performing elemental and isotopic analyses to determine the contributions from each pollutant source.

The detrimental effects of particulate matter on health are currently gaining a lot of attention in the media. Understanding the air we breathe is not only important but is a very interesting area to research.

As a Leverhulme Trust Doctoral Scholar I have a broad supervisory team encompassing three faculties:

Natural and Environmental Sciences (Prof Gavin Foster)

Medicine (Dr Matt Loxham)

Engineering and the Environment (Prof Simon Cox and Dr Steven Johnston)

This brings a large range of knowledge and skills together to best understand and progress the project. Being based at the National Oceanography Centre gives me a unique position with regards to the close proximity of my key data sites and the analytical instrumentation available.