From anther to atmosphere: building a better pollen forecast for human health (ref:4250)

项目背景：在英国大约有一千万人患有花粉热和花粉过敏。英国气象局提供的英国花粉预报被数百万花粉症患者用来控制花粉对他们生活的影响。随着气候和土地利用的变化，花粉释放到大气中的分布和时间也会发生变化，因此了解花粉过敏的触发因素至关重要。这个令人兴奋的项目在位于康沃尔郡的埃克塞特大学彭林校区进行，包括与英国气象局和埃克塞特大学的科学家合作，开发和验证新的生物和大气模型，以提高未来花粉预测的操作性，并为花粉症患者的生活质量带来真正的改变。你将有一个独特的机会在生物学、生态学、气象学和人类健康之间的跨学科科学领域工作，并接受从野外生物学到大气建模等广泛技能的培训。项目目标和方法：本项目旨在通过了解植物何时何地将风传花粉释放到大气中，以及如何和在何处传播花粉，来提高我们预测花粉浓度的能力。它将包括收集生态观测和数学建模，目的是了解从单个花头释放花粉的空间尺度过程，以及农村和城市景观中的花朵密度，到花粉在大气中的长距离运动。主要方法包括：建立和运行有控制的田间实验，以测量一系列植物中花粉释放的日常和季节周期以及它们对天气和气候的反应；开展野外调查，建立物种分布模型（SDMs），估算城乡景观中主要产粉物种的密度变化；实施和验证英国气象局的数值弥散模型（NAME）来预测花粉粒的长距离运输。预计你将在生物领域工作和数学建模方面发展技能，但你可以根据你现有的技能和感兴趣的领域发展项目。项目合作伙伴：该学生将由英国气象局的科学家共同监督，并将与英国气象局的工作人员定期举行监督会议。他们还将在埃克塞特的英国气象局工作6个月，与大气弥散和空气质量小组的科学家密切合作，共同完成博士课程的大气弥散建模部分。培训：气象局将提供大气扩散模型方面的培训，监督小组将根据需要提供具体项目的现场技能培训。埃克塞特大学将提供可转移技能培训（如时间管理、就业能力、统计、教学技能），作为其研究生培训计划的一部分。该学生将能够参加地理与环境科学中心和生态与保护中心的定期部门研讨会

Project Background:Approximately ten million people in the UK suffer from hay fever and pollen allergies. The UK pollen forecast provided by the Met Office is used by millions of hay fever sufferers to manage the impact of allergenic pollen on their lives. As our climate and land use changes, so will the distribution and timing of pollen released to the atmosphere, and so understanding what triggers the onset of pollen allergies is critical. Based at the University of Exeter's Penryn campus in Cornwall, this exciting project involves working with scientists from the Met Office and the University to develop and validate new biological and atmospheric models to improve the operational pollen forecast in the future and make a real difference to the quality of life of hay fever sufferers. You will have a unique opportunity to work in interdisciplinary science at the interface between biology, ecology, meteorology and human health, and to be trained in a wide range of skills, from field biology to atmospheric modelling.Project Aims and Methods:This project aims to improve our ability to forecast pollen concentrations by developing our understanding of when and where wind-borne pollen is released into the atmosphere by plants and how and where it is dispersed. It will involve both collecting ecological observations and mathematical modelling, with the aim of understanding processes across spatial scales from pollen release from a single flower head, and the density of flowers within rural and urban landscapes, to the movement of pollen over large distances in the atmosphere. Key methods will involve: setting up and running controlled field experiments to measure the daily and seasonal cycles of pollen release in a range of species of plants and their response to weather and climate; carrying out field surveys and developing species distribution models (SDMs) to estimate the changing density of key pollen-producing species within rural and urban landscapes; implementing and validating the Met Office numerical dispersion model (NAME) to predict long-distance transport of pollen grains. It is expected that you will develop skills in both biological field work and mathematical modelling, but there is scope for you to develop the project to suit your existing skills and areas of interest.Project Partners:The student will be co-supervised by scientists at the Met Office, and will have regular supervisory meetings with Met Office staff. They will also spend six months working at the Met Office in Exeter, working closely with scientists in the Atmospheric Dispersion and Air Quality group for the atmospheric dispersion modelling component of the PhD.Training:The Met office will provide training in atmospheric dispersion modelling, and the supervisory team will provide project-specific training in field skills as required. Exeter University will provide training in transferable skills (e.g. time management, employability, statistics, teaching skills) as part of its graduate training programme. The student will be able to attend regular departmental seminars in the Centre for Geography and Environmental Science and the Centre for Ecology and Conservation