Earth and Environmental Sciences (SEES)

Profile

General Information

I am currently Professor in Environmental Physics in the School of Earth and Environmental Sciences at Portsmouth University. My expertise is in modelling pollution of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, having co-ordinated three multi-national EC projects on the environmental consequences of the Chernobyl accident. I was editor and lead author of a major book on the accident: Chernobyl: Catastrophe and Consequences (Springer: Berlin, 2005) and have 74 papers in the refereed scientific literature. I have carried out a wide range of consultancy work on modelling environmental pollution of aquatic systems from radionuclides, heavy metals and organic chemicals.

I am a former member of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Expert Group on Chernobyl and am currently Chairman of the UK Coordinating Group on Environmental Radioactivity (COGER). My current research interests are the impact of ionising radiation on organisms in the natural environment, and the transfers of nutrients in river systems. 

Teaching

I currently teach on the following units:

• Level 1: Quantitative Methods (1GS134)
• Level 1: Science for Earth Systems
• Level 2: Environmental Physics
• Level 3: Environmental Audit and Risk Assessment
• Level 3: Environmental Radiation

Career

• August 2007 – Present: Reader in Environmental Physics, Portsmouth University
• 2003 – 2007:  Head of River Chemistry, Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Dorset Lab.
• 1993 – 2003: Mathematical Modeller, Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Dorset Lab.
• 1990 – 1993: University of Liverpool, PhD in Applied Mathematics.
• 1989 – 1990: Cranfield Institute of Technology, MSc in Soil and Water Engineering.
• 1984 – 1988: University of Edinburgh, BSc (1st Class Hons) in Astrophysics

Professional Record

• Member of the International Atomic Energy Agency Chernobyl (IAEA) Expert Group (2004-2006)
• Member of the IAEA Expert Group on remediation of the Chernobyl cooling pond (2009-date)
• Chairman of the UK Coordinating Group on Environmental Radioactivity (2004-date)
• Lead author of a major new book on the Chernobyl accident: Chernobyl: Catastrophe and Consequences (Springer/Praxis, Berlin, 2005).
• 76 papers published in refereed scientific journals.

Research

My research is primarily into the environmental impacts of pollutants, in particular accidental or routine releases of radioactivity. I have worked extensively on the environmental impacts of the Chernobyl accident: together with colleagues at the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Lancaster, and at Netherlands Energy Research, I developed the first predictions of the long-term food chain contamination by radiocaesium from Chernobyl (Nature, 2000, 405 p.141). I have also developed risk assessment models for radioactive discharges to rivers in the UK and from the Krasnoyarsk Mining & Chemical Combine, Siberia.

My current research interests include:

• The impact of ionising radiation on biota at the individual level (genetic/physiological biomarkers) and on the ecosystem as a whole. 
• Modelling the transfers of very long-lived radionuclides in the biosphere
• Modelling of nutrient transport in rivers and their catchments

Recent Publications

More recent publications

Other Publications

1. Bowes, M.J., Smith, J.T., Hilton, J., Sturt, M.M. and Armitage, P.D. (2007). Periphyton biomass response to changing phosphorus concentrations in a nutrient-impacted river: A new methodology for P target setting. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 64(2): 227-238.