James France

Atmospheric Scientist

James France

Contact

James France

Biography

Currently employed as part of a UN Climate and Clean Air Coalition /  Environmental Defence Fund project to investigate potential methane sources in the North Sea region as well as ensuring the smooth running of greenhouse gas instruments to measure methane and carbon dioxide in the Falklands and on board the James Clarke Ross. Part of the Methane Observations and Yearly Assessment (MOYA) project and will be heading to Bolivia in March 2019 to undertake aerial studies using the BAS twin-otter aircraft as a platform to measure methane fluxes over the Bolivian wetlands.

2014-17. University of East Anglia, Responsible for the project management and scientific development of a new sea-ice laboratory facility. https://www.uea.ac.uk/environmental-sciences/sea-ice-chamber

2012-14 working on Arctic methane emissions using isotopic signatures in carbon to identify sources of methane to the Arctic as part of the MAMM project (Methane in the Arctic, Measurement and Modelling)

2009-12 Part of the OPALE (Oxidant Production over Antarctica Land and its Export) project measuring snowpack optical properties and spectral solar radiation to calculate photochemical rates of nitrate depletion within the snow cover at Dome C on the Antarctic plataeu.

Other interests include habitable planetary ices and ice extent during the snowball earth event.

PhD in snowpack chemistry and MSci undergraduate degree in GeoSciences

Research interests

Main research profile currently: Greenhouse gas emissions over the Arctic, UK and Southern Tropics.

Previously working on snow optical properties and pollution (such as black carbon) within snowpack on snow surface reflectance, snowpack chemistry and snow / ice as a habitat and rates of photochemistry occurring in snow and ice.

Minor ongoing research is looking into identifying absorbers in snowpack from measurements of optical properties, determining new terrestrial sites for Martian dust simulants and habitable zones in ice on other planets / moons.

Flow rate and source reservoir identification from airborne chemical sampling of the uncontrolled Elgin platform gas release
Lee, J. D., Mobbs, S. D., Wellpott, A., Allen, G., Bauguitte, S., Burton, R. R., Camilli, R., Coe, H., Fisher, R., France, J. L., Gallagher, M., Hopkins, J. R., Lanoiselle, M., Lewis, A. C., Lowry, D., Nisbet, E., Purvis, R., O’Shea, S., Pyle, J. A. & Ryerson, T. B., 27 Mar 2018, In : Atmospheric Measurement Techniques. 11, 3, p. 1725-1739

Diurnal, seasonal, and annual trends in tropospheric CO in Southwest London during 2000–2015: Wind sector analysis and comparisons with urban and remote sites
Hernández-Paniagua, I. Y., Lowry, D., Clemitshaw, K. C., Palmer, P. I., Fisher, R. E., France, J. L., Mendoza, A., O’Doherty, S., Forster, G., Lanoisellé, M. & Nisbet, E. G., 17 Jan 2018, In : Atmospheric Environment. 177, p. 262-274

A cautionary tale: A study of a methane enhancement over the North Sea
Cain, M., Warwick, N., Fisher, R., Lowry, D., Lanoiselle, M., Nisbet, E., France, J., Pitt, J., O’Shea, S., Bower, K., Allen, G., Illingworth, S. M., Manning, A. J., Bauguitte, S., Pisso, I. & Pyle, J., 16 Aug 2017, In : Journal of Geophysical Research – Atmospheres. 122, 14, p. 7630-7645 , 10.1002/2017JD026626

Evaluating methane inventories by isotopic analysis in the London region
Zazzeri, G., Lowry, D., Fisher, R. E., France, J. L., Lanoisellé, M., Grimmond, C. S. B. & Nisbet, E. G., 7 Jul 2017, In : Scientific Reports. 7, p. 1-13 , 4854

Are the Fenno-Scandinavian Arctic wetlands a significant regional source of formic acid?
Jones, B. T., Muller, J., O’Shea, S., Bacak, A., Allen, G., Gallagher, M., Bower, K., Breton, M. L., Bannan, T. J., Bauguitte, S., Pyle, J., Lowry, D., Fisher, R., France, J., Nisbet, E., Shallcross, D. & Percival, C., 22 Jun 2017, In : Atmosphere. 8, 7, p. 1-18 , 112Article

Measurement of the 13C isotopic signature of methane emissions from northern European wetlands
Fisher, R. , France, J. , Lowry, D. , Lanoiselle, M. , Brownlow, R. , Pyle, J. , Cain, M. , Warwick, N. , Skiba, U. , Drewer, J. , Dinsmore, K. , Leeson, S. , Bauguitte, S. , Wellpott, A. , O’Shea, S. , Allen, G. , Gallagher, M. , Pitt, J. , Percival, C. , Bower, K. & 9 others , Mar 2017, In : Global Biogeochemical Cycles. 31, 3, p. 605–623Article

Methane mole fraction and δ13C above and below the trade wind inversion at Ascension Island in air sampled by aerial robotics
Brownlow, R., Lowry, D., Thomas, R., Fisher, R., France, J., Cain, M., Richardson, T., Greatwood, C., Freer, J., Pyle, J. & Nisbet, E., 28 Nov 2016, In : Geophysical Research Letters. 43, 22, p. 11893-11902Letter

Carbon isotopic signature of coal-derived methane emissions to the atmosphere: from coalification to alteration
Zazzeri, G., Lowry, D., Fisher, R., France, J., Lanoiselle, M., Kelly, B. F. J., Necki, J. M., Iverach, C. P., Ginty, E., Zimnoch, M., Jasek, A. & Nisbet, E., 3 Nov 2016, In : Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics. 16, 21, p. 13669-13680

Rising atmospheric methane: 2007–2014 growth and isotopic shift
Nisbet, E. , Dlugokencky, E. J. , Manning, M. R. , Lowry, D. , Fisher, R. , France, J. , Michel, S. E. , Miller, J. B. , White, J. W. C. , Vaughn, B. , Bousquet, P. , Pyle, J. A. , Warwick, N. , Cain, M. , Brownlow, R. , Zazzeri, G. , Lanoiselle, M. , Manning, A. C. , Gloor, E. , Worthy, D. E. J. & 4 others , 26 Sep 2016, In : Global Biogeochemical Cycles. 30, 9, p. 1356-1370

Marked long-term decline in ambient CO mixing ratio in SE England, 1997-2014: evidence of policy success in improving air quality
Lowry, D., Lanoisellé, M. E., Fisher, R. E., Martin, M., Fowler, C. M. R., France, J. L., Hernández-Paniagua, I. Y., Novelli, P. C., Sriskantharajah, S., O’Brien, P., Rata, N. D., Holmes, C. W., Fleming, Z. L., Clemitshaw, K. C., Zazzeri, G., Pommier, M., McLinden, C. A. & Nisbet, E. G., 23 May 2016, In : Scientific Reports. 6, p. 1-12 , 25661

Atmospheric constraints on the methane emissions from the East Siberian Shelf
Berchet, A., Bousquet, P., Pison, I., Locatelli, R., Chevallier, F., Paris, J-D., Dlugokencky, E. J., Laurila, T., Hatakka, J., Viisanen, Y., Worthy, D. E. J., Nisbet, E., Fisher, R., France, J., Lowry, D., Ivakhov, V. & Hermansen, O., 30 Mar 2016, In : Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics. 16, 6, p. 4147-4157

Assessing Connectivity Between an Overlying Aquifer and a Coal Seam Gas Resource Using Methane Isotopes, Dissolved Organic Carbon and Tritium
Iverach, C. P., Cendón, D. I., Hankin, S. I., Lowry, D., Fisher, R. E., France, J. L., Nisbet, E. G., Baker, A. & Kelly, B. F. J., 4 Nov 2015, In : Scientific Reports. 5, p. 1-11 , 15996

Atmospheric nitrogen oxides (NO and NO2) at Dome C, East Antarctica, during the OPALE campaign
Roscoe, H. K., Kukui, A., Savarino, J., France, J., King, M., Legrand, M. & Preunkert, S., 17 Jul 2015, In : Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics. 15, p. 7859-7875

Plume mapping and isotopic characterisation of anthropogenic methane sources
Zazzeri, G., Lowry, D., Fisher, R. E., France, J. L., Lanoisellé, M. & Nisbet, E. G., 1 Jun 2015, In : Atmospheric Environment. 110, p. 151-162

Diurnal, seasonal, and annual trends in atmospheric CO2 at southwest London during 2000-2012: Wind sector analysis and comparison with Mace Head, Ireland
Hernández-Paniagua, I. Y., Lowry, D., Clemitshaw, K. C., Fisher, R. E., France, J. L., Lanoisellé, M., Ramonet, M. & Nisbet, E. G., 1 Mar 2015, In : Atmospheric Environment. 105, p. 138-147

Methane and carbon dioxide fluxes and their regional scalability for the European Arctic wetlands during the MAMM project in summer 2012
O’Shea, S. J. , Allen, G. , Gallagher, M. W. , Bower, K. , Illingworth, S. M. , Muller, J. B. A. , Jones, B. T. , Percival, C. J. , Bauguitte, S. J. B. , Cain, M. , Warwick, N. , Quiquet, A. , Skiba, U. , Drewer, J. , Dinsmore, K. , Nisbet, E. G. , Lowry, D. , Fisher, R. E. , France, J. L. , Aurela, M. & 7 others , 10 Dec 2014, In : Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics. 14, 23, p. 13159-13174

Measurements of OH and RO2 radicals at Dome C, East Antarctica
Kukui, A., Legrand, M., Preunkert, S., Frey, M., Loisil, R., Gil Roca, J., jourdain, B., King, M., France, J. & Ancellet, G., 26 Nov 2014, In : Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics. 14, 22, p. 12373-12392

Role of nitrite in the photochemical formation of radicals in the snow
Jacobi, H. W., Kleffmann, J., Villena, G., Wiesen, P., King, M., France, J., Anastasio, C. & Staebler, R., 7 Jan 2014, In : Environmental Science and Technology. 48, 1, p. 165-172

Published
Influence of grain shape on light penetration in snow: The Cryosphere
Libois, Q., Picard, G., France, J. L., Arnaud, L., Dumont, M., Carmagnola, C. M. & King, M. D., 1 Jan 2013, In : The Cryosphere. 7, 6, p. 1803-1818

The diurnal variability of atmospheric nitrogen oxides (NO and NO2) above the Antarctic Plateau driven by atmospheric stability and snow emissions
Frey, M. M., Brough, N., France, J. L., Anderson, P. S., Traulle, O., King, M. D., Jones, A. E., Wolff, E. W. & Savarino, J., 2013, In : Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics. 13, 6, p. 3045-3062

Decreased albedo, e-folding depth and photolytic OH radical and NO2 production with increasing black carbon content in Arctic snow
Reay, H. J., France, J. L. & King, M. D., 12 Jun 2012, In : Journal of Geophysical Research – Atmospheres. 117, , ARTN D00R20

Carbonaceous species and humic like substances (HULIS) in Arctic snowpack during OASIS field campaign in Barrow
Voisin, D., Jaffrezo, J-L., Houdier, S., Barret, M., Cozic, J., King, M. D., France, J. L., Reay, H. J., Grannas, A., Kos, G., Ariya, P. A., Beine, H. J. & Domine, F., 5 May 2012, In : Journal of Geophysical Research. 117, p. – , D00R19

Soluble chromophores in marine snow, seawater, sea ice and frost flowers near Barrow, Alaska
Beine, H., Anastasio, C., Domine, F., Douglas, T., Barret, M., France, J., King, M., Hall, S. & Ullmann, K., 23 Mar 2012, In : Journal of Geophysical Research. 117, p. – , D00R15

Hydroxyl radical and NOx production rates, black carbon concentrations and light-absorbing impurities in snow from field measurements of light penetration and nadir reflectivity of onshore and offshore coastal Alaskan snow
France, J. L., Reay, H. J., King, M. D., Voisin, D., Jacobi, H. W., Domine, F., Beine, H., Anastasio, C., MacArthur, A. & Lee-Taylor, J., 9 Mar 2012, In : Journal of Geophysical Research. 117, p. – , D00R12

The effect of measurement geometry on recording solar radiation attenuation in snowpack (e-folding depth) using fibre-optic probes
France, J. & King, M., 2012, In : Journal of Glaciology. 58, 208, p. 417-418 , 10.3189/2012JoG11J227

Published
Calculations of in-snow NO2 and OH radical photochemical production and photolysis rates: A field and radiative-transfer study of the optical properties of Arctic (Ny-Alesund, Svalbard) snow
France, J. L., King, M., Lee-Taylor, J., Beine, H. J., Ianniello, A., Domine, F. & MacArthur, A., 1 Nov 2011, In : Journal of Geophysical Research. 116, p. – , F04013

Snow optical properties at Dome C (Concordia), Antarctica; implications for snow emissions and snow chemistry of reactive nitrogen
France, J. L., King, M. D., Frey, M. M., Erbland, J., Picard, G., Preunkert, S., MacArthur, A. & Savarino, J., 21 Sep 2011, In : Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics. 11, 18, p. 9787-9801

Snow optical properties at Dome C (Concordia), Antarctica; implications for snow emissions and snow chemistry of reactive nitrogen
France, J. L., King, M. D., Frey, M. M., Erbland, J., Picard, G., Preunkert, S., MacArthur, A. & Savarino, J., 2011, In : Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics. 11, 18, p. 9787-9801

A photohabitable zone in the martian snowpack? A laboratory and radiative-transfer study of dusty water-ice snow
France, J. L., King, M. D. & MacArthur, A., May 2010, In : Icarus. 207, 1, p. 133-139

The importance of considering depth-resolved photochemistry in snow: a radiative-transfer study of NO2 and OH production in Ny-Alesund (Svalbard) snowpacks
France, J. L., King, M. D. & Lee-Taylor, J., 2010, In : Journal of Glaciology. 56, 198, p. 655-663

Hydroxyl (OH) radical production rates in snowpacks from photolysis of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and nitrate (NO3-)
France, JL., King, M. & Lee-Taylor, J., 1 Jan 2007, In : Atmospheric Environment. 41, 26, p. 5502-5509

Surprisingly small HONO emissions from snow surfaces at Browning Pass, Antarctica
Beine, HJ., Amoroso, A., Domine, F., King, M., Nardino, M., Ianniello, A. & France, JL., 1 Jan 2006, In : Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics. 6, p. 2569-2580A

Measurement and modelling of UV radiation penetration and photolysis rates of nitrate and hydrogen …
King, M., France, JL., Fisher, FN. & Beine, HJ., 2005, In : Journal of Photochemistry and Photobiology A: Chemistry. 176,

Publications from NERC Open Research Archive

2020

Lowry, David, Fisher, Rebecca E., France, James L. ORCIDORCID record for James L. France, Coleman, Max, Lanoisellé, Mathias, Zazzeri, Giulia, Nisbet, Euan G., Shaw, Jacob T., Allen, Grant, Pitt, Joseph, Ward, Robert S.. (2020) Environmental baseline monitoring for shale gas development in the UK: identification and geochemical characterisation of local source emissions of methane to atmosphere. Science of the Total Environment, 708. 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.134600

Thomas, M., Vancoppenolle, M., France, J.L. ORCIDORCID record for J.L. France, Sturges, W.T., Bakker, D.C.E., Kaiser, J., von Glasow, R.. (2020) Tracer measurements in growing sea ice support convective gravity drainage parameterisations. Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans, 125. 10.1029/2019JC015791

2019

Garnett, Jack, Halsall, Crispin J., Thomas, Max, France, James ORCIDORCID record for James France, Kaiser, Jan, Graf, Carola, Leeson, Amber, Wynn, Peter. (2019) Mechanistic insight into the uptake and fate of persistent organic pollutants in sea ice. Environmental Science & Technology, 53. 6757-6764. 10.1021/acs.est.9b00967

2018

Hernández-Paniagua, Iván Y., Lowry, David, Clemitshaw, Kevin C., Palmer, Paul I., Fisher, Rebecca E., France, James L. ORCIDORCID record for James L. France, Mendoza, Alberto, O'Doherty, Simon, Forster, Grant, Lanoisellé, M., Nisbet, Euan G.. (2018) Diurnal, seasonal, and annual trends in tropospheric CO in Southwest London during 2000–2015: Wind sector analysis and comparisons with urban and remote sites. Atmospheric Environment, 177. 262-274. 10.1016/j.atmosenv.2018.01.027

2017

Cain, M., Warwick, N. J., Fisher, R. E., Lowry, D., Lanoisellé, M., Nisbet, E. G., France, J. ORCIDORCID record for J. France, Pitt, J., O'Shea, S., Bower, K. N., Allen, G., Illingworth, S., Manning, A. J., Bauguitte, S., Pisso, I., Pyle, J. A.. (2017) A cautionary tale: A study of a methane enhancement over the North Sea. Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, 122. 7630-7645. 10.1002/2017JD026626