• B.Sc.(Hons), Applied Mathematics, Fudan University, P.R. China
• M.Sc., Computational Fluid Dynamics, Fudan University, P.R. China Ph.D., Institute of Applied Mathematics and Atmospheric Science, UBC, Canada
• Ph.D., Institute of Applied Mathematics and Atmospheric Science, UBC, Canada

Dr Xiaoming Cai was born in China and obtained his first degree and masters degree at Fudan University, Shanghai. He completed his PhD in 1993 at the University of British Columbia (UBC), Canada, in large-eddy simulation of atmospheric surface layer. He then did two years postdoctoral research at UBC in numerical modelling of sea breezes and photochemical air pollution. Following that he moved to Birmingham to take the post of Lecturer in 1995 and subsequently the post of Senior Lecturer in 2000.

Dr Xiaoming Cai was the course leader of MSc in Applied Meteorology & Climatology at Birmingham from 1997 to 2010. He was the PI for two successful NERC Master Training Grant applications with awards of NERC studentships from 2001 to 2011.

He has led the following modules: Atmospheric Composition & Physics (master-level), Atmospheric Dynamics (master-level), and Applied Micrometeorolgy (Year 3 level). He was also involved in delivering the Environmental Modelling module (Year 3 level).

Dr Xiaoming Cai currently supervises the following PhD students:

• Vivien Bright, Project: Street Canyon Atmospheric Composition: Coupling Dynamics and Chemistry
• Fang Zhang, Project: Increasing Frequency and Impacts of Heat Waves in UK Cities caused by Climate Change and the Urban Heat Island Affect

Research group

• Environmental health sciences
• Climate & atmosphere

Dr Xiaoming Cai has research interests in the following areas:

• Boundary-layer meteorology, urban meteorology, and urban climate
• Air pollution meteorology & modelling
• Large-eddy simulation of atmospheric turbulence and dispersion
• Data assimilation for meteorological applications
• Computational Fluid Dynamics

His recent research activities are in the following topics:

• Large-eddy simulation of turbulent flows and dispersion of atmospheric pollutants in street canyons
• Coupling chemistry and turbulence in a street-scale large-eddy model
• Large-eddy simulation of atmospheric boundary layer over an inhomogeneous urban surface
• Traffic induced turbulence and its effects on pollutant concentrations in urban street canyons and improvement of operational urban air quality model
• Modelling urban heat island and impact of urbanization on urban climate

He has been involved as a PI or a Co-I in five NERC-funded projects. In particular, he developed a unique LES model based on a meteorological modelling system for turbulence and dispersion in street canyons in an NERC project (Experimental quantification and modelling of dispersion of particles in urban street canyons). He further developed the model in the following aspects:

1. Being capable for various canyon configurations
2. Being equipped with suitable boundary conditions (wall functions) so that the cases with a given temperature and/or a given concentration at walls/roads can be examined
3. Implementing prognostic equations for fast photochemical reactions (NOx-O3 chemistry and, recently, OH chemistry)

He is currently involved in the following research projects:

• 2009-2011: Modelling turbulent processes near urban surface using large-eddy simulation, The Royal Society, International Joint Project (with Dr Liu, School of Atmospheric Sciences, Nanjing University, China)
• 2010-2012: Birmingham Urban Climate Change Adaptation with Neighbourhood Estimates of Environmental Risk, the Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTP) programme, funded by the Technology Strategy Board, NERC, and Birmingham City Council
• 2011-2014: High density temperature measurements within the urban environment (HiTemp), NERC Networks of Sensors Programme, funded by NERC (NERC ref. NE/I006915/1)

Bright, V., W.J. Bloss and X.-M. Cai, 2011, Modelling atmospheric composition in urban street canyons, Weather, 66, 106-110.

Bright, V., W.J. Bloss and X.-M. Cai, Urban street canyons: coupling dynamics, chemistry and atmospheric pre-processing, in draft.

Solazzo, E., S. Vardoulakis and X.-M. Cai, Development of a novel methodology for interpreting air quality measurements within urban street canyons, Atmos. Env., In review.

Cai, X.-M., Effects of wall heating in a street canyon on flow characteristics, Boundary-Layer Meteorology, submitted.

Cai, X.-M., Effects of differential wall heating in street canyons on dispersion and ventilation characteristics of a passive scalar, Atmospheric Environment, submitted.

Bright, V., W.J. Bloss and X.-M. Cai, 2011, Modelling atmospheric composition in urban street canyons, Weather, accepted

Thornes, J., W. Bloss, S. Bouzarovski, X.-M. Cai, L. Chapman, J. Clark, S. Dessai, S. Du, D. van der Horst, M. Kendall, C. Kidd, and S. Randalls, 2010: Communicating the value of atmospheric services. Meteorological Applications, 17, 243-250.

Solazzo, E., X.Cai, S.Vardoulakis, 2009: Improved parameterisation for the numerical modelling of air pollution within an urban street canyon, Environmental Modelling & Software, 24, 381–388.

Cai, X.-M., J.F. Barlow and S.E. Belcher, 2008: Dispersion and transfer of passive pollutants in and above street canyons – Large-eddy simulations, Atmospheric Environment, 42, 5885-5895

Solazzo, E., X. Cai and S. Vardoulakis, 2008: Modelling wind flow and vehicle-induced turbulence in urban streets, Atmospheric Environment, 42, 4918-4931.

Chapman, L., Thornes, J.E., Huang, Y., Cai, X., Sanderson, V.L., & White, S.P, 2008: Modelling of rail surface temperatures: a preliminary study, Theoretical and Applied Climatology, 92, 121-131.

Cai, X.-M., G.R. McGregor, R.M. Harrison and D. Ryall, 2007: Modelling of Meteorological Conditions at an Urban Scale for the PUMA Campaigns. Meteorological Application, 14, 311-326.

Grawe, D., X.-M. Cai and R.M. Harrison, 2007: Large eddy simulation of shading effects on NO2 and O3 concentrations within an idealised street canyon, Atmospheric Environment, 41, 7304-7314.

Solazzo, E., S. Vardoulakis and X.-M. Cai, 2007: Evaluation of traffic producing turbulence schemes within operational street pollution models using roadside measurements, Atmospheric Environment, 41, 5357-5370.

Yu, Y., X.-M. Cai, and X.S. Qie, 2007: Influence of topography and large-scale forcing on the occurrence of katabatic flow jumps in Antarctica: Idealized simulations, Advances in Atmospheric Science, 24, 819-832.

Yu, Y. and X.-M. Cai, 2006: Structure and dynamics of katabatic flow jumps: idealised simulations, Boundary-Layer Meteorol., 118, 527-555.

Baggott, S., X.-M. Cai, G.R. McGregor, and R.M. Harrison, 2006: Model simulation of meteorology and air quality during the summer PUMA intensive measurement campaign in the UK West Midlands conurbation, Science of the Total Environment , 360, 26-42.

Harrison, R.M., J. Yin, R.M. Tilling, X. Cai, P.W. Seakins, J.R. Hopkins, D.L. Lansley, A.C. Lewis, M.C. Hunter, D.E. Heard, L.J. Carpenter, D.J. Creasey, J.D. Lee, M.J. Pilling, N. Carslaw, K.M. Emmerson, A. Redington, R.G. Derwent, D. Ryall, G. Mills, S.A. Penkett, 2006: Measurement and modelling of air pollution and atmospheric chemistry in the U.K. west midlands conurbation: Overview of the PUMA consortium project, Science of the Total Environment, 360, 5–25.

Yu, Y., Cai, X.-M., King, J.C. and Renfrew, I.A., 2005: Numerical simulations of katabatic jumps in Coats Land, Antarctica, Boundary-Layer Meteorol., 114, 413-437.

Baker, J., Walker, H.L. and Cai, X.-M. 2004, A study of the dispersion and transport of reactive pollutants in and above street canyons - A Large Eddy Simulation, Atmospheric Environment, 38, 6883-6892.

Cai, X.-M., Nasrullah, M. and Huang, Y. 2004: Fumigation of pollutants into a growing convective boundary layer over an inhomogeneous surface: a large eddy simulation, Atmospheric Environment, 38, 3605-3616.

Cui, Z.-Q., Cai, X.-M. Baker, C. 2004: Large eddy simulation of turbulent flow inside a street canyon, Quart. J. Royal Meteorol. Soc., 130, 1373-1394

Cai, X.-M., Zheng Y. and McGregor, G.R. 2002, Modelling of meteorological conditions at an urban scale for the PUMA winter campaign, Physics and Chemistry of the Earth, 27, 1479-1485.

Cai, X.-M., Luhar, A.K. 2002: Fumigation of pollutants in and above the entrainment zone into a growing convective boundary layer: a large eddy simulation, Atmospheric Environment, 36, 2997-3008.

Cai, X.-M. and D.G. Steyn, 2000: Modelling study of sea breezes in a complex coastal environment, Atmospheric Environment, 34, 2873-2885.

Cai, X.-M., R.A.S. Hourston and D.G. Steyn, 2000: A Numerical Study of Meteorological Conditions during PACIFIC ’93, Atmosphere and Ocean, 38, 457-479.

Cai, X.-M., 2000: Dispersion of a passive plume in an idealised urban convective boundary layer: a large-eddy simulation, Atmospheric Environment, 34, 61-72.

Cai, X.-M., 1999: Large-eddy simulation of the urban convective boundary layer, Quart. J. Royal Meteorol. Soc., 125, 1427-1444.

Batchvarova, E., X.-M. Cai, S.-E. Gryning, D.G. Steyn, 1999: Modelling internal boundary layer development in a region with complex coastline. Boundary-Layer Meteorology, 90, 1-20.

Cai, X.-M., D.G. Steyn and I. Uno, 1997: Analytical investigations of horizontal meso-scale momentum equations with Newtonian nudging, Meteorology and Atmospheric Physics, 64, 231-241.

Cai, X.-M. and D.G. Steyn, 1996: The von Kármán constant determined by large eddy simulation, Boundary-Layer Meteorology, 78, 143-164.

Uno, I., X.-M. Cai, D.G. Steyn and S. Emori, 1995: A simple extension of the Louis method for rough surface layer modelling, Boundary-Layer Meteorology, Vol.76, 395-409.

Cai, X.-M., D.G. Steyn and I.S. Gartshore, 1995: Resolved scale turbulence in the atmospheric surface layer from a large eddy simulation, Boundary-Layer Meteorology, Vol.75, 301-314