Dr Ying Chen PhD

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences
Assistant Professor in Atmospheric Science

Contact details

Email: y.chen.21@bham.ac.uk
Twitter: @YingCHEN_UK

Address: School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences
University of Birmingham
Edgbaston
Birmingham
B15 2TT

Dr Ying Chen is an expert in climate change and air quality. His research aims to advance understanding of critical roles of aerosols and clouds in Earth climate for more reliable estimate of tipping points and remaining carbon emission budget. His research also exports interlinks between air pollution and climate change to advice policymakers for “win-win” mitigation strategies.

Qualifications

PhD in Atmospheric Science, Leipzig University (joint training in Leibniz Institute for Tropospheric Research and Max Planck Institute for Chemistry, 2017) ·
MSc in Atmospheric Science, Peking University (2009)
BSc, Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology (2006)

Teaching

Dr Ying Chen teaches into Birmingham’s MSc Air Pollution Management and Control.

Postgraduate supervision

Research interests: aerosol-cloud-climate interactions, air quality, sustainable energy, climate extremes and tipping points. Please contact me if you are interested in studying for a PhD or applying postdoctoral Fellowships with the group. For more information see my research page at: https://sites.google.com/view/yingchen-group/ Email: y.chen.21@bham.ac.uk

Other activities

Invited talks:

2023. “Distinguish aerosol’s fingerprint on clouds and climate using machine-learning”, Machine-Learning Seminar at the Institute for Atmospheric and Climate Science, ETH Zurich, Switzerland.
2023. “Distinguish aerosol’s fingerprint on clouds using volcano as a natural experiment”, online, German DFG Research Unit: VolImpact, Germany.
2022. “Distinguish aerosol’s fingerprint on clouds and its relevant climate impact using machine-learning”, Max-Planck-Institute for Chemistry, Mainz, Germany.
2022. “Use an unprecedented volcano as a natural experiment to distinguish aerosol’s fingerprint on clouds”, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia.
2022. “Machine-learning improves understanding of Aerosol climate impacts”, Met Office, UK.
2022. “What volcanoes tell us about the potential efficacy of Marine Cloud Brighten” NCAR, virtual.
2021. “How can machine-learning help us improve climate models?” PNNL, US, virtual.
2020. Invited keynote talk: “COVID’s influ. on Meteo.” Fontserè Conference on meteo. & climatology, Barcelona.
2020. "Win-win mitigation strategy", Composition Climate Interactions Meeting, NCAS, UK.
2019. "Air Pollution in Delhi, India", Department of Chemistry, Uni. of Cambridge, UK.
2019. "Air Pollution and its climate effect in Delhi, India", Institute of Atmospheric Physics, China.
2019. "Impacts of Aerosol Hygros.: Chemistry, Observation & Climate", Uni. of Manchester, UK .
2019. Co-organized the WRF-Chem Workshop of UK, Lancaster University, UK.

Reviewer and Editor:

Funding Review: Reviewer for NOAA ERB/AC4/CVP grants; Reviewer & Rapporteur for ATMO-ACCESS
Journal Reviewer: Nature, Nature Geosci., Nature Commu., BAMS, ES&T Lett., Environ. Int., GRL, Atmos. Chem. Phys., J. Geophys. Res., STOTEN, npj Clim. Atmos. Sci.., and etc.
Topic Editor of Frontiers in Environmental Science, “AI in climate and atmos. studies”.
Guest Editor of Atmosphere, Special Issue on “Study of Mitigation of PM2.5 and O3 Pollution”.

Conference Chair and Convenor:

Chair, International Aerosol Conference 2022, Athens, session “Aerosol-Cloud Interactions”.

Memberships:

2018 – present Member of AGU, USA (AGU)
2016 – present Member of European Geosciences Union (EGU)
2020 – present Member of Royal Society of Chemistry, UK (RSC)
2021 – present Member of “UK Met Office Data Science Network”

Granted Patents:

Chen Y., et al., Patent No.: CN102182629B, A wind power curtail evaluation method based on the wind real-time measurement, 2013 (China).
Chen Z.B., Chen Y., et al., Patent No.: CN103530508B, Method for establishing wind speed-power conversion probability model, 2017 (China).
Chen Z.B., Chen Y., et al., Patent No.: CN102938562B, Method for forecasting regional wind power, 2015 (China).
Cheng X., Chen Y., et al., Patent No.: CN102722760B, Method of regional scale solar power forecast, 2015 (CN).
Ding Y., Ding J., Zhou H., Cheng X., Chen Y., et al., Patent No.: CN103544679B, Ground cloud image distortion correction method for full sky imager, 2016 (China).
Wang N., Cheng X., Liu G., Zhou H., Ma Y., Cui F., Chen Y., et al., Patent No.: CN103245979B, Radiation resource monitoring system for large-scale solar power of million kilowatts, 2016 (China).

Publications

Highlight publications

Chen, Y, Haywood, J, Wang, Y, Malavelle, F, Jordan, G, Partridge, D, Fieldsend, J, Leeuw, JD, Schmidt, A, Cho, N, Oreopoulos, L, Platnick, S, Grosvenor, D, Field, P & Lohmann, U 2022, 'Machine learning reveals climate forcing from aerosols is dominated by increased cloud cover', Nature Geoscience, vol. 15, no. 8, pp. 609–614. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-022-00991-6

Chen, Y, Wang, Y, Nenes, A, Wild, O, Song, S, Hu, D, Liu, D, He, J, Hildebrandt Ruiz, L, Apte, JS, Gunthe, SS & Liu, P 2022, 'Ammonium Chloride Associated Aerosol Liquid Water Enhances Haze in Delhi, India', Environmental Science & Technology, vol. 56, no. 11, pp. 7163-7173. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.2c00650

Chen, Y, Wild, O, Ryan, E, Sahu, SK, Lowe, D, Archer-Nicholls, S, Wang, Y, Mcfiggans, G, Ansari, T, Singh, V, Sokhi, RS, Archibald, AT & Beig, G 2020, 'Mitigation of PM2.5 and ozone pollution in Delhi: A sensitivity study during the pre-monsoon period', Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics. https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-499-2020

Gunthe, SS, Liu, P, Panda, U, Raj, SS, Sharma, A, Darbyshire, E, Reyes-Villegas, E, Allan, J, Chen, Y, Wang, X, Song, S, Pöhlker, ML, Shi, L, Wang, Y, Kommula, SM, Liu, T, Ravikrishna, R, Mcfiggans, G, Mickley, LJ, Martin, ST, Pöschl, U, Andreae, MO & Coe, H 2021, 'Enhanced aerosol particle growth sustained by high continental chlorine emission in India', Nature Geoscience, vol. 14, no. 2, pp. 77–84. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-020-00677-x

Wang, Y & Chen, Y 2019, 'Significant Climate Impact of Highly Hygroscopic Atmospheric Aerosols in Delhi, India', Geophysical Research Letters. https://doi.org/10.1029/2019GL082339

Recent publications

Article

Zheng, J, Ye, H, Teng, Y, Jin, S, Zhang, P, Zhang, S, Lv, D, Chen, Y, Li, R, Zhou, J, Liu, M & Jiang, J 2026, 'Drivers of the Changing Urban and Rural Surface Ozone Differences in China: Reducing Emissions or Warming Cities', ACS ES&T Air, vol. 3, no. 5, pp. 1382-1392. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsestair.6c00009

Yoshioka, M, Grosvenor, DP, Peace, AH, Haywood, JM, Chen, Y & Field, PR 2026, 'Impacts of the Icelandic Holuhraun volcanic eruption on cloud properties using regional model cloud-aerosol simulations', Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, vol. 26, no. 6, pp. 4341-4358. https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-26-4341-2026

Dai, Y, Qian, J, Yang, Y, Liu, B, Li, S, Zhang, K, Xie, Q, Tong, C, Chen, Y, MacKenzie, AR & Shi, Z 2026, 'Significant benefits of pollution alerts for cleaner air and better health', PNAS nexus, vol. 5, no. 3, pgag054. https://doi.org/10.1093/pnasnexus/pgag054

Liu, D, Jiang, F, Hu, K, Ding, S, Wang, X, Wu, H, Yang, Y, Zheng, Z, Yu, C, Allan, J, Hu, D, Sun, Y, Tian, P, Zhao, D, Huang, M, Li, S, Wu, Y, Kompalli, SK, Suresh Babu, S, Li, W, Bi, L, Kong, S, Wang, Y, Chen, Y, Liu, P, Schwarz, JP & Coe, H 2026, 'Warming potential of atmospheric black carbon modulated by particulate matter', Nature Geoscience, vol. 19, no. 10, pp. 1174-1181. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-026-02068-0

Chen, Y 2025, 'Air pollution in New Delhi is more severe than observed due to hygroscopicity-induced bias in aerosol sampling', npj Clean Air, vol. 1, no. 1. https://doi.org/10.1038/s44407-024-00001-6

Schneider, MY, Jiang, J, Chen, Y, Aas, W, Atabakhsh, S, Aurela, M, Belis, C, Bougiatioti, A, Bressi, M, Canonaco, F, Chazeau, B, Chebaicheb, H, Ehn, M, Eleftheriadis, K, Favez, O, Flentje, H, Font, A, Freney, E, Gilardoni, S, Gini, MI, Green, DC, Heikkinen, L, Keernik, H, Lhotka, R, Lin, C, Maasikmets, M, Marchand, N, Minguillón, MC, Necki, J, Ovadnevaite, J, Paglione, M, Pauraite, J, Petit, J-E, Pikridas, M, Platt, S, Pokorná, P, Poluzzi, V, Poulain, L, Riffault, V, Rinaldi, M, Sciare, J, Sosedova, Y, Stavroulas, I, Timonen, H, Tobler, A, Vasilescu, J, Via, M, Vodička, P, Zhang, Y, Zografou, O, Daellenbach, KR, Upadhyay, A, Chen, GI, Manousakas, M-I, El Haddad, I & Prévôt, ASH 2025, 'Analysis of source regions and transport pathways of sub-micron aerosol components in Europe', Environmental Pollution, vol. 385, 127110. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2025.127110

Wang, Y, Neubauer, D, Chen, Y, Jordan, G, Malavelle, F, Yuan, T, Partridge, D, Field, P, Wang, H, Wang, M, Michou, M, Nabat, P, Laakso, A, Myhre, G & Lohmann, U 2025, 'Challenges in global climate models to represent cloud response to aerosols: insights from volcanic eruptions', Nature Communications. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-67359-3

Upadhyay, A, Jiang, J, Cheng, Y, Vasilakos, P, Chen, Y, Banos, DT, Flückiger, B, Manousakas, MI, Prévôt, ASH, Modini, RL, Campa, ASDL, Schemmel, A, Alastuey, A, Bergmans, B, Alves, CA, Hueglin, C, Colombi, C, Reche, C, Sánchez-Rodas, D, Massabò, D, Diapouli, E, Mazzei, F, Lucarelli, F, Uzu, G, Salma, I, Jaffrezo, J-L, Rosa, JDDL, Reusser, JE, Eleftheriadis, K, Alleman, LY, Scerri, M, Severi, M, Favez, O, Prati, P, Traversi, R, Vecchi, R, Becagli, S, Nava, S, Castillo, S, Darfeuil, S, Grange, SK, Querol, X, Kertész, Z, Ciarelli, G, Probst-Hensch, N, Vienneau, D, Kuenen, J, Gon, HDVD, Daellenbach, KR, Krymova, E, Hoogh, KD & El-Haddad, I 2025, 'High-resolution modelling of particulate matter chemical composition over Europe: brake wear pollution', Environment International, vol. 202, 109615. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2025.109615

Jordan, G, Malavelle, F, Haywood, J, Chen, Y, Johnson, B, Partridge, D, Peace, A, Duncan, E, Watson-Parris, D, Neubauer, D, Laakso, A, Michou, M & Nabat, P 2025, 'How well are aerosol–cloud interactions represented in climate models? – Part 2: Isolating the aerosol impact on clouds following the 2014–2015 Holuhraun eruption', Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, vol. 25, no. 20, pp. 13393-13428. https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-13393-2025

Jordan, G, Malavelle, F, Chen, Y, Peace, A, Duncan, E, Partridge, DG, Kim, P, Watson-Parris, D, Takemura, T, Neubauer, D, Myhre, G, Skeie, R, Laakso, A & Haywood, J 2024, 'How well are aerosol-cloud interactions represented in climate models? - Part 1: Understanding the sulfate aerosol production from the 2014-15 Holuhraun eruption', Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, vol. 24, no. 3, pp. 1939-1960. https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-1939-2024

Pan, B, Liu, D, Tian, P, Zhao, D, Du, Y, Li, S, Hu, K, Hu, D, Sun, B, Yu, C, Chen, Y, Li, W, Huang, M, Xu, H & You, S 2024, 'Increased Freezing Temperature of Clouds Over China Due To Anthropogenic Pollution', Geophysical Research Letters, vol. 51, no. 22, e2024GL109086. https://doi.org/10.1029/2024gl109086

Peace, AH, Chen, Y, Jordan, G, Partridge, DG, Malavelle, F, Duncan, E & Haywood, JM 2024, 'In-plume and out-of-plume analysis of aerosol–cloud interactions derived from the 2014–2015 Holuhraun volcanic eruption', Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, vol. 24, no. 16, pp. 9533-9553. https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-9533-2024

Wang, O, Liang, J, Gu, Y, Haywood, JM, Chen, Y, Fang, C & Wang, QG 2024, 'Projected future changes in extreme precipitation over China under stratospheric aerosol intervention in the UKESM1 climate model', Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, vol. 24, no. 21, pp. 12355-12373. https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-12355-2024

Graham, AM, Pope, RJ, Chipperfield, MP, Dhomse, SS, Pimlott, M, Feng, W, Singh, V, Chen, Y, Wild, O, Sokhi, R & Beig, G 2024, 'Quantifying effects of long-range transport of NO₂ over Delhi using back trajectories and satellite data', Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, vol. 24, no. 2, pp. 789-806. https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-789-2024

Si, J, Zhang, L, Zhang, S, Li, Y, Zhang, Z, He, Z, Chen, Y & Zhan, H 2024, 'Response of air pollution to meteorological conditions and socioeconomic activities associated to the COVID-19 outbreak in the Yangtze River economic belt', Atmospheric Environment, vol. 323, 120390. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosenv.2024.120390

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