Contact Dr Michelle Cain
- Email: [email protected]
- ORCID
Areas of expertise
- Agrifood Systems
- Air
- Environmental Policy
- Monitoring and Environmental Informatics
Background
Dr Cain's core expertise is in greenhouse gases, air pollution and climate science. Her current research focuses on the role of greenhouse gases other than carbon dioxide in limiting global warming, consistent with the Paris Agreement's temperature goal. In particular, how to estimate the temperature outcomes from reducing methane emissions. Agricultural emissions are dominated by methane and nitrous oxide, both potent greenhouse gases. However methane's lifetime in the atmosphere is around a decade, whereas nitrous oxide's is over a century, and so methods of comparison must account for this to be accurate over all timescales.
Before joining Cranfield in 2020, Dr Cain was a senior researcher at the University of Oxford, where she developed the Oxford Martin Programme on Climate Pollutants (https://www.oxfordmartin.ox.ac.uk/pollutants), which aimed to make climate metrics used in climate policy more fit-for-purpose. She held two University of Oxford Knowledge Exchange Fellowships, on agricultural climate mitigation.
As a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Cambridge (2009-2017), Dr Cain worked on modelling the sources of pollution measured by the Cranfield-based FAAM research aircraft (https://www.faam.ac.uk/). She took part in conducting large field campaigns to the Arctic to measure methane in the atmosphere, linking these measurements back to sources such as remote wetlands. Other field campaigns targeted UK air pollution, and fugitive methane from North Sea gas rigs.
Her PhD, from the University of Reading, combined airborne measurements with modelling of long range transport of pollutants in the atmosphere from North America to Europe, and also in the West African Monsoon.
Current activities
Dr Cain is a UKRI Future Leaders Fellow. Her recent and current research includes the UKRI-funded projects: Reframing non-CO2 mitigation approaches to limit global warming, OpenGHG, FixOurFood, and A practical tool and robust framework for evaluating greenhouse gas emissions from land-based activities.
Dr Cain is co-chair of the Royal Meteorological Society's Science Engagement Committee, and vice-chair of the Technical Advisory Group on Methane for the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (UN FAO).
Publications
Articles In Journals
- Bishop G, Duffy C, Prudhomme R, Cowie A, O’Donoghue C, .... (2024). Defining national net zero goals is critical for food and land use policy. Communications Earth & Environment, 5(1)
- Cordero JP, Donkers K, Harrison I, Bridle SL, Frankowska A, .... (2024). AgriFoodPy: a package for modelling food systems. Journal of Open Source Software, 9(97)
- Buckton SJ, Fazey I, Doherty B, Bryant M, Banwart SA, .... (2024). Transformative action towards regenerative food systems: a large-scale case study. PLOS Sustainability and Transformation, 3(11)
- Beauchemin KA, Kebreab E, Cain M & VandeHaar MJ. (2024). The path to net-zero in dairy production: are pronounced decreases in enteric methane achievable?. Annual Review of Animal Biosciences, 13(1)
- McAuliffe GA, Lynch J, Cain M, Buckingham S, Rees RM, .... (2023). Are single global warming potential impact assessments adequate for carbon footprints of agri-food systems?. Environmental Research Letters, 18(8)
- Sakrabani R, Garnett K, Knox JW, Rickson RJ, Pawlett M, .... (2023). Towards net zero in agriculture: future challenges and opportunities for arable, livestock and protected cropping systems in the UK. Outlook On Agriculture, 52(2)
- Buckton SJ, Fazey I, Sharpe B, Om ES, Doherty B, .... (2023). The Regenerative Lens: a conceptual framework for regenerative social-ecological systems. One Earth, 6(7)
- Allen MR, Peters GP, Shine KP, Azar C, Balcombe P, .... (2022). Indicate separate contributions of long-lived and short-lived greenhouse gases in emission targets. npj Climate and Atmospheric Science, 5(1)
- Shaw JT, Allen G, Barker P, Pitt JR, Pasternak D, .... (2022). Large Methane Emission Fluxes Observed From Tropical Wetlands in Zambia. Global Biogeochemical Cycles, 36(6)
- Smith MA, Cain M & Allen MR. (2021). Further improvement of warming-equivalent emissions calculation. npj Climate and Atmospheric Science, 4(1)
- Allen MR, Tanaka K, Macey A, Cain M, Jenkins S, .... (2021). Ensuring that offsets and other internationally transferred mitigation outcomes contribute effectively to limiting global warming. Environmental Research Letters, 16(7)
- Cain M, Jenkins S, Allen MR, Lynch J, Frame DJ, .... (2021). Methane and the Paris Agreement temperature goals. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences, 380(2215)
- Jenkins S, Cain M, Friedlingstein P, Gillett N, Walsh T, .... (2021). Quantifying non-CO2 contributions to remaining carbon budgets. npj Climate and Atmospheric Science, 4(1)
- Doherty B, Bryant M, Denby K, Fazey I, Bridle S, .... (2021). Transformations to regenerative food systems - an outline of the FixOurFood project. Nutrition Bulletin, 47(1)
- MOYA/ZWAMPS Team , Nisbet E, Allen G, Fisher RE, France JL, .... (2021). Isotopic signatures of methane emissions from tropical fires, agriculture and wetlands: the MOYA and ZWAMPS flights. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences, 380(2215)
- Lynch J, Cain M, Frame D & Pierrehumbert R. (2021). Agriculture's contribution to climate change and role in mitigation is distinct from predominantly fossil CO2-emitting sectors. Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems, 4
- Cain M, Shine K, Frame D, Lynch J, Macey A, .... (2021). Comment on ‘Unintentional unfairness when applying new greenhouse gas emissions metrics at country level’. Environmental Research Letters, 16(6)
- Leach NJ, Jenkins S, Nicholls Z, Smith CJ, Lynch J, .... (2021). FaIRv2.0.0: a generalized impulse response model for climate uncertainty and future scenario exploration. Geoscientific Model Development, 14(5)
- Lynch J, Cain M, Pierrehumbert R & Allen M. (2020). Demonstrating GWP*: a means of reporting warming-equivalent emissions that captures the contrasting impacts of short- and long-lived climate pollutants. Environmental Research Letters, 15(4)
- Nisbet EG, Fisher RE, Lowry D, France JL, Allen G, .... (2020). Methane Mitigation: Methods to Reduce Emissions, on the Path to the Paris Agreement. Reviews of Geophysics, 58(1)
- Jenkins S, Cain M, Friedlingstein P, Gillett N & Allen M. (2020). Quantifying non-CO2 contributions to remaining carbon budgets.
- Cain M, Lynch J, Allen MR, Fuglestvedt JS, Frame DJ, .... (2019). Improved calculation of warming-equivalent emissions for short-lived climate pollutants. npj Climate and Atmospheric Science, 2(1)
- Cain M & Gilbert A. (2019). Meeting a global temperature goal of 1.5 degC. Weather, 74(4)
- Nisbet EG, Manning MR, Dlugokencky EJ, Fisher RE, Lowry D, .... (2019). Very Strong Atmospheric Methane Growth in the 4 Years 2014–2017: Implications for the Paris Agreement. Global Biogeochemical Cycles, 33(3)
- Scaife A, Guilyardi E, Cain M & Gilbert A. (2019). What is the El Niño–Southern Oscillation?. Weather, 74(7)
- Allen MR, Shine KP, Fuglestvedt JS, Millar RJ, Cain M, .... (2018). A solution to the misrepresentations of CO2-equivalent emissions of short-lived climate pollutants under ambitious mitigation. npj Climate and Atmospheric Science, 1(1)
- Seneviratne SI, Rogelj J, Séférian R, Wartenburger R, Allen MR, .... (2018). The many possible climates from the Paris Agreement’s aim of 1.5 °C warming. Nature, 558(7708)
- Fuglestvedt J, Rogelj J, Millar RJ, Allen M, Boucher O, .... (2018). Implications of possible interpretations of ‘greenhouse gas balance’ in the Paris Agreement. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences, 376(2119)
- Cain M, Warwick NJ, Fisher RE, Lowry D, Lanoisellé M, .... (2017). A cautionary tale: A study of a methane enhancement over the North Sea. Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, 122(14)
- Fisher RE, France JL, Lowry D, Lanoisellé M, Brownlow R, .... (2017). Measurement of the 13C isotopic signature of methane emissions from northern European wetlands. Global Biogeochemical Cycles, 31(3)
- Ridley DA, Cain M, Methven J & Arnold SR. (2017). Sensitivity of tropospheric ozone to chemical kinetic uncertainties in air masses influenced by anthropogenic and biomass burning emissions. Geophysical Research Letters, 44(14)
- France JL, Cain M, Fisher RE, Lowry D, Allen G, .... (2016). Measurements of δ13C in CH4 and using particle dispersion modeling to characterize sources of Arctic methane within an air mass. Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, 121(23)
- Brownlow R, Lowry D, Thomas RM, Fisher RE, France JL, .... (2016). Methane mole fraction and δ13C above and below the trade wind inversion at Ascension Island in air sampled by aerial robotics. Geophysical Research Letters, 43(22)
- Pisso I, Myhre CL, Platt SM, Eckhardt S, Hermansen O, .... (2016). Constraints on oceanic methane emissions west of Svalbard from atmospheric in situ measurements and Lagrangian transport modeling. Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, 121(23)
- Myhre CL, Ferré B, Platt SM, Silyakova A, Hermansen O, .... (2016). Extensive release of methane from Arctic seabed west of Svalbard during summer 2014 does not influence the atmosphere. Geophysical Research Letters, 43(9)
- Nisbet EG, Dlugokencky EJ, Manning MR, Lowry D, Fisher RE, .... (2016). Rising atmospheric methane: 2007–2014 growth and isotopic shift. Global Biogeochemical Cycles, 30(9)
- Warwick NJ, Cain ML, Fisher R, France JL, Lowry D, .... (2016). Using δ13C-CH4 and δD-CH4 to constrain Arctic methane emissions. Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, 16(23)
- Walker HM, Stone D, Ingham T, Vaughan S, Cain M, .... (2015). Night-time measurements of HOx during the RONOCO project and analysis of the sources of HO2. Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, 15(14)
- Dore AJ, Carslaw DC, Braban C, Cain M, Chemel C, .... (2015). Evaluation of the performance of different atmospheric chemical transport models and inter-comparison of nitrogen and sulphur deposition estimates for the UK. Atmospheric Environment, 119
- O'Shea SJ, Allen G, Gallagher MW, Bower K, Illingworth SM, .... (2014). Methane and carbon dioxide fluxes and their regional scalability for the European Arctic wetlands during the MAMM project in summer 2012. Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, 14(23)
- Pugh TAM, Cain M, Methven J, Wild O, Arnold SR, .... (2012). A Lagrangian model of air-mass photochemistry and mixing using a trajectory ensemble: the Cambridge Tropospheric Trajectory model of Chemistry And Transport (CiTTyCAT) version 4.2. Geoscientific Model Development, 5(1)
- Cain M, Methven J & Highwood EJ. (2012). Quantification of chemical and physical processes influencing ozone during long-range transport using a trajectory ensemble. Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, 12(15)
- Real E, Law KS, Schlager H, Roiger A, Huntrieser H, .... (2008). Lagrangian analysis of low altitude anthropogenic plume processing across the North Atlantic. Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, 8(24)
- Meredith NP, Cain M, Horne RB, Thorne RM, Summers D, .... (2003). Evidence for chorus‐driven electron acceleration to relativistic energies from a survey of geomagnetically disturbed periods. Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics, 108(A6)
