Personal profile
Research interests
Atmospheric processing affects the current and future composition of our air, with impacts upon human and environmental health, air quality and climate. My research group addresses areas of atmospheric chemistry and clean air science, including
- Understanding the sources and transformations of air pollutants in the urban atmosphere, ranging from trends in the UK to developing megacities such as Delhi
- Quantifying the sources and sinks for atmospheric oxidants: impacts from processes such as new reactive nitrogen emissions and particulate-mediated renoxification
- Applying air pollution science to improve local and regional air quality policy measures
Our work combines atmospheric field measurements, simulation chamber and laboratory studies and numerical modelling approaches. Fundamental understanding of the atmospheric chemical system is placed in an applied context: working with partners to apply clean air science for improved human and environmental health.
See also my personal research pages and the WM-Air Project
Qualifications
PhD, Atmospheric Chemistry - University of Cambridge
BA Natural Sciences (Chemistry) - University of Cambridge
Biography
William (Bill) Bloss completed his undergraduate degree and PhD at the University of Cambridge, the latter concerning laboratory studies of atmospheric halogen oxide reactions. He then worked as a Caltech Postdoctoral Scholar at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, studying stratospheric ozone depletion, and as a Research Fellow and then Lecturer at the University of Leeds, where he worked on field measurements of atmospheric chemistry in the UK, Europe and Antarctica.
He moved to the School of Geography, Earth & Environmental Sciences at the University of Birmingham in 2007. His research determines the causes of poor air quality, and supports development of effective policy measures to protect human and environmental health. Recent work has ranged from Clean Air Science for the West Midlands (WM-Air) to identification of air pollution sources in Delhi and Beijing.
Currently Pro-Vice-Chancellor and Head of College for Life & Environmental Sciences.
Education/Academic qualification
Doctor of Philosophy, PhD in Atmospheric Chemistry, University of Cambridge
Award Date: 18 Apr 2019
Keywords
- Q Science (General)
- Air Pollution
- Atmospheric Chemistry
Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals
In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):
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SDG 2 Zero Hunger -
SDG 3 Good Health and Well-being -
SDG 7 Affordable and Clean Energy -
SDG 9 Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure -
SDG 10 Reduced Inequalities -
SDG 11 Sustainable Cities and Communities -
SDG 12 Responsible Consumption and Production -
SDG 13 Climate Action -
SDG 14 Life Below Water -
SDG 15 Life on Land
Fingerprint
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Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years
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Air quality and health co-benefits of bus electrification: evidence from a UK metropolitan area
Zhong, J., Gojamgunde, T., Hall, J., Hang, Y., Bartington, S. E., Stocker, J., Bloss, W. J. & Shi, Z., Feb 2026, In: Environment international. 208, 9 p., 110066.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile -
Analysis of the abundance and impacts of volatile organic compounds across Europe
Liu, X., Wang, M., An, T., Zhang, X., Wang, T., Lara, R., Monge, M., Dufresne, M., Yañez-Serrano, A. M., Seco, R., Gohy, M., Petit, P., Chevalier, A., Vagnot, M.-P., Fortier, Y., Baudic, A., Ghersi, V., Gille, G., Lanzi, L. & Gros, V. & 20 others, , 20 Mar 2026, (E-pub ahead of print) In: npj Climate and Atmospheric Science. 28 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile22 Downloads (Pure) -
Dominant contribution of fossil fuel combustion to carbonaceous aerosol pollution in Delhi: Insights from radiocarbon and organic tracers
Wang, Z., Srivastava, D., Alam, M. S., Crilley, L. R., Kramer, L. J., Rooney, D. J., Saksakulkrai, S., Khare, M., Ascough, P., Bompard, N., Gulliver, P., Shanks, R., Xu, X., Cash, J. M., Di Marco, C. F., Langford, B., Nemitz, E., Shivani, Gadi, R. & Harrison, R. M. & 3 others, , 15 Feb 2026, In: Journal of Hazardous Materials. 504, 11 p., 141289.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile15 Downloads (Pure) -
Indoor air quality during cooking and cleaning: a modelling case study in a residential kitchen evaluated with real-world reference instrument measurements
Su, Y., Sommariva, R., Levine, J., Acton, W. J. F., Sahu, R., Brean, J., Bloss, W. J., Mazzeo, A., Nasir, Z. A., Shaw, D. R., Shi, Z., Hopkins, J. R. & Pfrang, C., 13 May 2026, (E-pub ahead of print) In: Environmental Science Processes and Impacts . 17 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile3 Downloads (Pure) -
Integrating Satellite Data, Modeling, and Citizen Science to Derive Critical Insights into Urban Dynamics
Wadhwa, A., Vohra, K., Zholdubaeva, E., Li, P., Wu, S., Bloss, W. & Sharma, A., 17 Feb 2026, Climate Extremes and Emerging Solutions: Data-Driven Insights and Geospatial Techniques. Poonia, V., Swarnkar, S. & Munoth, P. (eds.). 1st ed. Springer, Cham, p. 107-124 18 p.Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter (peer-reviewed) › peer-review
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INHABIT (Indoor HABItability during the Transition to Net Zero Housing)
Bloss, W. (Co-Investigator), Zhong, J. (Co-Investigator), Shi, Z. (Principal Investigator), Elliott, R. (Co-Investigator), Prestwood, E. (Co-Investigator), Pfrang, C. (Co-Investigator), Dai, Y. (Co-Investigator), Bartington, S. (Co-Investigator), Jowett, S. (Co-Investigator), Shan, Y. (Co-Investigator), Freer, M. (Co-Investigator) & Liu, B. (Co-Investigator)
13/02/25 → 12/02/30
Project: Research
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Air Quality Supersite Operation
Harrison, R. (Principal Investigator), Bloss, W. (Co-Investigator) & Shi, Z. (Co-Investigator)
Department For Environment, Food And Rural Affairs
1/04/24 → 31/03/30
Project: Other Government Departments
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Global Centers Track 1: CLEETS - CLean Energy and Equitable Transportation Solutions
Jones, P. (Co-Investigator), Abeyakone Dissanayake, D. (Co-Investigator), Quinn, A. (Co-Investigator), Mehta, N. (Co-Investigator), Reardon, L. (Co-Investigator), Bartington, S. (Co-Investigator), Radcliffe, J. (Principal Investigator), Bloss, W. (Co-Investigator), Anderson, P. (Co-Investigator) & Chapman, L. (Co-Investigator)
Engineering & Physical Science Research Council
1/12/23 → 30/09/28
Project: Research Councils
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A Health-centred Systems Approach towards Net-Zero: Transforming regional climate mitigation policies (Heal-NZ)
Shi, Z. (Principal Investigator), Jowett, S. (Co-Investigator), Day, R. (Co-Investigator), Bloss, W. (Co-Investigator), Bartington, S. (Co-Investigator), Cavoski, A. (Co-Investigator), Prestwood, E. (Co-Investigator), Pope, F. (Co-Investigator), Ferranti, E. (Co-Investigator), Shan, Y. (Co-Investigator), Reardon, L. (Co-Investigator) & Wang, X. (Co-Investigator)
1/10/23 → 30/09/26
Project: Research
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Exploring options for future regional "stretch" air quality targets
Zhong, J. (Co-Investigator), Acton, J. (Co-Investigator) & Bloss, W. (Principal Investigator)
West Midlands Combined Authority
1/07/24 → 28/02/25
Project: Research
Datasets
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The Air We Breath
Shi, Z. (Creator), Li, W. (Creator), Davidson, N. (Creator), Muller, C. (Creator), Bloss, W. (Creator) & Bartington, S. (Creator), University of Birmingham, 17 Mar 2023
DOI: 10.25500/edata.bham.00000921
Dataset
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Research data supporting “Modelling the dispersion of particle number concentrations in the West Midlands, UK using the ADMS-Urban model”
Harrison, R. (Creator), Zhong, J. (Creator) & Bloss, W. (Creator), University of Birmingham, 22 Jun 2023
DOI: 10.25500/edata.bham.00000964
Dataset
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Research data supporting “ADMS-Urban modelling of black carbon over the West Midlands, United Kingdom: Sensitivity test of traffic emission factor adjustments”
Zhong, J. (Creator), Li, Y. (Creator), Bloss, W. (Creator) & Harrison, R. (Creator), University of Birmingham, 8 Jul 2024
DOI: 10.25500/edata.bham.00001141
Dataset
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Research data supporting "The Influence of Local and Regional Sources on Concentrations of Fine Particulate Matter in Delhi”
Bloss, W. (Creator) & Srivastava, D. (Creator), University of Birmingham, 14 Sept 2023
DOI: 10.25500/edata.bham.00001005
Dataset
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Sustainability in Respiratory Medicine
Grover, L. (Invited speaker), Dove, A. (Invited speaker), Turner, A. (Invited speaker) & Bloss, W. (Invited speaker)
18 Feb 2022Activity: Academic and Industrial events › Guest lecture or Invited talk
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Clean Air for All
Bartington, S. (Advisor), O'Hara, M. (Advisor), Bloss, W. (Advisor) & Cresswell, D. (Advisor)
20 Nov 2019Activity: Engagement and Public events › Engagement event
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