An external view of the Met Office building at night.

Dr Justin Langridge

Justin leads the Observation Based Research Group, that undertakes ground and airborne field experiments that underpin improvements to the representation of physical processes in our weather and climate models.

Areas of expertise

  • Atmospheric aerosol.
  • Field and laboratory studies of aerosol and trace gas properties.
  • Scientific instrument development 

Publications by Justin Langridge

Current activities

Justin heads the Observation Based Research Group (OBR), which is a strategic area within Foundation Science that provides underpinning research observations and analysis in support of model development, the use of current and future satellite observations and to deliver selected services directly to external Met Office customers.

OBR is made up of 4 research groups focussed on: i) airborne cloud and aerosol research, ii) airborne radiation research, iii) boundary layer research and iv) instrumentation development. The team is highly multi-disciplinary, comprising around 27 scientists, instrument engineers and support staff located at Exeter HQ and at our boundary layer research site in Cardington, Bedfordshire.  

Justin’s personal research interests include the development of spectroscopic instrumentation for atmospheric research applications and observational studies of aerosol processes, largely targeting radiative effects.

Career background

Justin obtained a first class degree in Natural Sciences (Physical Chemistry) and PhD from the University of Cambridge. His doctoral work focused on development of novel broadband spectroscopic techniques for ultra-sensitive measurement of atmospheric reactive trace gases. He applied these techniques in a range of field and laboratory experiments to study processes of importance to air quality and climate. 

In 2009 Justin moved to the United States and spent four years as an Aerosol Research Scientist at the NOAA Chemical Sciences Division, Boulder CO. In this post he worked on the development of advanced instruments for aerosol optical property characterization and was involved in several airborne field campaigns focused on understanding the impacts of aerosol on atmospheric radiation. Example research included evaluation of aerosol aging impacts on radiative forcing in the Los Angeles basin, characterization of absorption from organic brown carbon in biomass burning emissions, and studies of the kinetics of aerosol water uptake relevant to cloud droplet formation.

Justin joined the Met Office in 2013 as a Senior Scientist in the OBR Aerosol Research Group to continue research in the field of atmospheric aerosols and radiation impacts. He became manager of the Aerosol group in 2014 and was involved in a number of projects including development of the dual photoacoustic/cavity ringdown aerosol instrument EXSCALABAR and airborne field projects to study aerosol properties and processes in Africa, Ascension Island, India and the UK.

In 2018, Justin became head of the Observation Based Research group.

External recognition

  • Colorado Governor's Award for High Impact Research (collaborative), 2012.
  • CIRES Science and Engineering Outstanding Performance Award (collaborative), 2011.
  • Norrish and Unilever prizes for top graduating physical chemist, University of Cambridge, 2004.