Gemma Halloran (nee Bennitt)
Gemma leads the Radiological and Biological team in the Atmospheric Dispersion and Air Quality group.
Areas of expertise
- The use of GNSS and wind observations in NWP models.
- Radiological and biological dispersion modelling.
Current activities
Gemma leads the Radiological and Biological group in the Atmospheric Dispersion and Air Quality team. The group's focus is on research in the field of atmospheric dispersion and the development and application of the Met Office's Met Office Dispersion Model for emergency response events including the spread of animal and plant diseases and nuclear accidents. Examples of such events include the spread of Bluetongue virus in 2006/07 and the Fukushima nuclear power plant accident in March 2011. This work is essential to the activities of many UK and international organisations.
Career background
Gemma joined the Met Office in 2007, and worked in the Satellite Applications, and then Satellite and Surface Assimilation group, until joining the Atmospheric Dispersion and Air Quality group in 2024. Prior to joining the Met Office, Gemma gained an MSc in Applied Meteorology at Reading University with a Scholarship from the Royal Meteorological Society. She investigated the evolution of the 2006-2007 temperature anomalies in the equatorial Pacific for her dissertation. Before studying Meteorology, she received a Masters in Earth Sciences at Oxford University. There, her Masters research project investigated the potential of Ikaite to record past oceanic changes in the oxygen isotopic composition of water.