Dr Nick Teanby

Summary

My research comprises application of geophysical techniques to solve planetary science problems. Currently, my primary research focus is the atmosphere of Saturn's giant moon Titan, which has a thick nitrogen and methane atmosphere with a varied organic photochemistry.

My studies use infra-red remote sensing data measured by the Cassini spacecraft, combined with radiative transfer techniques to map out the distribution of unstable organic species. These species can be used as tracers to provide new insights into Titan's large-scale dynamics, such as the polar vortex and meridional circulation.

I also study the atmospheres of Saturn, Jupiter, Uranus, Neptune, and Mars using both space-based and ground-based instruments such as the UK Infra-Red Telescope, NASA's Infra-Red Telescope Facility, and Gemini.

Recently I have also begun to apply seismic techniques developed for Earth to planetary interiors, including Mars, to aid development of future in-situ geophysical missions to the planets.

Biography

2010-present University of Bristol, STFC Advanced Research Fellow (Planetary Atmospheres and Interiors)

2008-2010 University of Oxford, STFC Advanced Research Fellow (Planetary Atmospheres and Interiors)

2003-2008 University of Oxford, Postdoctoral Research Assistant (Planetary Atmospheres)

2001-2003 Univeristy of Leeds, Postdoctoral Research Fellow (Seismology)

1997-2001 University of Leeds, PhD (Geomagnetism)

1993-1997 University of Cambridge, Degree in Natural Sciences (Physics)

Teaching

Lecturer: Atmospheric Processes (2nd Year)

Supervisor: Geophysics Brecon Beacons field course (3rd Year)

Supervisor: Geophysics field projects (3rd Year)

Supervisor: Final yeat projects (4th Year)

Post Graduate Training Coordinator

Keywords

• planets
• geophysics
• atmospheres
• seismology

Memberships

Organisations

School of Earth Sciences

Academic staff

• Earth Sciences academic staff

Research groups

• Geophysics

Research themes

• Evolution and Architecture of the Solid Earth and Planets

Selected publications

• Teanby, N & Wookey, J 2011, ‘Seismic detection of meteorite impacts on Mars’. Physics of the Earth and Planetary Interiors, vol 186., pp. 70 - 80
• Teanby, N & Bowles, N 2010, ‘The future of planetary geophysics’. Astronomy & Geophysics, vol 51., pp. 2.22 - 2.25
• Teanby, N, Irwin, P, Kok, Rd & Nixon, C 2010, ‘Seasonal changes in Titan’s polar trace gas abundance observed by Cassini’. Astrophysical Journal Letters, vol 724., pp. L84 - L89
• Teanby, N, Kok, Rd, Irwin, P, Osprey, S, Vinatier, S, Gierasch, P, Read, P, Flasar, F, Conrath, B, Achterberg, R, Bezard, B, Nixon, C & Calcutt, S 2008, ‘Titan’s winter polar vortex structure revealed by chemical tracers’. Journal of Geophysical Research - Planets., pp. E12003
• Teanby, N, Irwin, P, Kok, Rd & Nixon, C 2009, ‘Dynamical implications of seasonal and spatial variations in Titan’s stratospheric composition’. Philosophical Transactions fo the Royal Society A, vol 367., pp. 697 - 711
• McCleese, D, Schofield, J, Taylor, F, Abdou, W, Aharonson, O, Banfield, D, Calcutt, S, Heavens, N, Irwin, P, Kass, D, Kleinbohl, A, Lawson, W, Leovy, C, Lewis, S, Paige, D, Read, P, Richardson, M, Teanby, N & Zurek, R 2008, ‘Intense polar temperature inversion in the middle atmosphere on Mars’. Nature Geoscience, vol 1., pp. 745 - 749
• Flasar, F, Achterberg, R, Conrath, B, Gierasch, P, Kunde, V, Nixon, C, Bjoraker, G, Jennings, D, Romani, P, Simon-Miller, A, Bezard, B, Coustenis, A, Irwin, P, Teanby, N, Brasunas, J, Pearl, J, Segura, M, Carlson, R, Mamoutkine, A, Schinder, P, Barucci, A, Courtin, R, Fouchet, T, Gautier, D, Lellouch, E, Marten, A, Prange, R, Vinatier, S, Strobel, D, Calcutt, S, Read, P, Taylor, F, Bowles, N, Samuelson, R, Orton, G, Spilker, L, Owen, T, Spencer, J, Showalter, M, Ferrari, C, Abbas, M, Raulin, F, Edgington, S, Ade, P & Wishnow, E 2005, ‘Titan's atmospheric temperatures, winds, and composition’. Science, vol 308., pp. 975 - 978

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Recent publications

• Teanby, NA, Irwin, PGJ, Nixon, CA, Courtin, R, Swinyard, BM, Moreno, R, Lellouch, E, Rengel, M & Hartogh, P 2013, ‘Constraints on Titan's middle atmosphere ammonia abundance from Herschel/SPIRE sub-millimetre spectra’. Planetary and Space Science, vol 75., pp. 136-147
• Sefton-Nash, E, Teanby, NA, Montabone, L, Irwin, PGJ, Hurley, J & Calcutt, SB 2013, ‘Climatology and first-order composition estimates of mesospheric clouds from Mars Climate Sounder limb spectra’. Icarus, vol 222., pp. 342-356
• Arridge, CS, Agnor, CB, Andre, N, Baines, KH, Fletcher, LN, Gautier, D, Hofstadter, MD, Jones, GH, Lamy, L, Langevin, Y, Mousis, O, Nettelmann, N, Russell, CT, Stallard, T, Tiscareno, MS, Tobie, G, Bacon, A, Chaloner, C, Guest, M, Kemble, S, Peacocke, L, Achilleos, N, Andert, TP, Banfield, D, Barabash, S, Barthelemy, M, Bertucci, C, Brandt, P, Cecconi, B, Chakrabarti, S, Cheng, AF, Christensen, U, Christou, A, Coates, AJ, Collinson, G, Cooper, JF, Courtin, R, Dougherty, MK, Ebert, RW, Entradas, M, Fazakerley, AN, Fortney, JJ, Galand, M, Gustin, J, Hedman, M, Helled, R, Henri, P, Hess, S, Holme, R, Karatekin, O, Krupp, N, Leisner, J, Martin-Torres, J, Masters, A, Melin, H, Miller, S, Mueller-Wodarg, I, Noyelles, B, Paranicas, C, Pater, Id, Paetzold, M, Prange, R, Quemerais, E, Roussos, E, Rymer, AM, Sanchez-Lavega, A, Saur, J, Sayanagi, KM, Schenk, P, Schubert, G, Sergis, N, Sohl, F, Sittler, EC, Teanby, NA, Tellmann, S, Turtle, EP, Vinatier, S, Wahlund, J & Zarka, P 2012, ‘Uranus Pathfinder: exploring the origins and evolution of Ice Giant planets’. Experimental Astronomy, vol 33., pp. 753-791

View complete publications list in the University of Bristol publications system

Courses

Dr Teanby currently teaches 2 courses: