Dave Reay studied Marine Biology at Liverpool University and graduated in 1994. He went on to gain a PhD with the British Antarctic Survey and Essex University studying the response of Southern Ocean algae and bacteria to temperature change. After gaining his doctorate he continued working as a post-doc at Essex, investigating the impact of land-use on the soil methane sink. In 2001 he moved to Edinburgh University to investigate emissions of the greenhouse gas 'nitrous oxide' from agriculture, then carbon fluxes in forests, and went on to become a Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) Fellow examining greenhouse gas emissions from wetlands and agriculture. In 2008 Dave became the university's first lecturer in carbon management and became a senior lecturer in 2009. He is designer and editor of the leading climate change science website Greenhouse Gas Online and Google UK's top Southern Ocean website. He enjoys running (on an annual basis), Test Match Special, and writing stories for his daughters.