[9] Following his doctorate, he worked in Fiji for a year, lecturing in inorganic chemistry at the School of Natural Resources of the University of the South Pacific.

[10] In 1974, he relocated to Britain to become first a lecturer then a professor in atmospheric chemistry at the University of East Anglia (UEA), where he also served as associate dean from 2008 to 2011.

[4] Brimblecombe's wide-ranging research has covered many different aspects of atmospheric chemistry and air pollution, but also makes connections to broader history, art, and culture.

[20] In 2004, he was one of a group of experts from 10 countries involved in a three-year "Noah's Ark" project designed "to investigate the effects of climate change and pollution on Europe's historic built environment over the next 100 years".

[28] In the same paper, Simon Jenkins described Brimblecombe as "the nation's mite-buster king-at-arms, who strikes terror in the sternest housekeeper" and expressed mixed views about the plan.