Astley is a Research Fellow in the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Aberdeen. He is a chartered engineer and environmental scientist, with a BSc in Mechanical Engineering and a PhD in environmental science.
With extensive experience in the energy industry, both in fossil fuel extraction and power generation, Astley is now a member of the environmental modelling group in the Institute for Biological and Environmental Science located in the University of Aberdeen. His research focusses on the mitigation of greenhouse gas from land use and energy and product production and use and has developed plant growth, soil biophysical and life cycle assessment models to aid this research.