Summary
The Climate Change research programme at the BGS covers a broad range of topics driven by questions such as: What was the Earth like when atmospheric CO2 was as high or higher than it is now or will be in the near future? Is it really worth studying past climates and past environments to understand how things may behave in the future? What are the antecedent conditions that we are inheriting today, and are they important? How will climate change impact our environments on the ground, at a scale that is useful to government and people? How can we do all of this with the precision necessary to gain useful information? I will not even try to answer these questions, but during the lecture, I will highlight some of the specific projects that we are tackling (and the audience can steer me in this process). Importantly, much of the research programme is coupled to researchers at various universities across the UK and the world, and we are continually looking for greater collaboration.
Biography
Dr Michael Ellis joined the BGS as Head of Climate Change in 2008, where he oversees the development of a broad range of research projects including studies of palaeoclimate and palaeoenvironment, carbon-cycling in UK soils, global climate modelling, water resources, and environmental-impact modelling. Much of this work is in partnership with HEIs (including Imperial College) and research facilities in the UK and around the world, and much of this is through the cofunding and cosupervision of PhD studentships. This lecture will touch on a few of the research projects and will supply pointers to others.