Lauren Burton
- Email: eeleb@leeds.ac.uk
- Thesis title: The importance of CO₂ forcing in the Pliocene and its implications for the future
- Supervisors: Professor Alan Haywood, Dr Aisling Dolan, Dr Daniel Hill, Dr Julia Tindall
Profile
I am a fourth-year PhD student in the School of Earth and Environment researching the climate of the Pliocene epoch (~3 million years ago) and its relevance to future climate change. I am part of the Earth Surface Science Institute and the Institute for Climate and Atmospheric Science, and funded by the NERC Panorama DTP.
I helped to develop the experimental design of the third phase of the Pliocene Modelling Intercomparison Project (PlioMIP3) and sit on the advisory board as the Early Career Representative.
For the majority of my PhD I was also a Communications and Engagement Intern at the Priestley Centre for Climate Futures. I led on the ‘Ask A Climate Researcher’ series and ran a range of climate engagement events at the University.
Research interests
My research considers the role of CO₂ forcing in the Pliocene and its implications for the future, as well as what this means for using the Pliocene as an ‘analogue’ for our warmer future.
Teaching
- SOEE5540 – Climate Change: the Physical Science Basis
- SOEE5860 – Physical Climate Change, Impacts and Mitigations
Presentations
2024
- US Geological Survey visit – Causes of Pliocene warmth, and the future of Pliocene climate studies (co-authored talk)
- Utrecht University visit – The Pliocene as an analogue for our warmer future?
- Climate evolution from Early Eocene to mid-Pliocene workshop – The importance of CO2 forcing in the Pliocene and its implications for the future
2023
- EGU General Assembly – On the climatic influence of CO2 forcing in the Pliocene
- RMetS Early Career and Student Conference – The Pliocene as an analogue for our warmer future (poster)
- IUGG General Assembly – The Pliocene as an analogue for our warmer future (poster)
- UK Palaeoclimate Society Meeting – How analogous is the Pliocene to our warmer future?
2022
- RMetS Yorkshire Local Centre PhD showcase – ‘Back to the Future’ Part IV: Palaeoclimates (Invited speaker)
- Pliocene Modelling Intercomparison Project Phase 2 (PlioMIP2) showcase – How well can the Pliocene act as an analogue for projected future climates?
- The warm Pliocene: Bridging the geological data and modelling communities (EGU Galileo conference) – On the climatic influence of CO2 forcing in the Pliocene (poster)
Qualifications
- MSc Climate Change, University of East Anglia
- BA Geography, University of Oxford
Research groups and institutes
- Palaeo@Leeds
- Earth Surface Science Institute
- Institute for Climate and Atmospheric Science