Professor Alan Haywood
- Position: Professor of Palaeoclimate Modelling/Deputy Dean Faculty of Environment
- Areas of expertise: past climates; past environments; climate modelling; earth system modellling
- Email: A.M.Haywood@leeds.ac.uk
- Phone: +44(0)113 343 8657
- Location: 8.102 School of Earth and Environment
- Website: Googlescholar
Profile
I am currently Professor of Palaeoclimate Modelling within the Institute of Climate & Atmospheric Science and the Earth Surface Science Institute. I earned my Ph.D. in numerical climate modelling and palaeoenvironmental reconstruction in 2001 from the University of Reading, and I have worked on modelling past climate and environmental change since that time. My research is focussed on understanding the evolution of climate and environments on Earth, and in evaluating how well advanced numerical climate models simulate major changes that have occurred in the climate system in the past. This helps us to understand how well models simulate future climate change.
Responsibilities
- Interim Executive Dean, Faculty of Environment
Research interests
My research interests are multidisciplinary and holistic. They are focussed on the reconstruction of Earth's environmental/climatic history, the assessment of our ability to model it, and the use of this information to examine potential scenarios for future climate change. Some highlights of my research include:
- Exploration of the importance of vegetation climate feedbacks in driving past climate change
- Examination of ocean temperature responses during past greenhouse climates
- Prediction of climate variability during past warm intervals
- Understanding the dynamics of past climates
- Assessment of equator to pole temperature gradients during the past and implied changes in atmospheric versus oceanic heat transports
My particular area of expertise is in the synthesis of global palaeoclimate proxy data and then the use of this data as prescribed boundary conditions within a model, or as a validation tool for model predictions. In essence my research niche is to provide an interface between climate modellers and earth scientists. Numerical climate models are currently at the forefront in the quest to predict accurately the dynamics and consequences of future climate change. It is necessary to test the robustness of outputs produced by such models through comparison to palaeoclimate proxy data.
This research field is dynamic and continuing to grow significantly in importance. The techniques used in data synthesis and data/model comparison studies are applicable to any time slice of the geological record. The international importance of research which investigates past climate history and aims to understand the interactive physical, chemical and biological processes that regulate the total Earth system, is underlined by global initiatives such as the Past Global Changes Core Project (PAGES).
Current Projects
- Pliocene Model Intercomparison Project - Phase 3 (International Collaborative Project)
- Palaeogeography and past climate change (Industry)
Current PhD Students
- Lauren Burton: Palaeo constraints on the 1.5°C world: What does the Pliocene tell us about the long-term effects of atmospheric CO2 at ~400 ppmv?
- Abigail Buchan: Climate extremes in a warmer World: What does the Pliocene tell us?
- Karen Fox: Rome and Away: Reading Roman Literature through an Ecocritical Lens.
Professional memberships
- American Geophysical Union
- European Geoscience Union
Research groups and institutes
- Climate Science and Impacts
- Institute for Climate and Atmospheric Science
- Earth Surface Science Institute
- Palaeo@Leeds