From Polar Ice Cores to Better Climate Models ?

Thomas Stocker, Professor of Climate and Environmental Physics and Co-Director of the Physics Institute at the University of Bern in Switzerland, spent his 2006 sabbatical at the IPRC. He worked with IPRC research team leader Axel Timmermann and postdoctoral fellow Oliver Timm on modeling the abrupt climate changes in the past that have resulted from changes in the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation. Understanding processes that have shaped past climates is central to determining what lies ahead for climate change. We asked Professor Stocker to write for the IPRC Climate about this work and how it advances our knowledge of Earth’s climate system.