Tim Lenton
Tim Lenton | |
---|---|
Born | July 1973 (age 51) |
Alma mater | Robinson College, Cambridge University of East Anglia (PhD) |
Scientific career | |
Institutions | University of Exeter University of East Anglia |
Thesis | Redfields green ocean : a geophysical model of marine nitrate, phosphate and atmospheric oxygen regulation (1998) |
Doctoral advisor | Andrew Watson[1] |
Timothy Michael Lenton OBE FGS FLS FRSB (born July 1973) is Professor of Climate Change and Earth System Science at the University of Exeter. He was awarded a Royal Society Wolfson Research Merit Award in 2013,[2] and was appointed OBE in June 2025.
Background
[edit]He graduated with a first-class degree in natural sciences from Robinson College, Cambridge in 1994 and completed his PhD under Andrew Watson at the University of East Anglia in 1998.[1][3]
Gaia hypothesis
[edit]Lenton has taken an interest in the Gaia hypothesis for much of his career. Early in his career, in the journal Nature,[4] Lenton addressed a concern that the Gaia hypothesis was incompatible with the theory of natural selection by demonstrating that a model based on Daisyworld was strengthened by incorporating natural selection. Lenton, with Andy Watson, co-authored the book Revolutions that Made the Earth;[5] it expands on the ideas of James Lovelock on the Gaia hypothesis, by highlighting mechanisms by which the Earth system has been stabilised by negative feedbacks throughout Earth history.
Climate change
[edit]Impacts
[edit]Lenton has participated in studies of possible population displacement due to climate change.[6]
Tipping points
[edit]Lenton has been called 'a leading tipping point expert'.[7][8]
Lenton was awarded the OBE in the King's Birthday Honours, 2025, for services to understanding climate tipping points.[9]
Publications
[edit]- Lenton, T. M.; Marsh, R.; Price, A. R.; Lunt, D. J.; Aksenov, Y.; Annan, J. D.; Cooper-Chadwick, T.; Cox, S. J.; Edwards, N. R.; Goswami, S.; Hargreaves, J. C.; Harris, P. P.; Jiao, Z.; Livina, V. N.; Payne, A. J.; Rutt, I. C.; Shepherd, J. G.; Valdes, P. J.; Williams, G.; Williamson, M. S.; Yool, A. (2007). "Effects of atmospheric dynamics and ocean resolution on bi-stability of the thermohaline circulation examined using the Grid ENabled Integrated Earth system modelling (GENIE) framework" (PDF). Climate Dynamics. 29 (6): 591. Bibcode:2007ClDy...29..591L. doi:10.1007/s00382-007-0254-9. S2CID 12716899.
- Goldblatt, C.; Lenton, T.; Watson, A. (2006). "Bistability of atmospheric oxygen and the Great Oxidation". Nature. 443 (7112): 683–686. Bibcode:2006Natur.443..683G. doi:10.1038/nature05169. PMID 17036001. S2CID 4425486.
- Lenton, T. M.; Williamson, M. S.; Edwards, N. R.; Marsh, R.; Price, A. R.; Ridgwell, A. J.; Shepherd, J. G.; Cox, S. J.; The GENIE team (2006). "Millennial timescale carbon cycle and climate change in an efficient Earth system model" (PDF). Climate Dynamics. 26 (7–8): 687–711. Bibcode:2006ClDy...26..687L. doi:10.1007/s00382-006-0109-9. S2CID 6607417.
- Lenton, T. M.; Watson, A. J. (2004). "Biotic enhancement of weathering, atmospheric oxygen and carbon dioxide in the Neoproterozoic". Geophysical Research Letters. 31 (5): L05202. Bibcode:2004GeoRL..31.5202L. doi:10.1029/2003GL018802.
- Lenton, T. M. (2000). "Land and ocean carbon cycle feedback effects on global warming in a simple Earth system model". Tellus B. 52 (5): 1159–1188. Bibcode:2000TellB..52.1159L. doi:10.1034/j.1600-0889.2000.01104.x.
- Lenton, T. M. (1998). "Gaia and natural selection". Nature. 394 (6692): 439–447. Bibcode:1998Natur.394..439L. doi:10.1038/28792. PMID 9697767. S2CID 4412683.
References
[edit]- ^ a b "Professor Tim Lenton Chair in Climate Change/Earth Systems Science". University of Exeter. Retrieved 22 July 2012.
- ^ "Royal Society announces new round of Wolfson Research Merit Awards". Royal Society. 26 April 2013. Retrieved 23 April 2014.
- ^ "Tim Lenton". Faculty of 1000. Retrieved 8 October 2016.
- ^ Lenton, T. (1998). "Gaia and Natural Selection". Nature. 394 (6692): 439–447. Bibcode:1998Natur.394..439L. doi:10.1038/28792. PMID 9697767. S2CID 4412683.
- ^ Lenton, Tim (20 March 2011). Revolutions that Made the Earth. OUP Oxford. ISBN 9780199587049.
- ^ Carrington, Damian (2023-05-22). "Global heating will push billions outside 'human climate niche'". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2023-08-21.
- ^ "The scourge of climate doomism | Financial Times". www.ft.com. Retrieved 2023-08-21.
- ^ "A Sustainable Future: Prof. Tim Lenton, on Planetary Boundaries, Early Warning Systems and Climate Tipping Points | Man Institute". www.man.com. Retrieved 2023-08-21.
- ^ "Page B9 | Supplement 64759, 14 June 2025 | London Gazette | The Gazette". www.thegazette.co.uk.
- 1973 births
- Living people
- Alumni of Robinson College, Cambridge
- Alumni of the University of East Anglia
- Academics of the University of East Anglia
- Fellows of the Geological Society of London
- Fellows of the Linnean Society of London
- Fellows of the Royal Society of Biology
- Royal Society Wolfson Research Merit Award holders
- Officers of the Order of the British Empire