Myles Allen

Last updated

Myles Allen
Born
Myles Robert Allen

(1965-08-11) 11 August 1965 (age 58) [1]
Farnham, Surrey, England
Education British School in the Netherlands [1]
Alma mater University of Oxford (MA, DPhil)
Known for Climateprediction.net
Spouse
(m. 1994)
[1]
Awards Edward Appleton Medal and Prize (2010)
Scientific career
Fields Climate change
Institutions United Nations Environment Programme
Rutherford Appleton Laboratory
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
University of Oxford
Thesis Interactions between the atmosphere and oceans on time scales of weeks to years  (1992)
Website www.oxfordmartin.ox.ac.uk/people/myles-allen OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg

Myles Robert Allen CBE FRS FInstP (born 11 August 1965) [1] is an English climate scientist. He is Professor of Geosystem Science in the University of Oxford's School of Geography and the Environment, and head of the Atmospheric, Oceanic and Planetary Physics Department. [2] [3]

Contents

Education

Allen was educated at the British School in the Netherlands [1] and the University of Oxford where he was awarded a Master of Arts degree in Physics and Philosophy in 1987 [1] followed by a Doctor of Philosophy degree in 1992. [4] He was a student of St. John's College, Oxford. [1]

Career

As well as his position as Professor of Geosystem science at Oxford, he is the Principal Investigator of the distributed computing project Climateprediction.net (which makes use of computing resources provided voluntarily by the general public), and was principally responsible for starting this project. [5] [6] He is the Director of the Oxford Net Zero initiative [7] and a Fellow of Linacre College, Oxford. [8]

Allen has worked at the Energy Unit of the United Nations Environment Programme, the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory in Oxfordshire, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. [2] He contributed to the Third Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change as a Lead Author of the Chapter on detection of change and attribution of causes, [9] and was a Review Editor for the chapter on predictions of global climate change for the IPCC Fourth Assessment Report and a co-author of the IPCC October 8, 2018 Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5 °C. [10] [11] His research [12] focuses on the attribution of recent climate change and assessing what these changes mean for global climate simulations of the future. [13] [14] [15] [16] [17]

Allen also provided the technical expertise for the game Fate of the World, which is "a PC strategy game that simulates the real social and environmental impact of global climate change over the next 200 years". [18] In 2015, he mentioned that carbon capture and storage (CCS) should be made mandatory. [19]

Awards and honours

In 2010, Allen was awarded the Edward Appleton Medal and Prize by the Institute of Physics for "his important contributions to the detection and attribution of human influence on climate and quantifying uncertainty in climate predictions". [20] Allen was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2022 New Year Honours for services to climate change attribution and prediction and net-zero. [21] He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 2023. [22]

Personal life

Allen married Irene Tracey in 1994 and has three children. [1]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Causes of climate change</span> Effort to scientifically ascertain mechanisms responsible for recent global warming

The scientific community has been investigating the causes of climate change for decades. After thousands of studies, it came to a consensus, where it is "unequivocal that human influence has warmed the atmosphere, ocean and land since pre-industrial times." This consensus is supported by around 200 scientific organizations worldwide, The dominant role in this climate change has been played by the direct emissions of carbon dioxide from the burning of fossil fuels. Indirect CO2 emissions from land use change, and the emissions of methane, nitrous oxide and other greenhouse gases play major supporting roles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cloud feedback</span> Type of climate change feedback mechanism

Cloud feedback is a type of climate change feedback, where the overall cloud frequency, height, and the relative fraction of the different types of clouds are altered due to climate change, and these changes then affect the Earth's energy balance. On their own, clouds are already an important part of the climate system, as they consist of water vapor, which acts as a greenhouse gas and so contributes to warming; at the same time, they are bright and reflective of the Sun, which causes cooling. Clouds at low altitudes have a stronger cooling effect, and those at high altitudes have a stronger warming effect. Altogether, clouds make the Earth cooler than it would have been without them.

Keith Peter Shine FRS is the Regius Professor of Meteorology and Climate Science at the University of Reading. He is the first holder of this post, which was awarded to the university by Queen Elizabeth II to mark her Diamond Jubilee.

climateprediction.net BOINC based volunteer computing project researching climate models

climateprediction.net (CPDN) is a volunteer computing project to investigate and reduce uncertainties in climate modelling. It aims to do this by running hundreds of thousands of different models using the donated idle time of ordinary personal computers, thereby leading to a better understanding of how models are affected by small changes in the many parameters known to influence the global climate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">IPCC Third Assessment Report</span> Assessment of available scientific and socio-economic information on climate change by the IPCC

The IPCC Third Assessment Report (TAR), Climate Change 2001, is an assessment of available scientific and socio-economic information on climate change by the IPCC. Statements of the IPCC or information from the TAR were often used as a reference showing a scientific consensus on the subject of global warming. The Third Assessment Report (TAR) was completed in 2001 and consists of four reports, three of them from its Working Groups: Working Group I: The Scientific Basis; Working Group II: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability; Working Group III: Mitigation; Synthesis Report. A number of the TAR's conclusions are given quantitative estimates of how probable it is that they are correct, e.g., greater than 66% probability of being correct. These are "Bayesian" probabilities, which are based on an expert assessment of all the available evidence.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jonathan M. Gregory</span>

Jonathan Michael Gregory is a climate modeller working on mechanisms of global and large-scale change in climate and sea level on multidecadal and longer timescales at the Met Office and the University of Reading.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Climate sensitivity</span> Change in Earths temperature caused by changes in atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations

Climate sensitivity is a key measure in climate science and describes how much Earth's surface will warm for a doubling in the atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) concentration. Its formal definition is: "The change in the surface temperature in response to a change in the atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) concentration or other radiative forcing." This concept helps scientists understand the extent and magnitude of the effects of climate change.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Effects of climate change</span>

Effects of climate change are well documented and growing for Earth's natural environment and human societies. Changes to the climate system include an overall warming trend, changes to precipitation patterns, and more extreme weather. As the climate changes it impacts the natural environment with effects such as more intense forest fires, thawing permafrost, and desertification. These changes impact ecosystems and societies, and can become irreversible once tipping points are crossed. Climate activists are engaged in a range of activities around the world that seek to ameloriate these issues or prevent them from happening.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Economic analysis of climate change</span>

Economic analysis of climate change is about using economic tools and models to calculate the magnitude and distribution of damages caused by climate change. It can also give guidance for the best policies for mitigation and adaptation to climate change from an economic perspective. There are many economic models and frameworks. For example, in a cost–benefit analysis, the trade offs between climate change impacts, adaptation, and mitigation are made explicit. For this kind of analysis, integrated assessment models (IAMs) are useful. Those models link main features of society and economy with the biosphere and atmosphere into one modelling framework. The total economic impacts from climate change are difficult to estimate. In general, they increase the more the global surface temperature increases.

Michael Oppenheimer is the Albert G. Milbank Professor of Geosciences and International Affairs in the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs, the Department of Geosciences, and the High Meadows Environmental Institute at Princeton University. He is the director of the Center for Policy Research on Energy and the Environment (C-PREE) at the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs and Faculty Associate of the Atmospheric and Ocean Sciences Program and the Princeton Institute for International and Regional Studies.

Peter A. Stott MBE is a climate scientist who leads the Climate Monitoring and Attribution team of the Hadley Centre for Climate Prediction and Research at the Met Office in Exeter, UK. He is an expert on anthropogenic and natural causes of climate change.

A climate change scenario is a hypothetical future based on a "set of key driving forces". Scenarios explore the long-term effectiveness of mitigation and adaptation. Scenarios help to understand what the future may hold. They can show which decisions will have the most meaningful effects on mitigation and adaptation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Global surface temperature</span> Average temperature of the Earths surface

Global surface temperature (GST) refers to the average temperature of Earth's surface. It is determined nowadays by measuring the temperatures over the ocean and land, and then calculating a weighted average. The temperature over the ocean is called the sea surface temperature. The temperature over land is called the surface air temperature. Temperature data comes mainly from weather stations and satellites. To estimate data in the distant past, proxy data can be used for example from tree rings, corals, and ice cores. Observing the rising GST over time is one of the many lines of evidence supporting the scientific consensus on climate change, which is that human activities are causing climate change.

The North Report was a 2006 report evaluating reconstructions of the temperature record of the past two millennia, providing an overview of the state of the science and the implications for understanding of global warming. It was produced by a National Research Council committee, chaired by Gerald North, at the request of Representative Sherwood Boehlert as chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Science.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gabriele Hegerl</span> German climatologist (born 1962)

Gabriele Clarissa Hegerl is a German climatologist. She is a professor of climate system science at the University of Edinburgh School of GeoSciences. Prior to 2007 she held research positions at Texas A&M University and at Duke University's Nicholas School of the Environment, during which time she was a co-ordinating lead author for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Fourth and Fifth Assessment Report.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carbon budget</span> Limit on carbon dioxide emission for a given climate impact

A carbon budget is a concept used in climate policy to help set emissions reduction targets in a fair and effective way. It examines the "maximum amount of cumulative net global anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions that would result in limiting global warming to a given level". It can be expressed relative to the pre-industrial period. In this case, it is the total carbon budget. Or it can be expressed from a recent specified date onwards. In that case it is the remaining carbon budget.

The transient climate response to cumulative emissions of carbon dioxide (TCRE) is the ratio of the globally averaged surface temperature change per unit carbon dioxide (CO2) emitted.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marine heatwave</span> Unusually warm temperature event in the ocean

A marine heatwave is a period of abnormally high seawater temperatures compared to the typical temperatures in the past for a particular season and region. Marine heatwaves are caused by a variety of drivers. These include shorter term weather events such as fronts, intraseasonal events, annual, and decadal (10-year) modes like El Niño events, and human-caused climate change. Marine heatwaves affect ecosystems in the oceans. For example, marine heatwaves can lead to severe biodiversity changes such as coral bleaching, sea star wasting disease, harmful algal blooms, and mass mortality of benthic communities. Unlike heatwaves on land, marine heatwaves can extend over vast areas, persist for weeks to months or even years, and occur at subsurface levels.

Joyce Penner is an atmospheric scientist known for her research on climate change, especially on the impact of aerosols and clouds.

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Anon (2023). "Allen, Prof. Myles Robert" . Who's Who (online Oxford University Press  ed.). Oxford: A & C Black. doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.U254480.(Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  2. 1 2 "Dr Myles Allen - University of Oxford". Archived from the original on 30 December 2009. Retrieved 12 January 2010. Myles Allen profile at the University of Oxford
  3. The Guardian articles by Allen: Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change must keep its eye on the ball; Generals must give us their exit strategy for climate change
  4. Allen, Myles Robert (1992). Interactions between the atmosphere and oceans on time scales of weeks to years. ox.ac.uk (DPhil thesis). University of Oxford. OCLC   61666921. EThOS   uk.bl.ethos.335863.
  5. Stainforth, D. A.; Aina, T.; Christensen, C.; Collins, M.; Faull, N.; Frame, D. J.; Kettleborough, J. A.; Knight, S.; Martin, A.; Murphy, J. M.; Piani, C.; Sexton, D.; Smith, L. A.; Spicer, R. A.; Thorpe, A. J.; Allen, M. R. (2005). "Uncertainty in predictions of the climate response to rising levels of greenhouse gases" (PDF). Nature. 433 (7024): 403–406. Bibcode:2005Natur.433..403S. doi:10.1038/nature03301. PMID   15674288. S2CID   2547937. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 September 2005.
  6. Piani, C.; Frame, D. J.; Stainforth, D. A.; Allen, M. R. (2005). "Constraints on climate change from a multi-thousand member ensemble of simulations" (PDF). Geophysical Research Letters. 32 (23): L23825. Bibcode:2005GeoRL..3223825P. doi:10.1029/2005GL024452. S2CID   56227360. Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 February 2012.
  7. "Home". Net Zero Climate. Retrieved 25 October 2022.
  8. "Professor Myles Allen". School of Geography and the Environment, University of Oxford. Retrieved 30 May 2012.
  9. Mitchell, J.F.B.; Karoly, D.J.; Hegerl, G.C.; Zwiers, F.W.; Allen, M.R.; Marengo, J. (2001). "Chapter 12. Detection of Climate Change and Attribution of Causes". IPCC Third Assessment Report. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Archived from the original on 23 January 2009. Retrieved 10 February 2009.
  10. Summary for Policymakers (PDF), Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5°C, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), nd, retrieved 8 October 2018, "IPCC special report on the impacts of global warming of 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels and related global greenhouse gas emission pathways, in the context of strengthening the global response to the threat of climate change, sustainable development, and efforts to eradicate poverty
  11. Allen, Myles; Dube, Opha Pauline; Solecki, William (7 October 2018). Chapter 1: Framing and Context. Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5°C (Report). Incheon, Republic of Korea: Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Retrieved 7 October 2018.
  12. https://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=myles+allen Myles Allen in Google Scholar
  13. Allen, M. R.; Ingram, W. J. (2002). "Constraints on future changes in climate and the hydrologic cycle". Nature. 419 (6903): 224–232. Bibcode:2002Natur.419..224A. doi:10.1038/nature01092. PMID   12226677. S2CID   916557.
  14. Stott, P. A.; Stone, D. A.; Allen, M. R. (2004). "Human contribution to the European heatwave of 2003". Nature. 432 (7017): 610–614. Bibcode:2004Natur.432..610S. doi:10.1038/nature03089. PMID   15577907. S2CID   13882658.
  15. Tett, S. F. B.; Stott, P. A.; Allen, M. R.; Ingram, W. J.; Mitchell, J. F. B. (1999). "Causes of twentieth-century temperature change near the Earth's surface". Nature. 399 (6736): 569–572. Bibcode:1999Natur.399..569T. doi:10.1038/21164. S2CID   4431997.
  16. Forest, C. E.; Stone, P. H.; Sokolov, A. P.; Allen, M. R.; Webster, M. D. (2002). "Quantifying Uncertainties in Climate System Properties with the Use of Recent Climate Observations". Science. 295 (5552): 113–117. Bibcode:2002Sci...295..113F. CiteSeerX   10.1.1.297.1145 . doi:10.1126/science.1064419. PMID   11778044. S2CID   5322736.
  17. Allen, M. R.; Stott, P. A.; Mitchell, J. F. B.; Schnur, R.; Delworth, T. L. (2000). "Quantifying the uncertainty in forecasts of anthropogenic climate change". Nature. 407 (6804): 617–620. Bibcode:2000Natur.407..617A. doi:10.1038/35036559. PMID   11034207. S2CID   4426713.
  18. "About Fate of the World". fateoftheworld.net/about. 4 March 2011. Archived from the original on 4 March 2011.
  19. "Fossil fuel companies 'should be made to invest in carbon capture and storage'". The Guardian . 2 July 2015.
  20. "Appleton medal recipients". Institute of Physics. p. 1. Retrieved 26 August 2010.
  21. "No. 63571". The London Gazette (Supplement). 1 January 2022. p. N8.
  22. "Myles Allen". royalsociety.org. Retrieved 26 May 2023.