Dorian S. Abbot
Dorian Abbot was a CIFAR Junior Fellow working under the supervision of Earth System Evolution program member Raymond Pierrehumbert in the Department of Geophysical Sciences, University of Chicago. He was also be working closely with program members Andrew Bush at the University of Alberta and Shawn Marshall at the University of Calgary. Dorian completed his PhD in Applied Mathematics in 2008 at Harvard University, with Dr. Eli Tziperman as his thesis advisor. In 2008/2009, he held a postdoctoral fellowship in the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences at Harvard. Dorian also holds a Master’s degree in Applied Mathematics from Harvard University and a Bachelor’s degree in Physics from Harvard College.
Dorian is interested in understanding mysterious climates in Earth’s history. For example, there have been cold climates so cold that the entire ocean may have been covered in sea ice. These periods may have been crucial for the evolution of complex life. An important component of Dorian’s research is improving our understanding of the way in which Earth enters and exits such pan-glacials. Additionally, Dorian studies warm climatic periods that may have similarities to the climate we can expect in the future. Important aspects of these historical warm climates are difficult to reproduce in the sophisticated climate models used to forecast future climate. Another component of Dorian’s research is to try to understand the reasons sophisticated climate models have difficulty simulating warm climates, which may help improve climate forecasts.
Dorian is interested in understanding mysterious climates in Earth’s history. For example, there have been cold climates so cold that the entire ocean may have been covered in sea ice. These periods may have been crucial for the evolution of complex life. An important component of Dorian’s research is improving our understanding of the way in which Earth enters and exits such pan-glacials. Additionally, Dorian studies warm climatic periods that may have similarities to the climate we can expect in the future. Important aspects of these historical warm climates are difficult to reproduce in the sophisticated climate models used to forecast future climate. Another component of Dorian’s research is to try to understand the reasons sophisticated climate models have difficulty simulating warm climates, which may help improve climate forecasts.