We use numerical modelling to study the Earth’s climate from past to future. We seek to understand climate variations from very ancient periods several hundred million years ago, such as the snowball Earth, to future projections according to different socio-economic scenarios.
Climate modelling
Paleo-environmental records show that the Earth’s climate has varied greatly over the course of its history. Being able to represent these climatic variations using climate models means understanding the mechanisms involved. Paleoclimate modeling is therefore:
- An assessment of our understanding of the climate system, as “summarized” in our models, based on climates different from those used during the model development phase (mainly the current climate).
- An aid to the interpretation of paleo-climatic records, by proposing mechanisms for the reconstructed changes.
Our team’s research focuses on modeling paleoclimates, from very ancient climates such as the “Snowball Earth” episodes of the Neoproterozoic (1,000 to 540 million years before present or Ma) or the warm climates of the Eocene (56 – 34 Ma) to the climates of the Quaternary (since 2.6 Ma), oscillating between glacial (colder) and interglacial (warmer) periods. The team compares these past climate changes with those projected for the future.
PMIP
Several team members are also involved in the PMIP (Paleoclimate Modelling Intercomparison Project), an international project for the comparison of paleoclimate simulations.