Eric Wolff uses the chemical composition of ice cores to reveal the nature of Earth’s past climates. Eric led the European Project for Ice Coring in Antarctica, which produced detailed climate records spanning back 800,000 years, allowing researchers to take an unprecedented look at the evolution of climate in the Quaternary Period. He is currently working towards extending this record further back in time, and on using past warm periods to help us understand future climate evolution.
Amongst other highlights, Eric proposed the use of sea salt in ice cores for estimating the extent of past sea ice. He has also done pioneering work on the chemistry of the Antarctic troposphere and the link between the physical properties and chemical content of ice.
Eric has received a number of accolades in recognition of his work, including the Louis Agassiz Medal of the European Geosciences Union (2009) and the Lyell Medal of the Geological Society of London (2012). He was one of the founding Chief Editors of the journal Climate of the Past.
Professional position
- Royal Society Research Professor, Department of Earth Sciences, University of Cambridge
- Honorary Professor, School of Environmental Sciences, University of East Anglia
- Honorary Fellow, British Antarctic Survey
Subject groups
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Earth and Environmental Sciences
Atmospheric chemistry, Climate sciences
Awards
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Rutherford Memorial Lecture
Polar change – a perspective from the ice core palaeoclimate record
