Gabi Hegerl is a climate scientist who focuses on identifying the drivers and mechanisms of observed climate change. This work provides a critical underpinning to predictions of future changes.
Gabi published some of the first studies determining that recent warming is statistically different from climate variability, and pioneered a method that distinguishes between possible causes for climate change, such as greenhouse gas increases or changes in the sun. She has also made important contributions to estimating the climate sensitivity, and to determining the causes of changing characteristics of extreme weather events. Gabi’s recent work has shown that human influences have changed global precipitation patterns, sharpening the contrast between wet and dry regions, while volcanic eruptions show an opposite effect.
Gabi has had key roles in scientific assessments of climate change (IPCC), and is a fellow of the American Geophysical Union and of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. She received a Royal Society Wolfson Merit award; the Hans Sigrist Prize awarded by Bern University (2016) and the Achievement Award of the International Meeting on Statistical Climatology.
Professional position
- Professor of Climate System Science, School of GeoSciences, University of Edinburgh
Subject groups
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Earth and Environmental Sciences
Atmospheric physics and meteorology, Climate sciences, Physical oceanography
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Other
History of science, Science policy, Scientific information provision
