Arctic sea ice reduction: the evidence, models, and global impacts

Daniel Feltham is Professor of Climate Process Physics in the Department of Meteorology at the University of Reading and a founding member of the Centre for Polar Observation and Modelling. He has a BSc. in Physics from the University of Durham and a PhD. in Applied Mathematics from the University of Cambridge. He won a 2006 Philip Leverhulme Prize for excellence in research. Prof. Feltham’s expertise is in the construction and analysis of new mathematical models of physical processes in the cryosphere. His research combines the development of fundamental new theory and numerical simulations with remotely-sensed observations, laboratory experiments, and field measurements. Much of this research is motivated by developing parameterisations of sub-grid scale physics into the sea ice components of climate models.

Sheldon was educated at Hermitage Academy, Helensburgh and University College, Oxford. After a spell in the wilderness, he was employed by the Natural Environment Research Council at the Institute of Oceanographic Sciences, Wormley ("graduate physicist wanted, no experience necessary"), which eventually moved to Southampton and became part of the National Oceanography Centre.  He has never looked back.  He received a PhD from Southampton University in 1996, is now Associate Head of the Marine Physics and Ocean Climate Group, has authored or co-authored 46 refereed publications to date, mainly on northern and southern hemisphere polar and sub-polar physical oceanography, and is a sort of unofficial UK lead for Arctic marine physics.

Dr Mark Brandon is a Reader in Polar Oceanography in the Department of Earth, Environment, Earth and Ecosystems at the Open University, UK. He has a BSc in Physics from the University of Surrey and after a two year spell at the Institute of Oceanographic Sciences (now the National Oceanography Centre) he completed a PhD in Arctic Polar Oceanography at the University of Cambridge. After five years in the British Antarctic Survey he joined the Open University. To date he has authored or co-authored 37 research publications on coupled ice ocean science, with many papers being interdisciplinary with biologists and chemists. Mark is a gifted teacher and communicator and he has been a named consultant on several landmark television series. From 2008-12 he was the principle academic advisor on the BBC / Open University television series Frozen Planet, which presented polar science globally to audiences of over 200 million people. He has won several awards for teaching and in 2012 he was named the “Times Higher Education most innovative teacher of the year”.

Professor Hunt is Chairman and Director of Cambridge Environmental Research Consultants Ltd, He has been a Fellow of the Royal Society since 1989, Visiting Fellow of the Malaysian Commonwealth Studies Centre in the University of Cambridge, Fellow of Trinity College Cambridge, Honorary Professor in the Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics, University of Cambridge, a J M Burgers Visiting Professor at Delft University of Technology and Visiting Professor at Arizona State University, Hong Kong University. He is also Emeritus Professor of Climate Modelling in the Department of Earth Sciences.

Professor Hunt was President of the National Society for Clean Air (now Environmental Protection UK) from 2005 to 2006. He was Director-General and Chief Executive of the Meteorological Office from 1992 to 1997. He was President of the Institute of Mathematics and its Applications in 1993. He was also the founding Secretary-General of the European Research Community for Flow, Turbulence and Combustion in 1988 and Chairman of its Scientific Programme Committee from 1990 to 1994. Professor Hunt was created a Baron in the House of Lords in 2000. He has sat on select committees in the House of Lords dealing with international environmental treaties, the Arctic and other scientific topics. He holds a PhD in Aspects of Magnetohydrodynamics from the University of Cambridge which relates to his current position as Chairman of the advisory committee of Tokamak Energy, a privately funded company developing modular fusion systems.