Degrees:
B.Sc. (Hons.) Physics, University of Durham, 1976
Ph.D., Applied Mathematics, University of Leeds, 1980
Employment:
1979-1984: Research Scientist, UK Meteorological Office
1984-1988: Research scientist (boundary layer studies), British Antarctic Survey (BAS)
1988-1999: Section Head, Meteorology, BAS
1999-2005: Principal Investigator, Antarctic Climate Processes Programme, BAS
2005- 2009: Principal Investigator, Antarctic Climate and the Earth System Programme, BAS
2009-2014: Science Leader, Climate Programme, BAS
2015-2018: Science Leader, Atmosphere, Ice and Climate, BAS
2018- : Senior atmospheric scientist, BAS
Publications:
Co-author (with J. Turner) of “Antarctic Meteorology and Climatology” (CUP, 1997).
Over 110 refereed research papers since 1979.
Positions held and professional service:
External Ph.D. examiner: University of Utrecht (1992, 2016), University of London (1995), University of Leeds (1998, 2002, 2018), University of Hobart (1999), Free University of Amsterdam (2000), University of Helsinki (2008), University of Grenoble (2014, 2016, 2017, 2021), Sorbonne University (2019)
Postgraduate training: Supervisor or co-supervisor for 19 PhD students since 1986. Executive member, EnvEast Doctoral Training Partnership management board, 2013-2018 . Strategy and executive boards member, ARIES Doctoral Training Partnership, 2018-2021. Lecturer, NCAS “Introduction to Atmospheric Science” course, 2007- .
Journals: Member, Editorial Board, Weather 1996-1998. Associate Editor, Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society, 1998-2004. Regular reviewer for Journal of Geophysical Research, Geophysical Research Letters, Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society, Journal of Climate, International Journal of Climatology, Boundary-Layer Meteorology, The Cryosphere, Nature.
Reviewing: Member, DFG Antarctic Programme review panel, 2007. MONSooN proposal review panel, 2013-2017 . Member, Helmholtz Association review panel for the Alfred Wegener Institute, 2018. Regular reviewer for proposals to US National Science Foundation, Partnership for Advanced Computing in Europe (PRACE), Italian National Antarctic Research Programme.
Learned societies and international bodies: Council Member, Royal Meteorological Society 1996-1999. Member, International Commission on Polar Meteorology, 1997-2007, 2015- . Member of the Scientific Committee for the Bayer Climate Prize, 2008-2014. Member, WMO world record hurricane gust investigation committee, 2009. Member, WMO record Antarctic temperature investigation committee, 2015.
Programme management: Member, Hadley Centre Climate Models Partners’ Board, 2005-7. Member, Joint Science Strategy Group, NERC-Met Office Joint Weather and Climate Research Programme, 2010-2013. Chair, NERC ACSIS Project Management Board, 2016-2022.
Honours and awards: NERC Individual Merit Promotion, Band 3, 2011. Honorary professor, School of Environmental Sciences, University of East Anglia, 2018.
Boundary-layer and mesoscale meteorology, including: Observational and theoretical studies of the atmospheric boundary layer in Antarctica, katabatic winds, blowing snow, air-sea-ice interaction, orographic effects.
Climatology and climate modelling, including: Investigations of climate variability and change, particularly in the Antarctic Peninsula. Improving the parametrisation of polar surface processes in climate models.
Caton Harrison, T., Lock, A., Bracegirdle, T., King, J., & Lu, H. (2025). Surface fields and vertical cross-sections from Met Office Unified Model sensitivity experiments run over a sector of East Antarctica, 2011 – 2017 (Version 1.0) [Data set]. NERC EDS UK Polar Data Centre. https://doi.org/10.5285/8f5f8ce3-9bd9-40b4-9f09-14a0d680a838
Anderson, P., King, J., Lachlan-Cope, T., Orr, A., Marshall, G., Kirchgaessner, A., & Smith, V. (2012). Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model output for Larsen Ice Shelf at 4km resolution (Version 1.0) [Data set]. NERC EDS UK Polar Data Centre. https://data.bas.ac.uk/full-record.php?id=GB/NERC/BAS/PDC/00591
Anderson, P., King, J., Lachlan-Cope, T., Marshall, G., Orr, A., & Kirchgaessner, A. (2012). Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model output for Larsen Ice Shelf at 1km resolution (Version 1.0) [Data set]. NERC EDS UK Polar Data Centre. https://data.bas.ac.uk/full-record.php?id=GB/NERC/BAS/PDC/00592
Anderson, P., King, J., Lachlan-Cope, T., Marshall, G., Orr, A., & Kirchgaessner, A. (2012). Surface Energy Budget (SEB) measurements of the snowpack taken at Larsen camp, Larsen C Ice Shelf, Jan 2011 (Version 1.0) [Data set]. NERC EDS UK Polar Data Centre. https://data.bas.ac.uk/full-record.php?id=GB/NERC/BAS/PDC/00590
King, J., Anderson, P., Orr, A., Marshall, G., Lachlan-Cope, T., & Kirchgaessner, A. (2012). Larsen Ice Shelf Unified Model (UM) output run at 4km resolution (Version 1.0) [Data set]. NERC EDS UK Polar Data Centre. https://data.bas.ac.uk/full-record.php?id=GB/NERC/BAS/PDC/00593
King, J., Anderson, P., Lachlan-Cope, T., Orr, A., Marshall, G., & Kirchgaessner, A. (2012). Larsen Ice Shelf Unified Model (UM) output run at 1.5km resolution (Version 1.0) [Data set]. NERC EDS UK Polar Data Centre. https://data.bas.ac.uk/full-record.php?id=GB/NERC/BAS/PDC/00594
This project investigated the stability of Antarctica’s Filchner Ice Shelf to produce sea-level projections using hot water drilling, ocean measurements beneath the ice shelf, sediment coring, radar surveys and autonomous submersibles.
Scientists have identified the intricate meteorological drivers that led to an intense heatwave across East Antarctica in from 15-19 March 2022.
New factors are contributing to record-high temperatures and ice melt over the eastern Antarctic Peninsula and Larsen C Ice Shelf.
A new study by scientists from British Antarctic Survey (BAS) has used computer modelling to rank the factors responsible for the Larsen C ice shelf melt according to their severity.
BAS staff support WWF’s Earth Hour with cuddly friend! This Saturday, 29 March, is WWF’s Earth Hour. Earth Hour aims to focus the world’s attention on the planet and the […]
