I am a polar climate scientist whose research focuses on Antarctica’s coastal winds: their variability, drivers and representation in climate models. A goal of this research is to understand and improve projections of coastal winds for the coming decades. A realistic representation of these winds in model simulation is needed as they have a key role in Southern Ocean circulation, including transport of warmer water towards ice shelves. They also influence sea ice and coastal ecosystems.

In my doctoral research I investigated the winds responsible for emission of mineral dust from the remote central Sahara. I used infrared satellite measurements to characterise dust storms, showing the central role of convective storms and the effect of orography upon low-level jets in this dust source region of global importance.

Caton Harrison, T., Washington, R., Engelstaedter, S., Jones, R.G., Savage, N.H.. (2021) Influence of Orography Upon Summertime Low-Level Jet Dust Emission in the Central and Western Sahara. Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, 126. 24 pp. 10.1029/2021JD035025

Caton Harrison, T., Washington, R., Engelstaedter. (2020) Satellite-Derived Characteristics of Saharan Cold Pool Outflows During Boreal Summer. Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, 126. 3 pp. p.e2020JD033387

Caton Harrison, T., Washington, R., Engelstaedter. (2019) A 14‐year climatology of Saharan dust emission mechanisms inferred from automatically tracked plumes. Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, 124. 16 pp.9665-9690

Publications from NERC Open Research Archive

2026

Wiener, Valentin. Vignon, Étienne ORCID record for Vignon, Étienne. Caton Harrison, Thomas ORCID record for Caton Harrison, Thomas. Genthon, Christophe ORCID record for Genthon, Christophe. Toledo, Felipe. Canut-Rocafort, Guylaine. Meurdesoif, Yann. Berne, Alexis ORCID record for Berne, Alexis. (2026) An extensive investigation of the ability of the ICOLMDZ model to simulate a katabatic wind event in Antarctica.

Davies, Bethan. Atkinson, Angus. Banwell, Alison. Brandon, Mark. Convey, Peter ORCID record for Convey, Peter. Caton Harrison, Thomas ORCID record for Caton Harrison, Thomas. De Rydt, Jan. Dodds, Klaus. Downie, Ros. Edwards, Tamsin. Gilbert, Ella ORCID record for Gilbert, Ella. Hubbard, Bryn. Hughes, Kevin ORCID record for Hughes, Kevin. Rogelj, Joeri. Rumble, Jand. Marshall, Gareth ORCID record for Marshall, Gareth. Orr, Andrew ORCID record for Orr, Andrew. Seroussi, Helen. Siegert, Martin. Stroeve, Julienne. (2026) Policy brief: Climate change and its impact on the Antarctic Peninsula.

Davies, Bethan J. Atkinson, Angus. Banwell, Alison F. Brandon, Mark. Caton Harrison, Thomas ORCID record for Caton Harrison, Thomas. Convey, Peter ORCID record for Convey, Peter. De Rydt, Jan. Dodds, Klaus. Downie, Rod. Edwards, Tamsin L. Gilbert, Ella ORCID record for Gilbert, Ella. Hubbard, Bryn. Hughes, Kevin A. ORCID record for Hughes, Kevin A.. Marshall, Gareth A. ORCID record for Marshall, Gareth A.. Orr, Andrew ORCID record for Orr, Andrew. Rogelj, Joeri. Seroussi, Hélène. Siegert, Martin. Stroeve, Julianne. Rumble, Jane. (2026) The Antarctic Peninsula under present day climate and future low, medium-high and very high emissions scenarios.

Cable, Archie. Caton Harrison, Thomas ORCID record for Caton Harrison, Thomas. Kent, Elizabeth ORCID record for Kent, Elizabeth. Cornes, Richard ORCID record for Cornes, Richard. Bracegirdle, Thomas ORCID record for Bracegirdle, Thomas. (2026) A new index used to characterise the extent of Antarctic marine coastal winds in climate projections.

Haigh, Michael ORCID record for Haigh, Michael. Holland, Paul R. ORCID record for Holland, Paul R.. Caton Harrison, Thomas ORCID record for Caton Harrison, Thomas. Dutrieux, Pierre ORCID record for Dutrieux, Pierre. (2026) Wind‐Driven Coastal Polynya Variability Drives Decadal Ice‐Shelf Melt Variability in the Amundsen Sea.

2025

Caton Harrison, Thomas ORCID record for Caton Harrison, Thomas. Lock, Adrian. Bracegirdle, Thomas J. ORCID record for Bracegirdle, Thomas J.. King, John C. ORCID record for King, John C.. Lu, Hua ORCID record for Lu, Hua. Silvano, Alessandro. (2025) Sensitivity of near-surface marine winds and wind stress in coastal Antarctica to regional atmospheric model configuration.

2024

Legg, Tim. Packman, Stephen. Caton Harrison, Thomas ORCID record for Caton Harrison, Thomas. McCarthy, Mark ORCID record for McCarthy, Mark. (2024) An Update to the Central England Temperature Series—HadCET v2.1.

Caton Harrison, Thomas ORCID record for Caton Harrison, Thomas. Bracegirdle, Thomas J. ORCID record for Bracegirdle, Thomas J.. Davrinche, Cécile. Dutrieux, Pierre ORCID record for Dutrieux, Pierre. Gilbert, Ella ORCID record for Gilbert, Ella. Haigh, Michael ORCID record for Haigh, Michael. Jones, Julie M. Kent, Elizabeth C. ORCID record for Kent, Elizabeth C.. King, John ORCID record for King, John. Lu, Hua ORCID record for Lu, Hua. Price, Ruth ORCID record for Price, Ruth. Schmidt, Christina. Vignon, Étienne. Wiener, Valentin. (2024) Advances and next steps in observing and modeling Antarctica’s coastal winds.

Bracegirdle, Thomas J. ORCID record for Bracegirdle, Thomas J.. Caton Harrison, Thomas ORCID record for Caton Harrison, Thomas. Holmes, Caroline R. ORCID record for Holmes, Caroline R.. Lu, Hua ORCID record for Lu, Hua. Martineau, Patrick. Phillips, Tony ORCID record for Phillips, Tony. (2024) Antarctic extreme seasons under 20th and 21st century climate change.

Jena, Babula. Turner, John ORCID record for Turner, John. Reeves-Francois, Tylei. Bajish, C. C. Holmes, Caroline ORCID record for Holmes, Caroline. Caton Harrison, Thomas ORCID record for Caton Harrison, Thomas. Phillips, Tony ORCID record for Phillips, Tony. Wang, Zhaomin. (2024) Occurrence of an unusual extensive ice-free feature within the pack ice of the central Weddell Sea, Antarctica.

Caton Harrison, Thomas ORCID record for Caton Harrison, Thomas. King, John C. ORCID record for King, John C.. Bracegirdle, Thomas J. ORCID record for Bracegirdle, Thomas J.. Lu, Hua ORCID record for Lu, Hua. (2024) Dynamics of extreme wind events in the marine and terrestrial sectors of coastal Antarctica.

2022

Caton Harrison, Thomas ORCID record for Caton Harrison, Thomas. Biri, Stavroula ORCID record for Biri, Stavroula. Bracegirdle, Thomas J. ORCID record for Bracegirdle, Thomas J.. King, John C. ORCID record for King, John C.. Kent, Elizabeth C. ORCID record for Kent, Elizabeth C.. Vignon, Étienne. Turner, John ORCID record for Turner, John. (2022) Reanalysis representation of low-level winds in the Antarctic near-coastal region.

Turner, John ORCID record for Turner, John. Holmes, Caroline ORCID record for Holmes, Caroline. Caton Harrison, Thomas ORCID record for Caton Harrison, Thomas. Phillips, Tony ORCID record for Phillips, Tony. Jena, Babula. Reeves-Francois, Tylei. Fogt, Ryan. Thomas, Elizabeth R. ORCID record for Thomas, Elizabeth R.. Bajish, C.C. (2022) Record low Antarctic sea ice cover in February 2022.

2021

Caton Harrison, T. ORCID record for Caton Harrison, T.. Washington, R. Engelstaedter, S. Jones, R.G. Savage, N.H. (2021) Influence of Orography Upon Summertime Low-Level Jet Dust Emission in the Central and Western Sahara.

15. Antarctic Coastal Winds

    This project aimed to improve observational knowledge of winds along the Antarctic coast and use this to both evaluate the current state-of-the art climate models and help make improvements for the next model generation.

    Read more of: Antarctic Coastal Winds