Education and appointments

2006-present   Research Scientist. British Antarctic Survey, Cambridge, UK.

2002-2006      University of Reading, PhD in Meteorology on “The role of convection in the intensification of polar lows”.

1998-2002      The University of Edinburgh, BSc (Hons) in Physics with Meteorology.

International science coordination and policy

2022-present   Co-lead of the European Climate Research Alliance (ECRA) Collaborative Programme: Polar Climate Insights and Impacts.

2021-present   Co-Chief Officer of the international SCAR Scientific Research Programme ‘Near-term Variability and Prediction of the Antarctic Climate System’ (AntClim^Now)

2016-2021       Provided climate-related advice on Antarctic Treaty papers as a member of the SCAR Standing Committee on the Antarctic Treaty System (SC-ATS)

Research grants awarded

2021-2025      Co-I on NERC Highlight Topic Grant DEFIANT (Drivers and Effects of Fluctuations in Sea Ice in the Antarctic)

2021-2024      PI for NERC Standard Grant Antarctic Coastal Winds (Improved projections of winds at the crossroads between Antarctica and the Southern Ocean).

2020-2024     Co-I on NERC Grant SOC (Southern Ocean Clouds).

2020-2024     Co-I on NERC Large Grant DeCAdeS (Drivers of Oceanic Change in the Amundsen Sea).

2016-2020      Co-I (PI on BAS component) for NERC Large Grant Real Projections (Robust Spatial Projections of Real-World Climate Change).

2016-2019      Co-I (PI on BAS component) for NERC Standard Grant AFIS (Atmospheric Forcing of the Iceland Sea).

2016-2018      Co-I on Norwegian Research Council grant C-ICE (Counteracting effect of future Antarctic sea-ice loss on projected increases of summer Monsoon rainfall).

2014-2017       Co-I on NERC Standard Grant Improved Prediction of 21st Century West Antarctic Climate Change: the Role of the Amundsen Sea Low).

2013-2015      Co-I on NERC grant Reconstructing wind strength and atmospheric circulation in West Antarctica over the past 300 years.

2011-2012       Co-I on NERC grant Assessing simulations of Southern Hemisphere tropospheric jet, meridional overturning circulation of the Southern Ocean and carbon uptake.

Research interests

I have always had a keen interest in meteorology and climate and have been conducting research on the atmospheric dynamics and climate of the polar regions since 2006. My main research interests are:

– Polar meteorology and climate

– Large-scale atmospheric circulation

– Troposphere-stratosphere interactions

– Climate model evaluation

– Methods for quantifying and reducing uncertainty in climate model projections

Author of 77 peer reviewed publications (Web of Science h-index of 29)

ORCID profile

Publons profile

Publications from NERC Open Research Archive

• 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

• Holmes, C. (2022). Sea Ice Area climatologies and 21st century change in the CMIP5 and CMIP6 multi-model ensembles (Version 1.0) [Data set]. NERC EDS UK Polar Data Centre. https://doi.org/10.5285/e67242f2-e9aa-4402-85a3-be42d13354af

• Bracegirdle, T. (2018). Southern Hemisphere tropospheric westerly jet: 1979-present (Version 1.0) [Data set]. Polar Data Centre, Natural Environment Research Council, UK. https://doi.org/10.5285/3952a4fe-683a-42e7-a074-bdec41c8ab16

1. PRESCIENT

   PRESCIENT supports long-term, strategically important measurements and capabilities for the wider science community.

   Read more of: PRESCIENT

   

2. Climate change in the Arctic-North Atlantic Region

   CANARI aims to advance understanding of the impacts on the UK arising from climate variability and change in the Arctic-North Atlantic region, with a focus on extreme weather and the potential for rapid, disruptive change.

   Read more of: Climate change in the Arctic-North Atlantic Region

   

3. Antarctic surface mass and energy exchanges

   SURFEIT unites UK and international scientists to study Antarctic ice and atmosphere interactions, improve sea-level projections, and support climate action.

   Read more of: Antarctic surface mass and energy exchanges

   

4. Tracking Antarctica’s Ice Fluctuations

   The recent extreme swings in Antarctic sea ice extent emphasise the need to increase our knowledge of the drivers and climate implications of Antarctic sea ice loss.

   Read more of: Tracking Antarctica’s Ice Fluctuations

   

5. Southern Ocean Clouds

   Southern Ocean Clouds improves climate models by studying cloud processes over the Southern Ocean to reduce global prediction errors. 

   Read more of: Southern Ocean Clouds

   

6. 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

   

7. Real Projections

   Real Projections focused on understanding the processes driving sea ice variability and change, combining observational data with climate model outputs to produce more robust projections of future Antarctic sea ice area under different greenhouse gas emission scenarios.

   Read more of: Real Projections

   

8. Iceland Greenland seas Project

   The Iceland Greenland Seas Project investigates how atmosphere-ocean processes in the Iceland Sea create the dense waters that flow through Denmark Strait and feed the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation, which is crucial for global and European climate.

   Read more of: Iceland Greenland seas Project

   

9. North Atlantic climate system integrated study

   ACSIS focussed on understanding changes occurring across the North Atlantic climate system in the ocean, the atmosphere, the cryosphere and the interactions between these constituent components.

   Read more of: North Atlantic climate system integrated study

   

10. Past Westerly Winds

    Past Westerly Winds research project used climate model simulations to investigate how Southern Ocean westerly winds behaved during the last glacial maximum.

    Read more of: Past Westerly Winds

    

11. West Antarctica wind strength and atmospheric circulation

    This project used ice core chemical and biological tracers, including marine diatoms swept onto the ice sheet by wind, to reconstruct 300 years of wind strength and atmospheric circulation patterns in West Antarctica.

    Read more of: West Antarctica wind strength and atmospheric circulation

    

1. Regional data highlights emerging climate change signals

   A greater understanding of how climate change impacts at a regional level is vital to developing effective climate policies that protect communities from escalating risks.

   Read more of: Regional data highlights emerging climate change signals

   

2. Extreme heatwave in East Antarctica caused by record-breaking ‘atmospheric river’

   Scientists have identified the intricate meteorological drivers that led to an intense heatwave across East Antarctica in from 15-19 March 2022.

   Read more of: Extreme heatwave in East Antarctica caused by record-breaking ‘atmospheric river’

   

3. New study calls for unified research to understand changing ecosystems

   A new multidisciplinary study led by scientists at British Antarctic Study (BAS) stresses the need for an integrated approach to understand the effects of climate change on Antarctic marine ecosystems. […]

   Read more of: New study calls for unified research to understand changing ecosystems

   

4. More losers than winners for Southern Ocean marine life

   A new study of the marine invertebrates living in the seas around Antarctica reveals there will be more ‘losers’ than ‘winners’ over the next century as the Antarctic seafloor warms.  […]

   Read more of: More losers than winners for Southern Ocean marine life

   

5. Climate change may cause expansion to ice-free areas across Antarctica

   Ice-free areas in Antarctica could expand by close to 25 per cent by 2100 and drastically change the biodiversity of the continent, research published this week in Nature has shown. […]

   Read more of: Climate change may cause expansion to ice-free areas across Antarctica

   

6. Storms caused massive Antarctic sea ice loss in 2016

   A series of unprecedented storms over the Southern Ocean likely caused the most dramatic decline in Antarctic sea ice seen to date, a new study finds. Antarctic sea ice – […]

   Read more of: Storms caused massive Antarctic sea ice loss in 2016

   

7. NEWS STORY: Climate records from ice cores

   New ice core record shows climate variability in West Antarctica A 308-year ice core record provides new data on climate variability in coastal West Antarctica and shows that a clear […]

   Read more of: NEWS STORY: Climate records from ice cores

   

• Leader (Chief Officer), Antarctic Climate Change in the 21st Century (AntClim21)
• Representative of the SCAR Physical Sciences Group, Standing Committee on the Antarctic Treaty System (SCATS)
• Liaison Officer to the Physical Sciences, Ecosystem Resilience and Adaptation (Ant-ERA)
• Member, Antarctic Climate Change and the Environment (ACCE)
• Member, International Commission on Polar Meteorology
• Member, The Ice Sheet Model Intercomparison for CMIP6 (ISMIP6)