The Bolin Centre focuses on extending and disseminating knowledge about the Earth’s natural climate system, climate variations, climate impacting processes, climate modelling, human impact on the climate and climate impacts on ecosystems, biodiversity and human conditions as well as how society can minimize negative impacts.
The centre was formed in 2006 by Stockholm University, the Swedish Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) and the Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute (SMHI).
The Bolin Centre for Climate Research is named in honour of Professor Bert Bolin of Stockholm University, a leader in climate and carbon cycle research and one of the founders of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) which received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007.
The research is structured into multi-disciplinary research areas
Up until the end of 2021, the research was structured into 8 multi-disciplinary research areas. (Read more about them here Multi-disciplinary research areas.) At present, the Bolin Centre is being reorganized into 4 Research themes with the following working titles:
Research theme 1 – The physical-chemical climate system
Research theme 1 addresses some of the major knowledge gaps in the physical-chemical climate system. Covering a range of scales, we study aerosols and clouds; dynamics of atmosphere, ocean and cryosphere; risk for tipping points and regional effects of global warming and; climate sensitivity and carbon budget. We develop and use tools ranging from Large Eddy Simulation to Earth system models, and from in-situ observations to satellite and reanalysis products.
Co-leaders:
Torben Königh, Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute (SMHI)
Thorsten Mauritsen, Dept. of Meteorology, Stockholm University
Frida Bender, Dept. of Meteorology, Stockholm University
Research theme 2 – Water, biogeochemistry and climate
Research theme 2 studies the coupled water and biogeochemical cycles and their interactions with climate and society over multiple spatial and temporal scales. Our ultimate goal is to define the adaptation necessary to address climate risks related to these cycles and guide policy towards their mitigation. For this task, we rely on field- and space-based observations, modelling, monitoring, and experiments on land, in the ocean, and the atmosphere.
Co-leaders:
Fernando Jaramillo, Dept. of Physical Geography, Stockholm University
Volker Brüchert, Dept. of Geological Sciences, Stockholm University
Research theme 3 – Past climates
Research on past climates encompasses climate variability on tectonic, orbital, millennial, centennial and historical timescales. We use a wide range of geoscientific data to reconstruct the evolution of the climate system, including its landscapes and ecosystems, from local to global scales. Climate models are used to simulate extreme climate states in the past, in order to study impacts, mechanisms and feedbacks operating in the climate system under different climate forcings. Past climates provide a thorough test of models to project future changes in a confident way.
Co-leaders:
Margret Steinthorsdottir, Swedish Museum of Natural History, affiliated with Dept. of Geological Sciences, Stockholm University
Frederik Schenk, Dept. of Geological Sciences, Stockholm University.
Research theme 4 – Climate, ecosystems and biodiversity
Research on climate, ecosystems and biodiversity at the Bolin Centre aims to understand how climate affects ecological, evolutionary and biophysical processes, as well as their possible feedbacks on climate and human land- and water-use. The research relies on using field observations, experiments, and modelling to examine the effects of climate on different aspects of ecosystems and biodiversity.
Co-leaders:
Regina Lindborg, Dept. of Physical Geography, Stockholm University
Carl Gotthard, Dept. of Zoology, Stockholm University
