Thomas F Stocker
Biographic Data
| ID | 5600520 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Thomas F Stocker |
| GIVEN NAMES | Thomas F |
| FAMILY NAME | Stocker |
| SIGNATURE | STOCKER T F |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Bern |
| ORCID | 0000-0003-1245-2728 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 17 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 26 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 16 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 1 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1997 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 2 |
Ten new insights in climate science 2025
Non-Technical Summary This review highlights 10 recent advances in climate change research with high policy relevance, spanning diverse topics: (1) the global temperature jump of 2023–2024; (2) sea surface warming and marine heatwaves; (3) land carbon sinks; (4) interactions between climate change and biodiversity loss; (5) accelerated groundwater decline; (6) global dengue incidence; (7) income and labour productivity loss; (8) strategic conside…
Mutual stabilization of Amoc and GrIS due to different transient response to warming
Interactions between The Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) And The Greenland Ice-Sheet (GrIS), both considered major tipping elements in the Earth system, are critical for understanding their future evolution under anthropogenic climate change. As global warming progresses, the potential weakening of the AMOC raises concerns that meltwater from the disintegrating GrIS could trigger a complete AMOC shutdown. Here, we assess the pr…
Theoretical and paleoclimatic evidence for abrupt transitions in the Earth system
Specific components of the Earth system may abruptly change their state in response to gradual changes in forcing. This possibility has attracted great scientific interest in recent years, and has been recognized as one of the greatest threats associated with anthropogenic climate change. Examples of such components, called tipping elements, include the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation, the polar ice sheets, the Amazon rainforest, as w…
Wally, Mentor of the Young
Wally Broecker shaped an entire era of Earth System science with his unsurpassed overview both in time and space. His creativity seemed endless, his scientific breadth, inquisitive depth and innovative power were exceptional. His critical thinking was incisive, sometimes intimidating, but always generous. With his curiosity he has propelled so many young
Hysteresis of the Earth system under positive and negative CO 2 emissions
Carbon dioxide removal (CDR) from the atmosphere is part of all emission scenarios of the IPCC that limit global warming to below 1.5 °C. Here, we investigate hysteresis characteristics in 4× pre-industrial atmospheric CO2 concentration scenarios with exponentially increasing and decreasing CO2 using the Bern3D-LPX Earth system model of intermediate complexity. The equilibrium climate sensitivity (ECS) and the rate of CDR are systematically varie…
The concerns of the young protesters are justified
In March 2019, German-speaking scientists and scholars calling themselves Scientists for Future , published a statement in support of the youth protesters in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland (Fridays for Future, Klimastreik/Climate Strike) , verifying the scientific evidence that the youth protestors refer to. In this article, they provide the full text of the statement, including the list of supporting facts (in both English and German) as well…
The realized warming fraction
The degree of physical-biogeochemical equilibration of the climate system determines for how long global warming will continue after anthropogenic CO 2 emissions have ceased. The physical part of this equilibration process is quantified by the realized warming fraction (RWF), but RWF estimates differ strongly between different climate models. Here we analyze the RWF spread and its physical causes in three model ensembles: 1. an ensemble of compre…
Earth system commitments due to delayed mitigation
As long as global CO2 emissions continue to increase annually, long-term committed Earth system changes grow much faster than current observations. A novel metric linking this future growth to policy decisions today is the mitigation delay sensitivity (MDS), but MDS estimates for Earth system variables other than peak temperature (ΔT max) are missing. Using an Earth System Model of Intermediate Complexity, we show that the current emission increa…
Climate Change 2013 – The Physical Science Basis
This latest Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) will again form the standard scientific reference for all those concerned with climate change and its consequences, including students and researchers in environmental science, meteorology, climatology, biology, ecology and atmospheric chemistry. It provides invaluable material for decision makers and stakeholders: international, national, local; and in al…
Summary for Policymakers
This Summary for Policymakers presents key findings from the Special Report on Managing the Risks of Extreme Events and Disasters to Advance Climate Change Adaptation (SREX). The SREX approaches the topic by assessing the scientific literature on issues that range from the relationship between climate change and extreme weather and climate events ("climate extremes") to the implications of these events for society and sustainable development. The…
Managing the Risks of Extreme Events and Disasters to Advance Climate Change Adaptation
This Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Special Report (IPCC-SREX) explores the challenge of understanding and managing the risks of climate extremes to advance climate change adaptation. Extreme weather and climate events, interacting with exposed and vulnerable human and natural systems, can lead to disasters. Changes in the frequency and severity of the physical events affect disaster risk, but so do the spatially diverse and temporally…
Mid- to Late Holocene climate change
Orbital and Millennial Antarctic Climate Variability over the Past 800,000 Years
A high-resolution deuterium profile is now available along the entire European Project for Ice Coring in Antarctica Dome C ice core, extending this climate record back to marine isotope stage 20.2, â 1⁄4800,000 years ago. Experiments performed with an atmospheric general circulation model including water isotopes support its temperature interpretation. We assessed the general correspondence between Dansgaard-Oeschger events and their smoothed Ant…
Multicentury glacier fluctuations in the Swiss Alps during the Holocene
Subfossil remains of wood and peat from six Swiss glaciers found in proglacial fluvial sediments indicate that glaciers were smaller than the 1985 reference level and climatic conditions allowed vegetation growth in now glaciated basins. An extended data set of Swiss glacier recessions consisting of 143 radiocarbon dates is presented to improve the chronology of glacier fluctuations. A comparison with other archives and dated glacier advances sug…
Holocene carbon-cycle dynamics based on CO2 trapped in ice at Taylor Dome, Antarctica
Minimal Extension Phases of Unteraarglacier (Swiss Alps) During the Holocene Based on 14 C Analysis of Wood
Tree trunks and wood fragments in minerotrophic fen peat that accumulated as the result of a jökulhlaup in the outwash plain of Unteraarglacier were radiocarbon-dated using conventional ß-counting. Different pretreatment methods were tested on two wood samples to determine the reliability of our dates. We dated the wood compounds after extended acid-alkali-acid treatment, as well as extraction of cellulose and lignin. The results of the samples P…
The Effect of a Succession of Ocean Ventilation Changes on 14 C
Using the model of Stacker and Wright (1996), we investigate the effect of a succession of ocean ventilation changes on the atmospheric concentration of radiocarbon, δ 14 C atm , the surface reservoir ages, the top-to-bottom age differences, and the calendar- 14 C age relationships in different regions of the ocean. The model includes a representation of the cycling of 14 C through the atmosphere, the ocean and the land biosphere. Ocean ventilati…
Multicentury glacier fluctuations in the Swiss Alps during the Holocene
Subfossil remains of wood and peat from six Swiss glaciers found in proglacial fluvial sediments indicate that glaciers were smaller than the 1985 reference level and climatic conditions allowed vegetation growth in now glaciated basins. An extended data set of Swiss glacier recessions consisting of 143 radiocarbon dates is presented to improve the chronology of glacier fluctuations. A comparison with other archives and dated glacier advances sug…
The Effect of a Succession of Ocean Ventilation Changes on 14 C
Using the model of Stacker and Wright (1996), we investigate the effect of a succession of ocean ventilation changes on the atmospheric concentration of radiocarbon, δ 14 C atm , the surface reservoir ages, the top-to-bottom age differences, and the calendar- 14 C age relationships in different regions of the ocean. The model includes a representation of the cycling of 14 C through the atmosphere, the ocean and the land biosphere. Ocean ventilati…
Minimal Extension Phases of Unteraarglacier (Swiss Alps) During the Holocene Based on 14 C Analysis of Wood
Tree trunks and wood fragments in minerotrophic fen peat that accumulated as the result of a jökulhlaup in the outwash plain of Unteraarglacier were radiocarbon-dated using conventional ß-counting. Different pretreatment methods were tested on two wood samples to determine the reliability of our dates. We dated the wood compounds after extended acid-alkali-acid treatment, as well as extraction of cellulose and lignin. The results of the samples P…
Minimal Extension Phases of Unteraarglacier (Swiss Alps) During the Holocene Based on 14 C Analysis of Wood
Tree trunks and wood fragments in minerotrophic fen peat that accumulated as the result of a jökulhlaup in the outwash plain of Unteraarglacier were radiocarbon-dated using conventional ß-counting. Different pretreatment methods were tested on two wood samples to determine the reliability of our dates. We dated the wood compounds after extended acid-alkali-acid treatment, as well as extraction of cellulose and lignin. The results of the samples P…
The Effect of a Succession of Ocean Ventilation Changes on 14 C
Using the model of Stacker and Wright (1996), we investigate the effect of a succession of ocean ventilation changes on the atmospheric concentration of radiocarbon, δ 14 C atm , the surface reservoir ages, the top-to-bottom age differences, and the calendar- 14 C age relationships in different regions of the ocean. The model includes a representation of the cycling of 14 C through the atmosphere, the ocean and the land biosphere. Ocean ventilati…
Holocene carbon-cycle dynamics based on CO2 trapped in ice at Taylor Dome, Antarctica
Multicentury glacier fluctuations in the Swiss Alps during the Holocene
Subfossil remains of wood and peat from six Swiss glaciers found in proglacial fluvial sediments indicate that glaciers were smaller than the 1985 reference level and climatic conditions allowed vegetation growth in now glaciated basins. An extended data set of Swiss glacier recessions consisting of 143 radiocarbon dates is presented to improve the chronology of glacier fluctuations. A comparison with other archives and dated glacier advances sug…
Orbital and Millennial Antarctic Climate Variability over the Past 800,000 Years
A high-resolution deuterium profile is now available along the entire European Project for Ice Coring in Antarctica Dome C ice core, extending this climate record back to marine isotope stage 20.2, â 1⁄4800,000 years ago. Experiments performed with an atmospheric general circulation model including water isotopes support its temperature interpretation. We assessed the general correspondence between Dansgaard-Oeschger events and their smoothed Ant…
Mid- to Late Holocene climate change
Summary for Policymakers
This Summary for Policymakers presents key findings from the Special Report on Managing the Risks of Extreme Events and Disasters to Advance Climate Change Adaptation (SREX). The SREX approaches the topic by assessing the scientific literature on issues that range from the relationship between climate change and extreme weather and climate events ("climate extremes") to the implications of these events for society and sustainable development. The…
Managing the Risks of Extreme Events and Disasters to Advance Climate Change Adaptation
This Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Special Report (IPCC-SREX) explores the challenge of understanding and managing the risks of climate extremes to advance climate change adaptation. Extreme weather and climate events, interacting with exposed and vulnerable human and natural systems, can lead to disasters. Changes in the frequency and severity of the physical events affect disaster risk, but so do the spatially diverse and temporally…
Climate Change 2013 – The Physical Science Basis
This latest Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) will again form the standard scientific reference for all those concerned with climate change and its consequences, including students and researchers in environmental science, meteorology, climatology, biology, ecology and atmospheric chemistry. It provides invaluable material for decision makers and stakeholders: international, national, local; and in al…
Earth system commitments due to delayed mitigation
As long as global CO2 emissions continue to increase annually, long-term committed Earth system changes grow much faster than current observations. A novel metric linking this future growth to policy decisions today is the mitigation delay sensitivity (MDS), but MDS estimates for Earth system variables other than peak temperature (ΔT max) are missing. Using an Earth System Model of Intermediate Complexity, we show that the current emission increa…
The realized warming fraction
The degree of physical-biogeochemical equilibration of the climate system determines for how long global warming will continue after anthropogenic CO 2 emissions have ceased. The physical part of this equilibration process is quantified by the realized warming fraction (RWF), but RWF estimates differ strongly between different climate models. Here we analyze the RWF spread and its physical causes in three model ensembles: 1. an ensemble of compre…
The concerns of the young protesters are justified
In March 2019, German-speaking scientists and scholars calling themselves Scientists for Future , published a statement in support of the youth protesters in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland (Fridays for Future, Klimastreik/Climate Strike) , verifying the scientific evidence that the youth protestors refer to. In this article, they provide the full text of the statement, including the list of supporting facts (in both English and German) as well…
Hysteresis of the Earth system under positive and negative CO 2 emissions
Carbon dioxide removal (CDR) from the atmosphere is part of all emission scenarios of the IPCC that limit global warming to below 1.5 °C. Here, we investigate hysteresis characteristics in 4× pre-industrial atmospheric CO2 concentration scenarios with exponentially increasing and decreasing CO2 using the Bern3D-LPX Earth system model of intermediate complexity. The equilibrium climate sensitivity (ECS) and the rate of CDR are systematically varie…
Theoretical and paleoclimatic evidence for abrupt transitions in the Earth system
Specific components of the Earth system may abruptly change their state in response to gradual changes in forcing. This possibility has attracted great scientific interest in recent years, and has been recognized as one of the greatest threats associated with anthropogenic climate change. Examples of such components, called tipping elements, include the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation, the polar ice sheets, the Amazon rainforest, as w…
Wally, Mentor of the Young
Wally Broecker shaped an entire era of Earth System science with his unsurpassed overview both in time and space. His creativity seemed endless, his scientific breadth, inquisitive depth and innovative power were exceptional. His critical thinking was incisive, sometimes intimidating, but always generous. With his curiosity he has propelled so many young
Mutual stabilization of Amoc and GrIS due to different transient response to warming
Interactions between The Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) And The Greenland Ice-Sheet (GrIS), both considered major tipping elements in the Earth system, are critical for understanding their future evolution under anthropogenic climate change. As global warming progresses, the potential weakening of the AMOC raises concerns that meltwater from the disintegrating GrIS could trigger a complete AMOC shutdown. Here, we assess the pr…
Ten new insights in climate science 2025
Non-Technical Summary This review highlights 10 recent advances in climate change research with high policy relevance, spanning diverse topics: (1) the global temperature jump of 2023–2024; (2) sea surface warming and marine heatwaves; (3) land carbon sinks; (4) interactions between climate change and biodiversity loss; (5) accelerated groundwater decline; (6) global dengue incidence; (7) income and labour productivity loss; (8) strategic conside…
Climatology (11 works) · Environmental Science (11 works) · Geography (10 works) · Climate change (9 works) · Geology and Paleoclimatology Research (9 works) · Geology (8 works) · Global warming (6 works) · Atmospheric and Environmental Gas Dynamics (4 works) · Atmospheric sciences (4 works) · Chemistry (4 works)