Tim Lenton

Tim Lenton is Professor of Climate Change and Earth System Science at the University of Exeter. Formerly he worked at the University of East Anglia.^[1]

Gaia Hypothesis

Tim Lenton has taken an interest in the Gaia Hypothesis throughout much of his career. In a significant publication early in his career in Nature,^[2] Lenton addressed a concern that the Gaia Hypothesis was incompatible with the theory of natural selection by demonstrating that a model based on Daisyworld was in fact strengthened by incorporating natural selection. In addition, Lenton co-authored the book "Revolutions that Made the Earth"^[3] with Andy Watson, which expands on the ideas of James Lovelock on the Gaia Hypothesis, by highlighting mechanisms by which the Earth system has been stabilised by negative feedbacks throughout Earth history.

Significant publications

• Lenton, T. M.; Marsh, R.; Price, A. R.; Lunt, D. J.; Aksenov, Y.; Annan, J. D.; Cooper-Chadwick, T.; Cox, S. J.; Edwards, N. R.; Goswami, S.; Hargreaves, J. C.; Harris, P. P.; Jiao, Z.; Livina, V. N.; Payne, A. J.; Rutt, I. C.; Shepherd, J. G.; Valdes, P. J.; Williams, G.; Williamson, M. S.; Yool, A. (2007). "Effects of atmospheric dynamics and ocean resolution on bi-stability of the thermohaline circulation examined using the Grid ENabled Integrated Earth system modelling (GENIE) framework". Climate Dynamics 29 (6): 591. Bibcode:2007ClDy...29..591L. doi:10.1007/s00382-007-0254-9. 
• Goldblatt, C.; Lenton, T.; Watson, A. (2006). "Bistability of atmospheric oxygen and the Great Oxidation". Nature 443 (7112): 683–686. Bibcode:2006Natur.443..683G. doi:10.1038/nature05169. PMID 17036001. 
• Lenton, T. M.; Williamson, M. S.; Edwards, N. R.; Marsh, R.; Price, A. R.; Ridgwell, A. J.; Shepherd, J. G.; Cox, S. J.; and The GENIE team (2006). "Millennial timescale carbon cycle and climate change in an efficient Earth system model". Climate Dynamics 26 (7–8): 687–711. Bibcode:2006ClDy...26..687L. doi:10.1007/s00382-006-0109-9. 
• Lenton, T. M.; Watson, A. J. (2004). "Biotic enhancement of weathering, atmospheric oxygen and carbon dioxide in the Neoproterozoic". Geophysical Research Letters 31 (5): L05202. doi:10.1029/2003GL018802. 
• Lenton, T. M. (2000). "Land and ocean carbon cycle feedback effects on global warming in a simple Earth system model". Tellus B 52 (5): 1159–1188. Bibcode:2000TellB..52.1159L. doi:10.1034/j.1600-0889.2000.01104.x. 
• Lenton, T. M. (1998). "Gaia and natural selection". Nature 394 (6692): 439–447. Bibcode:1998Natur.394..439L. doi:10.1038/28792. PMID 9697767. 

References