Dr Julie Jones

Department of Geography

Director of Research

Julie.Jones@Sheffield.ac.uk
+44 114 222 7967

E5, Geography and Planning Building

Full contact details

Dr Julie Jones
Department of Geography
E5
Geography and Planning Building
Winter Street
Sheffield
S3 7ND

Profile

I am a climate scientist with an interest in reconstructing and understanding past climate variability, with a particular interest in the Antarctic and the Southern Hemisphere. I obtained my BSc in Environmental Sciences at the University of East Anglia (UEA) in Norwich. I then moved to the Climatic Research Unit (CRU) at UEA for my PhD research, looking at the Implications of Climate Change for Acidic Deposition over Europe, which I completed in 1997. Following a short period of postdoctoral research in CRU, I moved to a postdoctoral position at the Institute for Coastal Systems at the Helmholz-Zentrum Hereon, Geesthacht, Germany, where in 2005 I became group leader of the Palaeoclimate research group.

I took up a lectureship in Climate Science in the Department of Geography in Sheffield in August 2006, and am now Senior Lecturer in Climate Science. I have acted as an external examiner for PhDs in the UK and Germany, and am currently the external examiner for the MSc in Applied Meteorology and Climatology at the University of Birmingham.

I have supervised 10 PhD students, many of whom have continued into posts in academia or industry.

I am a fellow of the Royal Meteorological Society.

Research interests

A common theme to my research is the use of long instrumental and historical observations to reconstruct and to investigate past climate variability and change. My research currently focusses on the Antarctic and High Latitude Southern Hemisphere, where for large regions regular meteorological observations did not start until the mid-Twentieth Century, and I have used statistical reconstructions to extend this record back in time.

I have developed reconstructions of the Southern Annular Mode (SAM), using mid-latitude station observations back to the late 19th and early 20th century. This index represents the strength of the Southern Hemisphere westerly winds. The reconstructions can be downloaded here.

My work has frequently involved intercomparison of observations with palaeoclimate proxy data, reanalysis and climate model (GCM) simulations to further understanding of the causes of this past climate variability and change.

Together with PhD students, I have developed reconstruction methodologies using data from ships’ logbooks, for Southern African rainfall for El Nino Southern Oscillation. Previous students have also used archival data to explore past changes in the Northeast Indian Monsoon. Current research students are exploring causes of recent trends in relative humidity, current and future climate drivers of Arctic vegetation browning, and the interaction between climate change and rural livelihoods in Western Zambia.

I was awarded a Leverhulme Fellowship in 2018 to use ships’ logbooks to reconstruct the Southern Annular mode, in collaboration with scientists at the National Institute for Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) in New Zealand.

Other research interests throughout my career include:

The design and analysis of global climate model (GCM) simulations for the mid- and late-Holocene and development of methodologies for systematic comparison of these simulations with proxy data
Regional climate modelling with a focus on the European Alps
Links between atmospheric circulation and transport of air pollution

Publications

Journal articles

Lundstad E, Brugnara Y, Pappert D, Kopp J, Samakinwa E, Hürzeler A, Andersson A, Chimani B, Cornes R, Demarée G , Filipiak J et al (2023) The global historical climate database HCLIM. Scientific Data, 10(1), 1-16.
Tuckett PA, Ely JC, Sole AJ, Lea JM, Livingstone SJ, Jones JM & van Wessem JM (2021) Automated mapping of the seasonal evolution of surface meltwater and its links to climate on the Amery Ice Shelf, Antarctica. The Cryosphere, 15(12), 5785-5804. View this article in WRRO
Fogt RL, Belak CP, Jones JM, Slivinski LC & Compo GP (2021) An assessment of early 20th Century Antarctic pressure reconstructions using historical observations. International Journal of Climatology, 41(S1), E672-E689. View this article in WRRO
Pastén-Zapata E, Jones JM, Moggridge H & Widmann M (2020) Evaluation of the performance of Euro-CORDEX Regional Climate Models for assessing hydrological climate change impacts in Great Britain: A comparison of different spatial resolutions and quantile mapping bias correction methods. Journal of Hydrology, 584. View this article in WRRO
Bracegirdle TJ, Colleoni F, Abram NJ, Bertler NAN, Dixon DA, England M, Favier V, Fogwill CJ, Fyfe JC, Goodwin I , Goosse H et al (2019) Back to the future : using long-term observational and paleo-proxy reconstructions to improve model projections of Antarctic climate. Geosciences, 9(6). View this article in WRRO
Fogt RL, Schneider DP, Goergens CA, Jones JM, Clark LN & Garberoglio MJ (2019) Seasonal Antarctic pressure variability during the twentieth century from spatially complete reconstructions and CAM5 simulations. Climate Dynamics. View this article in WRRO
Fogt RL, Jones ME, Goergens CA, Solomon S & Jones JM (2018) Reply to "Comment on 'An exceptional summer during the South Pole race of 1911/12'". Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, 99(10), 2143-2145. View this article in WRRO
Swindles GT, Galloway JM, Macumber AL, Croudace IW, Emery AR, Woulds C, Bateman MD, Parry L, Jones JM, Selby K , Rushby GT et al (2018) Sedimentary records of coastal storm surges: Evidence of the 1953 North Sea event. Marine Geology, 403, 262-270. View this article in WRRO
Bateman MD, Rushby G, Stein S, Ashurst RA, Stevenson D, Jones JM & Gehrels WR (2017) Can sand dunes be used to study historic storm events?. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms. View this article in WRRO
Fogt RL, Goergens CA, Jones JM, Schneider DP, Nicolas JP, Bromwich DH & Dusselier HE (2017) A twentieth century perspective on summer Antarctic pressure change and variability and contributions from tropical SSTs and ozone depletion. Geophysical Research Letters, 44(19), 9918-9927. View this article in WRRO
Hall RL, Scaife AA, Hanna E, Jones JM & Erdelyi R (2017) Simple Statistical Probabilistic Forecasts of the Winter NAO. Weather and Forecasting. View this article in WRRO
Barrett HG, Jones JM & Bigg GR (2017) Reconstructing El Niño Southern Oscillation using data from ships’ logbooks, 1815–1854. Part II: Comparisons with existing ENSO reconstructions and implications for reconstructing ENSO diversity. Climate Dynamics. View this article in WRRO
Hall R, Jones JM, Hanna E, Scaife AA & Erdélyi R (2017) Drivers and potential predictability of summer time North Atlantic polar front jet variability. Climate Dynamics, 48(11), 3869-3887. View this article in WRRO
Barrett HG, Jones JM & Bigg GR (2017) Reconstructing El Niño Southern Oscillation using data from ships’ logbooks, 1815–1854. Part I: methodology and evaluation. Climate Dynamics. View this article in WRRO
Fogt RL, Jones ME, Solomon S, Jones JM & Goergens CA (2017) An Exceptional Summer during the South Pole Race of 1911-1912. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society. View this article in WRRO
Jones JM, Gille ST, Goosse H, Abram NJ, Canziani PO, Charman DJ, Clem KR, Crosta X, de Lavergne C, Eisenman I , England MH et al (2016) Assessing recent trends in high-latitude Southern Hemisphere surface climate. Nature Climate Change, 6(10), 917-926. View this article in WRRO
Douglas JS, Huss M, Swift DA, Jones JM & Salerno F (2016) Incorporating Distributed Debris Thickness in a Glacio-Hydrological Model: Khumbu Himalaya, Nepal. The Cryosphere Discussions. View this article in WRRO
Fogt RL, Jones JM, Goergens CA, Jones ME, Witte GA & Lee MY (2016) Antarctic station-based seasonal pressure reconstructions since 1905: 2. Variability and trends during the twentieth century. Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, 121(6), 2836-2856. View this article in WRRO
Fogt RL, Goergens CA, Jones ME, Witte GA, Lee MY & Jones JM (2016) Antarctic station‐based seasonal pressure reconstructions since 1905: 1. Reconstruction evaluation. Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, 121(6), 2814-2835. View this article in WRRO
Allan R, Endfield G, Damodaran V, Adamson G, Hannaford M, Carroll F, Macdonald N, Groom N, Jones J, Williamson F , Hendy E et al (2016) Toward integrated historical climate research: the example of Atmospheric Circulation Reconstructions over the Earth. Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Climate Change, 7(2), 164-174. View this article in WRRO
Allan R, Endfield G, Damodaran V, Adamson G, Hannaford M, Carroll F, Macdonald N, Groom N, Jones J, Williamson F , Hendy E et al (2016) Cover Image, Volume 7, Issue 2. WIREs Climate Change, 7(2).
Raphael MN, Marshall GJ, Turner J, Fogt RL, Schneider D, Dixon DA, Hosking JS, Jones JM & Hobbs WR (2016) The Amundsen Sea Low: Variability, Change, and Impact on Antarctic Climate. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, 97(1), 111-121. View this article in WRRO
Hall R, Erdélyi R, Hanna E, Jones JM & Scaife AA (2015) Drivers of North Atlantic Polar Front jet stream variability. International Journal of Climatology, 35(8), 1697-1720.
Hannaford MJ, Jones JM & Bigg GR (2015) Early-nineteenth-century southern African precipitation reconstructions from ships’ logbooks. The Holocene, 25(2), 379-390. View this article in WRRO
Hannaford MJ, Bigg GR, Jones JM, Phimister I & Staub M (2014) Climate variability and societal dynamics in pre-colonial Southern African history (AD 900-1840): A synthesis and critique. Environment and History, 20(3), 411-445. View this article in WRRO
Jones J (2012) Climate science: Tree rings and storm tracks. Nature Geoscience, 5(11), 764-765.
Fogt RL, Jones JM & Renwick J (2012) Seasonal Zonal Asymmetries in the Southern Annular Mode and Their Impact on Regional Temperature Anomalies. JOURNAL OF CLIMATE, 25(18), 6253-6270.
Hanna E, Jones JM, Cappelen J, Mernild SH, Wood L, Steffen K & Huybrechts P (2012) The influence of North Atlantic atmospheric and oceanic forcing effects on 1900-2010 Greenland summer climate and ice melt/runoff. International Journal of Climatology.
Ackerley D, Lorrey A, Renwick JA, Phipps SJ, Wagner S, Dean S, Singarayer J, Valdes P, Abe-Ouchi A, Ohgaito R & Jones JM (2011) Using synoptic type analysis to understand New Zealand climate during the Mid-Holocene. Climate of the Past, 7(4), 1189-1207.
Ackerley D, Lorrey A, Renwick JA, Phipps SJ, Wagner S, Dean S, Singarayer J, Valdes P, Abe-Ouchi A, Ohgaito R & Jones JM (2011) Using synoptic type analysis to understand New Zealand climate during the Mid-Holocene. Climate of the Past Discussions, 7(2), 1301-1337.
Prömmel K, Geyer B, Jones JM & Widmann M (2010) Evaluation of the skill and added value of a reanalysis-driven regional simulation for Alpine temperature. International Journal of Climatology, 30(5), 760-773.
Jones JM, Fogt RL, Widmann M, Marshall GJ, Jones PD & Visbeck M (2009) Historical SAM Variability. Part I: Century-Length Seasonal Reconstructions. J CLIMATE, 22(20), 5319-5345.
Fogt RL, Perlwitz J, Monaghan AJ, Bromwich DH, Jones JM & Marshall GJ (2009) Historical SAM Variability. Part II: Twentieth-Century Variability and Trends from Reconstructions, Observations, and the IPCC AR4 Models. J CLIMATE, 22(20), 5346-5365.
Wagner S, Widmann M, Jones J, Haberzettl T, Lücke A, Mayr C, Ohlendorf C, Schäbitz F & Zolitschka B (2007) Transient simulations, empirical reconstructions and forcing mechanisms for the Mid-holocene hydrological climate in southern Patagonia. Climate Dynamics, 29(4), 333-355.
Schneider DP, Steig EJ, van Ommen TD, Dixon DA, Mayewski PA, Jones JM & Bitz CM (2006) Antarctic temperatures over the past two centuries from ice cores. Geophysical Research Letters, 33(16).
Von Storch H, Zorita E, Jones J, Gonzalez-Rouco F & Tett S (2006) Response [2]. Science, 312(5782), 1872-1873.
Von Storch H, Zorita E, Jones J, Gonzalez-Rouco F & Tett S (2006) Testing climate reconstructions - Response. SCIENCE, 312(5782), 1872-1873.
von Storch H, Zorita E, Jones JM, Gonzalez-Rouco F & Tett SFB (2006) Response to Comment on "Reconstructing Past Climate from Noisy Data". Science, 312(5773), 529-529.
Prömmel K, Müller B, Widmann M & Jones J (2005) Comparison of a high-resolution regional simulation and the ERA40 reanalysis over the Alpine Region. Hrvatski Meteoroloski Casopis(40), 369-372.
Groll N, Widmann M, Jones JM, Kaspar F & Lorenz SJ (2005) Simulated Relationships between Regional Temperatures and Large-Scale Circulation: 125 kyr BP (Eemian) and the Preindustrial Period. Journal of Climate, 18(19), 4032-4045.
Jones JM & Widmann M (2004) Early peak in Antarctic oscillation index. Nature, 432(7015), 290-291.
von Storch H, Zorita E, Jones JM, Dimitriev Y, González-Rouco F & Tett SFB (2004) Reconstructing Past Climate from Noisy Data. Science, 306(5696), 679-682.
Jones JM & Widmann M (2003) Instrument- and Tree-Ring-Based Estimates of the Antarctic Oscillation. Journal of Climate, 16(21), 3511-3524.
Mann ME, Bradley RS, Briffa K, Cole J, Hughes MK, Overpeck JT, Jones JM, von Storch H, Widmann M, Wanner H & Weber SL (2001) Reconstructing late Holocene climate. Eos, Transactions American Geophysical Union, 82(46), 553-553.
Jones JM & Davies TD (2000) The influence of climate on air and precipitation chemistry over Europe, and downscaling applications to future acidic deposition. Climate Research, 14, 7-24.
Jones JM, Davies TD & Dorling SR (1995) Assessment of the use of principal components analysis to relate air and precipitation chemistry to climate. Water, Air, and Soil Pollution, 85, 1569-1574.
Turner FE, Buck CE, Jones JM, Sime LC, Vallet IM & Wilkinson RD () Reconstructing the Antarctic ice-sheet shape at the Last Glacial Maximum using ice-core data. Journal of the Royal Statistical Society Series C: Applied Statistics.

Chapters

Turner F, Wilkinson R, Buck C, Jones J & Sime L (2019) Ice Cores and Emulation: Learning More About Past Ice Sheet Shapes, Springer Proceedings in Mathematics & Statistics (pp. 175-182). Springer International Publishing
Christensen JH, Kanikicharla KK, Aldrian E, An SI, Albuquerque Cavalcanti IF, de Castro M, Dong W, Goswami P, Hall A, Kanyanga JK , Kitoh A et al (2013) Climate phenomena and their relevance for future regional climate change, Climate Change 2013 the Physical Science Basis: Working Group I Contribution to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (pp. 1217-1308).
Schneider DP, Steig EJ, Ommen TDV, Dixon DA, Mayewski PA, Jones JM & Bitz CM (2009) Antarctic Temperatures Over the Past two Centuries from Ice Cores (pp. 1-5). Wiley
Widmann M, Groll N & M. Jones J (2007) 34. Simulated teleconnections during the Eemian, the last glacial inception and the preindustrial period, The Climate of Past Interglacials (pp. 517-526). Elsevier
Widmann M, Groll N & Jones JM (2006) Simulated teleconnections during the Eemian, the last interglacial inception, and the preindustrial period. In Sirocco F, Litt T & Claussen M (Ed.), The climate of past interglacials (pp. 517-525). Elsevier
Jones JM & Widmann M (2004) Reconstructing large-scale variability from palaeoclimatic evidence by means of Data Assimulation through Upscaling and Nudging (DATUN). In Fischer H, Kumke T, Lohmann G, Miller H & Negendank J (Ed.), The Climate in Historical Times: towards a synthesis of Holocene proxy data and climate models (pp. 171-193). Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer.

Other

Allan R, Endfield G, Damodaran V, Adamson G, Hannaford M, Carroll F, Macdonald N, Groom N, Jones J, Williamson F , Hendy E et al (2016) Toward integrated historical climate research: the example of Atmospheric Circulation Reconstructions over the Earth. WIREs Climate Change, 7(4), 614-614.

Preprints

Ing RN, Ely JC, Jones JM & Davies BJ (2023) Surface mass balance modelling of the Juneau Icefield highlights the potential for rapid ice loss by the mid-21st century, Copernicus GmbH.
Tuckett P, Ely J, Sole A, Livingstone S, Jones J, Lea J & Gilbert E (2022) Continent-scale mapping reveals a rise in East Antarctic surface meltwater, Research Square Platform LLC.
Tuckett PA, Ely JC, Sole AJ, Lea JM, Livingstone SJ, Jones JM & van Wessem JM () Automated mapping of the seasonal evolution of surface meltwater and its links to climate on the Amery Ice Shelf, Antarctica, Copernicus GmbH.

Teaching interests

I have taught at all levels from undergraduate through to postgraduate taught. I currently teach on the following modules:

GEO113 Earth, Wind, Ice and Fire

GEO11005 Geographical skills, Methods and Techniques

GEO21011 Understanding the Climate System (module convenor)

GEO412: Current issues in Geography and Environmental Science

GEO3100 Employing Geography Skills in Sustainability and Social Justice (module convenor)

GEO356: Dissertation for Geography and Environmental Science

I also regularly teach on:

GEO11004: Why Geography Matters

GEO21012: Unlocking Past Environmental Changes

GEO6807: Understanding Environmental Change

GEO6809: Managing Climate Change

GEO6669 Polar and Alpine Change Research Project