Christian Stepanek

Dr. Christian Stepanek is a Scientist in the Paleoclimatology Dynamics group at the Alfred Wegener Institute in Bremerhaven, Germany. His research focuses on paleoclimate modeling, particularly the Mid-Piacenzian Warm Period and Quaternary Interglacials. He co-leads the PMIP Interglacials workgroup, contributing to the Paleoclimate Modelling Intercomparison Project (PMIP) to understand past climate dynamics under high CO₂ conditions.

His work integrates Earth system models with paleoreconstructions to study climate transitions, such as the Mid-Pleistocene Transition and the Mid-Pliocene Warm Period. Key areas include the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC), Antarctic ice sheet evolution, and the impact of ocean stratification on global climate sensitivity.

Stepanek collaborates on projects like PlioMIP and PMIP7, aiming to refine climate models for future projections. He has published extensively on topics like Arctic sea ice variability, ENSO dynamics in the Pliocene, and the role of ocean circulation in past warming events.

His research bridges geological evidence and numerical modeling to address questions about Earth’s climate system under warming scenarios, with implications for understanding modern climate change.