Erin McClymont

Professor Erin McClymont is a leading paleoclimatologist and organic geochemist at the Department of Geography, Durham University. Her research focuses on reconstructing past climate and environmental changes using marine, lacustrine, and peat sediment records, with particular emphasis on ocean-ice sheet interactions, low and high latitude climate connections, and biomarker proxy applications across timescales from decades to millions of years.

• Current projects include Antarctic sea ice reconstruction via snow petrel stomach-oil deposits (funded by ERC and Leverhulme Trust)
• Pliocene sea surface temperature evolution in multiple ocean basins
• Development of novel paleoenvironmental proxies in organic geochemistry

Her work spans interdisciplinary collaborations with the School of Biosciences and British Antarctic Survey, and has resulted in significant contributions to understanding climate transitions during the Pliocene, Pleistocene, and Mid-Pleistocene. She serves as editor for Climate of the Past and on the Journal of Quaternary Science editorial board.

Awards & Grants

• Philip Leverhulme Prize (2013, £70,000)
• EU-HORIZON Project Co-I (2025, €15M)
• ERC Consolidator Grant (2020, €1.99M)
• Leverhulme Trust Research Leadership Award (2020, £998K)

She supervises multiple PhD researchers and has developed innovative calibration methods for biomarker proxies in peat, polar oceans, and marine sediments. Her recent publications address topics ranging from Antarctic sea ice dynamics to global climate feedbacks during the Pliocene warm period.