Erin McClymont

Professor Erin McClymont is a leading researcher in the Department of Geography at Durham University, specializing in past climate and environmental changes. Her work employs organic geochemistry (biomarker) proxies to investigate ocean and lake temperature, hydrology, vegetation change, and predator diets across various timescales from decades to millions of years.

Dr. McClymont's research focuses on Quaternary Environmental Change, Palaeoceanography, and Palaeoclimate. She investigates ocean/ice-sheet and land/ocean interactions across multiple timescales, with particular interest in how low and high latitude climate systems connect to drive global climate change. Her current projects include reconstructing Antarctic sea ice environments from the last glacial period to present using snow petrel biomarkers, reconstructing sea surface temperatures from the Pliocene to present across multiple ocean basins, and developing new organic geochemistry proxies for environmental change using novel archives like fen peats and seabird stomach-oil deposits.

Her recent publications reveal consistent themes in Antarctic sea ice dynamics, Pliocene climate studies, and biomarker development. The work demonstrates sophisticated integration of geochemical proxies with climate modeling to understand past climate changes and their implications for future climate scenarios, with particular strength in multi-proxy approaches to paleoclimate reconstruction.

• Philip Leverhulme Prize (2013, £70,000)
• ERC Consolidator Grant (2020, €1,999,929)
• Leverhulme Trust Research Leadership Award (2020, £998,204)
• NERC New Investigators Award (2007, £60,000)
• Research Council of Norway Standard Grant (2013, NOK 9,000)

Dr. McClymont actively supervises multiple PhD students and research associates across projects related to Antarctic sea ice and biomarker development. Her research is supported by substantial grants totaling over £15 million from the ERC, Leverhulme Trust, NERC, and EU-HORIZON, including the 2025 EU-HORIZON Project 'Past to Future (P2F)' as Co-I. She has participated in international collaborations including the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program Expedition 341 to the Gulf of Alaska.

Her research team includes 4 PhD students, 3 research associates, and collaborators across Durham's School of Biosciences and the British Antarctic Survey, working together on the innovative approach of using snow petrel diets to reconstruct past sea ice environments.