James Rae

Dr. James Rae is a Research Professor in the School of Earth & Environmental Sciences at the University of St Andrews, serving as Director of Impact. He specializes in paleoclimatology, geochemistry, and oceanography, focusing on reconstructing past climate systems and their drivers. His research employs geochemical proxies, numerical models, and fieldwork to study CO2 fluctuations, glacial cycles, and ocean acidification.

Education: BSc in Earth Sciences (University of Oxford), PhD in Geochemistry (University of Bristol), Postdoctoral work at Caltech as a NOAA Climate & Global Change Fellow.

Research Interests: Climate change causes, glacial-interglacial cycles, boron isotope proxies, biomineralization in marine organisms, and ocean pH reconstructions. Key projects include studying Southern Ocean CO2 dynamics, North Pacific circulation, and long-term CO2 evolution using boron isotopes.

Awards: EGU Outstanding Young Scientist Award (2015). Active in public outreach, including science festivals and educational resources on climate change.

Advising & Grants: Supervises multiple PhD students and leads NERC-funded projects on ocean circulation, CO2 storage, and proxy development. Collaborates internationally via the STAiG lab, equipped with advanced isotope geochemistry tools.

Labs: Principal Investigator at STAiG lab, focusing on cutting-edge geochemical analyses, including boron and sulfur isotopes. Hosts state-of-the-art MC-ICPMS and laser ablation facilities.