Clara Deser is one of the most prolific and influential climate scientists of her generation. Her contributions span a wide range of topics encompassing both past and future climate, ocean and atmosphere, and observations and models — truly in the spirit of Roger Revelle’s legacy. Her work has changed how we understand climate variability and change, and it is equally notable for the novelty of the guiding questions, the creativity of the approach, the depth of the analyses, the quality of the presentation, the attention to detail and the sheer robustness of the conclusions. Early in her career, Clara pioneered the use of data in the World Ocean Atlas to understand variability in the Pacific Ocean. She has since has gone on to explore the mechanisms of climate variability in nearly every part of the planet, from the deep tropics to the poles, skillfully extracting meaning from sparse and unevenly sampled observational data and drawing insights from theory and models. Clara has played a critical role in the development of the National Center for Atmospheric Research’s (NCAR) Community Earth System Model through her many year serving as co-chair of the Climate Variability and Change working group and by developing widely used tools and methods for comprehensively comparing models with real-world observations. A singular achievement of Clara’s career thus far is her advancement of the use of large ensembles of runs of climate models. Her work has very clearly revealed the inadequacy of a single simulation for predicting and interpreting climate trends and is changing the way climate simulations are performed and interpreted. Perhaps her most enduring contribution to our field will prove to be her impact on her colleagues. Her influence spreads with publications with many collaborators at different stages in their careers. Because of her mentoring skills and her generosity, many of the brightest of the current generation of young researchers have gone to work with her at NCAR. The work they have produced together bears the mark of her style, which is notable for its clarity, rigor and creativity. She is a great resource and inspiration to young researchers and is held in the highest esteem among the top people in the field. She has changed the way we think about the climate system and is enabling generations of scientists around the world to move the field forward in novel and impactful ways. 

— Amy C. Clement University of Miami Miami, Florida

Response

I am extremely honored to receive the AGU Revelle Medal. I thank Amy Clement, Yochanan Kushnir, David Thompson and Shang-Ping Xie for nominating me and for their generous citation. Your innovative science never ceases to inspire me.

Little did I know that my childhood love of mapmaking and mathematics would someday lead to a career in climate science. I thank all of the people who have supported and believed in me over the years. You are too numerous to name, so I will only mention a few here: my graduate adviser, Mike Wallace, who introduced me to a way of seeing and thinking that I emulate to this day; my postdoctoral mentor, Maurice Blackmon, who gave me the freedom to work at my own pace when my children were young; and my longtime collaborators Mike Alexander, Jim Hurrell and Adam Phillips, who remain my role models for scientific and personal integrity. Finally, I thank my family and friends for enriching my life in so many ways and surrounding me with their love.

I have been privileged to work at NCAR’s Climate and Global Dynamics (CGD) Laboratory for nearly 25 years. NCAR has given me boundless opportunities for expanding my scientific horizons, engaging in community leadership, collaborating with a wide network of colleagues, mentoring postdocs and contributing to innovative climate modeling projects. I am proud of the community-oriented work that we do in CGD, including building a world-class Earth system model and the infrastructure needed to support its usage, providing a wide range of model simulations and data analysis and graphical tools and developing a guide to climate data sets. In CGD, I have witnessed firsthand the outsized accomplishments that can be achieved by a relatively small group of people when there is collective goodwill, a spirit of collaboration and a supportive environment.

I’d like to end with a few words to those of you just starting out in your careers. I strongly believe in the power of openness and shared commitment in climate science. We need to share our data, our model simulations and our analysis tools for the benefit of the wider community. There is enough room for all of us to make contributions using our unique sets of talents and sensibilities. Follow what excites you, find people to share it with and to learn from and carve your own rich and rewarding path in this amazing field and community.

— Clara Deser
National Center for Atmospheric Research
Boulder, Colorado