Nerilie Abram
Nerilie Abram | |
|---|---|
| Born | Template:Birth year and age Wangi Wangi, New South Wales, Australia |
| Occupation(s) | Climate scientist, academic |
| Years active | 2004–present |
| Known for | Research on climate change and paleoclimatology, Antarctic climate studies |
Nerilie Abram (born June 1977) is a distinguished Australian academic serving as a professor at the ANU Research School of Earth Sciences, part of the Australian National University in Canberra. Her research specialties encompass climate change and paleoclimatology, with particular attention to the climate of Antarctica, the Indian Ocean Dipole, and how climate variations affect Australia.
Early life and education
Abram was raised in Wangi Wangi, New South Wales and completed her secondary schooling at Toronto High School.
She obtained a Bachelor of Science (Advanced) degree from the University of Sydney in 2000, earning the prestigious University Medal. Her honours thesis focused on reconstructing Holocene climate patterns in the Ryukyu Islands, Japan.
In 2004, Abram commenced doctoral studies at the Australian National University’s Research School of Earth Sciences. During her PhD, she was awarded the John Conrad Jaeger Scholarship, the Mervyn and Kaitalin Paterson Fellowship, and received the Robert Hill Memorial Prize recognizing outstanding achievement in scientific research, communication, and outreach.
Research
Abram’s research expertise spans Antarctic and tropical climate dynamics, employing proxies such as Porites coral records, Speleothem cave formations, and Ice core samples to reconstruct historical climate variability. This work provides essential long-term perspectives on recent and anticipated climate trends. She has authored lead papers published in premier journals including Science, Nature, Nature Geoscience, and Nature Climate Change.
Between 2004 and 2011, Abram contributed as an ice core scientist with the British Antarctic Survey, playing a key role in the 2008 James Ross Island ice core project. Her research demonstrated accelerated warming on the Antarctic Peninsula, linked to a tenfold rise in summer ice melt rates.
In 2010, she became part of the chemical analysis team for the NEEM ice core initiative in northern Greenland, which targeted investigation of the Eemian interglacial period to better understand possible future global warming scenarios. During the 2013/14 austral summer, Abram participated in an international expedition drilling the Aurora Basin ice core in East Antarctica.
Her 2014 research revealed that greenhouse gas emissions have driven a southward shift of westerly winds to their most extreme position in over a millennium, causing a significant decline in precipitation across southern Australia.
Science communication
Abram actively engages in science communication, with her research frequently featured across global print, digital, radio, and television platforms. She has been interviewed for documentary projects such as the BBC’s Men of Rock series hosted by Iain Stewart, as well as for an exhibition at the Natural History Museum centered on Robert Scott’s final expedition.
In 2013, she authored an invited essay discussing Antarctic ice melt and sea level rise for The Curious Country, a publication showcasing Australian scientific achievements produced for the Office of the Chief Scientist (Australia). This essay was subsequently included in the Best Australian Science Writing anthology of 2014.
Balancing her career with motherhood to three children, Abram is dedicated to supporting women pursuing science professions. Her experience managing roles as both an Antarctic researcher and parent was highlighted in London’s Times Magazine under the feature titled “I don’t know how she does it.”
Awards and recognition
In 2011, Abram returned to Australia after being awarded a QEII fellowship by the Australian Research Council. She obtained a second ARC Discovery Grant in 2014 to further investigate how climate change in tropical and Antarctic regions affects Australia's rainfall. The Australian Academy of Science honored her with the 2015 Dorothy Hill award, which celebrates outstanding Earth Sciences research conducted by women under the age of 40.
Abram has held the position of Co-Editor-in-Chief for the open-access publication Climate of the Past, associated with the European Geosciences Union, since 2010. In 2024, she was named a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science.