Qiuzhen YIN

 My research aims to understand the mechanisms driving climate variability and change from millennial to orbital timescales, with a particular focus on glacial–interglacial climate changes and abrupt climate change. I primarily use Earth system models, in close collaboration with paleoclimate proxy experts, to integrate climate simulations with geological evidence and investigate the interactions among the atmosphere, ocean, ice sheets, vegetation and carbon cycle.

My research focuses on four closely connected themes:

1. Astronomical theory of paleoclimates

I investigate how changes in Earth's orbital configuration and insolation drive climate variability across orbital, suborbital, millennial and centennial timescales. My work examines how precession, obliquity and eccentricity shape long-term variations in seasonal and latitudinal insolation, and how these insolation patterns translate into climate responses. A particular focus is on understanding why the climate response to astronomical forcing varies across regions, background climatic states and periods of the Quaternary, as well as identifying the key internal feedbacks involved. My research contributes to the astronomical theory of paleoclimates and also to the development of tools for calculating insolation.

2. Glacial–Interglacial Cycles and Interglacial Climate Dynamics

I study the mechanisms driving glacial–interglacial climate variability and the diversity of individual interglacials. A particular focus is on understanding why interglacial climates differ from one another and how ocean circulation, ice sheets, greenhouse gases, vegetation and carbon-cycle feedbacks contribute to these differences. My research also explores major climate transitions across the Quaternary, including the Mid-Brunhes Transition (MBT) and the Mid-Pleistocene Transition (MPT).

3. Monsoon Dynamics 

I investigate the mechanisms controlling past monsoon dynamics, focusing particularly on the East Asian summer monsoon. Using numerical experiments, my research has shown that monsoon responses to ice-sheet forcing are nonlinear and depend on ice-sheet characteristics and background insolation. In collaboration with proxy experts, I also investigate how the sensitivity of the monsoonal climate to orbital forcing, CO₂ and ice sheets has changed through the Quaternary.

4. Abrupt Climate Change and Multi-Timescale Variability

I investigate climate variability from orbital, millennial to centennial timescales, including abrupt climate changes. By combining transient climate simulations with paleoclimate records, my research examines how external forcing and internal feedbacks work together to produce rapid and large-scale climate reorganizations, from tropical to polar regions.

Key Research Areas