Keith Briffa
Encyclopedia
Professor Keith R. Briffa (born 1952) is a climatologist employed since 1977 by the Climatic Research Unit
at the University of East Anglia
, of which he is currently deputy director. In his professional work, he focuses on the climate change
in late Holocene
, with a special focus on northern portions of Europe
and Asia
. Briffa's preferred method is dendroclimatology
, which is a set of procedures intended to decode information about the past climate from tree rings
. Briffa helped develop data sets from trees from Canada, Fennoscandia, and northern Siberia which have been used in climate research.
Climatic Research Unit
The Climatic Research Unit is a component of the University of East Anglia and is one of the leading institutions concerned with the study of natural and anthropogenic climate change....
at the University of East Anglia
University of East Anglia
The University of East Anglia is a public research university based in Norwich, United Kingdom. It was established in 1963, and is a founder-member of the 1994 Group of research-intensive universities.-History:...
, of which he is currently deputy director. In his professional work, he focuses on the climate change
Climate change
Climate change is a significant and lasting change in the statistical distribution of weather patterns over periods ranging from decades to millions of years. It may be a change in average weather conditions or the distribution of events around that average...
in late Holocene
Holocene
The Holocene is a geological epoch which began at the end of the Pleistocene and continues to the present. The Holocene is part of the Quaternary period. Its name comes from the Greek words and , meaning "entirely recent"...
, with a special focus on northern portions of Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
. Briffa's preferred method is dendroclimatology
Dendroclimatology
Dendroclimatology is the science of determining past climates from trees . Tree rings are wider when conditions favor growth, narrower when times are difficult. Other properties of the annual rings, such as maximum latewood density have been shown to be better proxies than simple ring width...
, which is a set of procedures intended to decode information about the past climate from tree rings
Dendrology
Dendrology or xylology is the science and study of wooded plants . There is no sharp boundary between plant taxonomy and dendrology. However, woody plants not only belong to many different plant families, but these families may be made up of both woody and non-woody members. Some families include...
. Briffa helped develop data sets from trees from Canada, Fennoscandia, and northern Siberia which have been used in climate research.