Harry Dowsett, Ph.D.

Harry is a Senior Research Geologist specializing in micropaleontology as well as Project Chief of the  PRISM Project. His research provides crucial information on how the Earth responds to changing conditions for citizens and policy-makers. Harry is an expert in paleontology, environmental reconstruction, stratigraphic correlation and paleoceanography.

Dr. Dowsett's current research is at the nexus of global scale geological data analysis and modeling, with special emphasis on environmental and ecological changes along the eastern United States.

He is Co-Lead of the international Pliocene Model Intercomparison Project (PlioMIP). PlioMIP is an international modelling initiative to study and understand environments of the Late Pliocene, and their potential relevance in the context of future change. PlioMIP operates under the umbrella of the PMIP, which examines multiple intervals in Earth history, the consistency of model predictions in simulating these intervals, and their ability to reproduce geological archives. PlioMIP currently involves 20 research institutions.

Dr. Dowsett leads the international PRISM effort which focuses on the most recent period in geologic history bearing a resemblance to environmental projections for the 21st century. Through better understanding of past, present and future change, PRISM provides products designed to assist in:

• Predicting the strength and frequency of El Nino events and the related risks of droughts and floods
• Defining the bathymetric causes of Arctic sea ice variability for national security studies
• Understanding the nature of upwelling and the effects on coastal and fishing industries
• Reconstructing vegetation patterns to inform farming practices and legislation
• Predicting potential sea level rise and the risk to population centers
• Tracking storms and predicting the hydrological impact of modified atmospheric and oceanic energy transport systems
• Identifying biases and testing the accuracy of models.