Jennifer Weeks

Areas of expertise

• Generating local sea-level projections for different regions across the world, for example the Pacific Islands and Southeast Asia.

• Communicating climate science information to a range of audiences, including coastal practitioners and decision-makers.

• Analysing climate model data and exploring uncertainties in climate model projections.

• Co-development of climate services for a range of sectors, such as food security and the coastal environment.

• Analysing carbon dioxide removal in the ocean using ocean biogeochemical models.

Publications by Jennifer Weeks

Current activities

• Improving the accessibility and utility of local sea-level information for coastal adaptation planning and decision-making in the UK under the Hadley Centre Climate Programme. This has involved comparing sea-level projections generated using different methods and working with users of coastal zone information to improve the UK’s (H++) high-end sea-level rise scenario.

• Distilling sea-level rise information to inform coastal adaptation planning and decision-making as part of the Weather and Climate Science for Service Partnership South Africa.

• Working closely with the Earth Observatory Singapore to develop useful and usable sea-level information for Southeast Asia.

• Co-developing the Met Office Projecting Future Sea Level (ProFSea) tool to enable consultants to assess sea-level projections across the globe.

Previous work has involved working with partners in South Asia to build resilience to sea-level rise under the Asia Regional Resilience to a Changing Climate programme and developing climate services for food security, building a range of knowledge products and tools under Climate Science for Service Partnership China.

Career background

Jennifer Weeks is a climate scientist in the Sea Level Group at the Met Office and a PhD researcher at the University of Bristol. The work of the team helps to address the sea-level rise related risks associated with climate variability and change. This involves investigating the predictability of regional sea level and assembling sea level projections, with input from external partners to ensure the information is relevant and accessible. Jennifer’s focus is on the development of sea-level rise information for the UK, South Africa and Asia.

Jennifer has experience generating local sea-level projections for different regions of the world and facilitating training workshops and webinars on sea-level science for coastal decision-makers in South Asia. Jennifer compared the UK's national sea-level projections (UKCP18), and local sea-level projections for South Asia and South Pacific, with sea-level projections released in IPCC AR6, and has looked at how to improve local sea-level projections for use in coastal impact, vulnerability and adaptation planning. This includes working with partners to build coastal resilience to sea-level rise in Pakistan through coordination of a sea-level working group, and working with the partners in the UK to understand how information provided in the UK’s high-end (H++) sea-level rise scenario can be improved. She also has experience modelling carbon dioxide removal through ocean alkalinity enhancement and holds a Masters degree in Earth Sciences from the University of Oxford.