Prof. Dr. Niklas Boers
Academic Career and Research Areas
Niklas Boers works on theoretical questions of Earth system science with focus on the analysis, modelling, and prediction of extreme events and abrupt transitions (‘tipping points’). In his research, he develops methods rooted in Mathematics and Theoretical Physics, in particular Complexity Science and Machine Learning, to combine process-based and data-driven models. His work finds applications in climate dynamics, paleoclimatology, and in the context of anthropogenic climate change.
Niklas Boers studied Physics and Mathematics at Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich and TUM and obtained his PhD in Theoretical Physics from the Humboldt University of Berlin. Thereafter he worked on different topics in theoretical Earth system dynamics at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, Ecole Normale Supérieure in Paris, Imperial College London, and Freie Universität Berlin. 2021 Niklas Boers was appointed Professor of Earth system modelling at TUM.
Awards
- Outstanding Early Career Scientist Award by the Nonlinear Processes in Geosciences (NP) Division, European Geosciences Union (2021)
- Brandenburg Postdoc Award (2019)
- Freigeist Fellowship, Volkswagen Foundation (2019)
- Feodor-Lynen Fellowship, Alexander von Humboldt Foundation (2015)
Key Publications (all publications)
N. Boers: "Observation-based early-warning signals for a collapse of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation". Nature Climate Change. 2021; 11: 680–688.
AbstractN. Boers, M. Rypdal: "Critical Slowing Down suggests that the western Greenland ice sheet is close to a tipping point". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 2021; 118 (21).
AbstractN. Boers, B. Goswami, A. Rheinwalt, B. Bookhagen, B. Hoskins, J. Kurths: "The global pattern of extreme rainfall teleconnections revealed by complex networks". Nature. 2019; 566: 373-377.
AbstractN. Boers, M. Ghil, D. Rousseau: "Interactions between ocean circulation and sea ice explain Dansgaard-Oeschger events". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 2018; E11005–E11014.
AbstractN. Boers: "Early-warning signals for Dansgaard-Oeschger events in a high-resolution ice core record". Nature Communications. 2018; 9: 2556.
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