Tim Herbert

About

Tim Herbert is a professor in the Department of Earth, Environmental & Planetary Sciences at Brown University. His research focuses on understanding how the Earth's climatic system, particularly the ocean, adjusts itself to perturbations on various timescales. He specializes in reconstructing past ocean surface temperatures and ecosystems, linking these to global climate changes and greenhouse gas control. His work involves fieldwork, sea-going expeditions, and laboratory analysis using organic biomarkers and stable isotopes in carbonate microfossils. Professor Herbert's research emphasizes the climate of the Neogene period, which saw significant events such as the near-complete deglaciation of Antarctica from approximately 17.5 to 14 million years ago, and the subsequent cooling and aridification leading into the ice ages of the past 2.7 million years. He has contributed to studies challenging previous ideas about ancient climate conditions, such as the drying of northern Africa around 3 million years ago, and has explored the relationship between carbon dioxide levels and the rhythm of ice ages. His work also includes analyzing sea sediments to uncover clues about Earth's climate history. In addition to his research, Professor Herbert has been recognized with awards, including the 2023 Salomon Award for developing proof of concept data related to the long-term stability of the Antarctic ice cap. He has participated in international expeditions, such as the drilling project…

Research topics

• Climatology
• Oceanography
• Geology
• Biology
• Paleontology
• Ecology

Selected publications

• Poleward and weakened westerlies during Pliocene warmth

  Nature · 2021 · 146 citations

  Senior authorCorresponding
  DOI

• Group 2i Isochrysidales produce characteristic alkenones reflecting sea ice distribution

  Nature Communications · 2021 · 76 citations

  is a powerful proxy for reconstructing sea ice conditions in the high latitude oceans on thousand- and, potentially, on million-year timescales.

  DOI

• Monsoon variability and high latitude climate signals in the central Mediterranean at the Pliocene – Pleistocene transition: the Gelasian stratotype section (Monte San Nicola, Sicily)

  Global and Planetary Change · 2025-03-11 · 6 citations

  articleOpen access
  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Planktonic foraminifera and climate signals in the Gelasian stratotype section (Monte San Nicola, Sicily) at the Pliocene-Pleistocene transition

  Palaeogeography Palaeoclimatology Palaeoecology · 2025-11-06 · 4 citations

  articleOpen access

  A high-resolution analysis of planktonic foraminifera assemblages at the Monte San Nicola GSSP section (Southern Sicily), the type-section for the Lower Pleistocene Gelasian Stage, has been performed. The results on the assemblages are discussed in detail from MIS G4 to the onset of MIS 99 (between ~2.7 and 2.5 Ma) and are integrated with previously published records of stable oxygen isotopes, alkenones, calcareous nannofossils and geochemistry from the same section. The main findings suggest th…

  PublisherDOI

• Depth Fluctuations of Mediterranean Outflow Water Along Its Northward Propagation During the Late Pleistocene

  Geophysical Research Letters · 2025-07-11 · 3 citations

  articleOpen access

  Abstract Mediterranean Outflow Water (MOW) critically influences the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation, yet its northward transport dynamics along the Iberian Margin remain unclear. Using terrigenous grain‐size sortable silt and benthic foraminiferal carbon isotopes from two depth‐strategic sites (U1389: 644 m vs. U1588: 1,339 m), we constrain MOW's northward depth fluctuations over the last 250 kyr. Results show that MOW progressively deepened from ∼100 to 60 ka, then stabilized—synch…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

Recent grants

• Collaborative Research: High Latitude Temperature and Biological Responses to Plio-Pleistocene Global Change

  NSF · $299k · 2006–2011

• Collaborative Research: High resolution paleoceanography in the heart of the Equatorial Pacific Cold Tongue

  NSF · $343k · 2010–2013

• Collaborative Research:Decadal to orbital links between climate, productivity, and denitrification on the Peru Margin; Do models of persistent EL Ni±o or La Nina conditions apply?

  NSF · $208k · 2003–2008

Frequent coauthors

• K. T. Lawrence

  Providence College

  134 shared

• Zhonghui Liu

  University of Hong Kong

  79 shared

• Rocio P Caballero-Gill

  78 shared

• Alexandrina Tzanova

  54 shared

• Alexey V. Fedorov

  Yale University

  51 shared

• Jonathan P LaRiviere

  University of California, Santa Cruz

  51 shared

• L. C. Peterson

  Union of Concerned Scientists

  50 shared

• Chris Brierley

  49 shared

Labs

• Deep Geosciences (DEEPS) at Brown UniversityPI

Education

• Ph,D., Geological Sciences

  Princeton University

  1987

Awards & honors

• 2023 Salomon Award

Similar researchers at Brown University

• John Mustardh-126
• Yongsong Huangh-95
• Ralph Millikenh-92