EGS Milutin Milankovic Medallist 2002

Dr. Colin Prentice is the author or co-author of about 150 scientific papers which all contribute to the same central objectives: the recognition of the terrestrial biosphere as an essential, interactive part of the Earth system, and a better understanding of its link with the global climate changes, past or future. Dr. Prentice has played a decisive role in designing numerical models that can simulate the global evolution of the terrestrial ecosystems including the carbon exchanges and their link with climate, the water and nitrogen cycling, the water and energy exchanges between the vegetation and the atmosphere, and the dynamics of vegetation systems. He has been using global and regional analysis of past an present data to test and validate his models, which have also been applied to investigate future climate change scenarios. Dr. Colin Prentice has contributed actively to the recent IPCC report in which he has been a Convening Lead Author. His pioneering work has contributed to develop an active worldwide community, studying issues which are essential to evaluate the amplitude and possible impacts of future climate changes.