Professional summary

Dr Chris Taylor is interested in how properties of the land surface, such as soil moisture and vegetation cover, influence weather and climate. While trained as a modeller, Chris is increasingly focused on using observations to identify how fluxes of moisture and sensible heat from the land affect the lower atmosphere and convective rainfall. Much of his work has been motivated by the need to better understand the climate of semi-arid regions, in particular in West Africa.

He currently leads the AMMA-2050 consortium funded by DfID/NERC, which aims to use the latest climate science within medium-term decision-making in West Africa. 

He also leads the VERA collaborative project with the University of Leeds looking at the impact that vegetation has on rainfall in West Africa.

Chris is a member of the NERC National Centre for Earth Observation (NCEO), which provides national capability in earth observation science. He is also a Visiting Professor in the School of Earth and Environment at the University of Leeds.