Climate Scenarios, Impacts and Modelling (CSIM) Lab

The Climate Scenarios, Impacts and Modelling (CSIM) Lab has been an active space for computational climate science research and innovation at Concordia since 2007. The CSIM lab is home to a state-of-the-art NSERC-funded climate modelling facility, and hosts a dynamic group of postdocs and graduate students working on research projects that aim to improve our understanding of the science of climate change, its impacts on human and environmental systems, and how best to respond to the challenge of climate mitigation. Concordia’s CSIM lab has current collaborations with researchers at the Ouranos Research Consortium, McGill’s Economics for the Anthropocene program, and the Sustainable Canada Dialogues network. They have also worked closely with the Human Impact Lab to develop the climate clock, a real-time visualization of the time remaining until we reach 1.5 and 2°C of global temperature change.

About

Damon Matthews (Ph.D. University of Victoria, 2004)

Professor
Tier 1 Concordia University Research Chair in Climate Science and Sustainability
Twitter: @damon_matthews

Dr. Damon Matthews is Professor and Tier 1 Concordia University Research Chair (Climate Science and Sustainability) in the Department of Geography Planning and Environment. He obtained a B.Sc. in Environmental Science from Simon Fraser University in 1999, and a Ph.D. in Earth and Ocean Sciences from the University of Victoria in 2004. Prior to joining Concordia University in January 2007, Dr. Matthews held a post-doctoral fellowship at the University of Calgary, and worked as a post-doctoral researcher at the Carnegie Institution at Stanford. His research is aimed at better understanding the many possible interactions between human activities, natural ecosystems and future climate change, and contributing to the scientific knowledge base required to promote the development of sound national and international climate policy. Dr. Matthews has published more than 90 research papers on topics such as the climate response to cumulative carbon emissions, estimating allowable emissions for climate targets, and exploring equitable ways of sharing the global emissions quota. Dr. Matthews is a member of the College of New Scholars, Artists and Scientists of the Royal Society of Canada, serves as Concordia's scientific liaison to Future Earth, and was a contributing author to the Fourth and Fifth Assessment Reports of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

Read his full profile

Publications

Teaching

Research

Current Research Projects

See all of Dr. Matthew's publications on his faculty profile.

Selected Publications

Full publication list available at: http://www.matthewsclimatelab.org/publications.html

Google scholar citation record: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=BY1jk5kAAAAJ&hl=en

Zickfeld, K., Azevedo, D., Mathesius, S. and Matthews, H. D. (2021) Asymmetry in the climate-carbon cycle response to positive and negative CO2 emissions. Nature Climate Change, 11, 613-617.
Matthews, H. D, Tokarska, K. B., Rogelj, J., Forster, P., Haustein, K., Smith, C. J., MacDougall, A. H., Mengis, N., Sippel, S. and Knutti, R. (2021) An integrated approach to quantifying uncertainties in the remaining carbon budget. Communications Earth and Environment, 2, 1-11.
Matthews, H. D., Tokarska, K. B., Nicholls, Z. R. J., Rogelj, J., Canadell, J. G., Friedlingstein, P., Frölicher, T. L., Forster, P. M., Gillett, N. P., Ilyina, T., Jackson, R. B., Jones, C. D., Koven, C., Knutti, R., MacDougall, A. H., Meinshausen, M., Mengis, N., Séférian, R., and Zickfeld, K. (2020) Opportunities and challenges in using carbon budgets to guide climate policy. Nature Geoscience, 13, 769-779.
Mengis, N., Keller, D. P., MacDougall, A., Eby, M., Wright, N., Meissner, K. J., Oschlies, A., Schmittner, A., Matthews, H. D. and Zickfeld, K. Evaluation of the University of Victoria Earth System Climate Model version 2.10 (UVic ESCM 2.10). Geoscientific Model Development, 13, 4183-4204.
Stewart, B. M., Turner, S. E. and Matthews, H. D. (2020) Global warming impacts on potential future ranges of non-human primate species. Climatic Change, 162, 2301-2318.
Mengis, N. and Matthews. H. D. (2020) Non-CO2 forcing changes will likely decrease the remaining carbon budget for 1.5°C. npg Climate and Atmospheric Science, 3, 19.
Horen Greenford, D., Crownshaw, T., Lesk, C., Stadler, K. and Matthews, H. D. (2020) Shifting economic activity to service sectors will not reduce global environmental impacts. Environmental Research Letters, 15, 064019.
Dickau, M., Guertin, É, Seto, D. and Matthews, H. D. (2020) Projections of declining outdoor skating availability in Montreal due to global warming. Environmental Research Communications, 2, 051001.
Mattauch, L., Matthews, H. D., Millar, R., Solomon, S. and Venmans, F. (2020) Steering the climate system: using inertia to lower the cost of policy: Comment, American Economic Review, 110, 1231-1237.
Tokarska, K. B., Schleussner, C.-F., Rogelj, J., Stolpe, M., Matthews, H. D., Pfleiferer, P. and Gillett, N. P. (2019) Recommended temperature metrics for carbon budget estimates, model evaluation and climate policy, Nature Geoscience, 12, 964-971.
Chavaillaz, Y., Roy, P., Partanen, A.-I., Da Silva, L., Bresson, É, Mengis, N., Chaumont, D. and Matthews, H. D. (2019) Exposure to excessive heat and impacts on labour productivity linked to cumulative CO2 emissions. Scientific Reports, 9, 13711.
Matthews, H. D., Zickfeld, K., Knutti, R. and Allen, M. R. (2018) Focus on cumulative emissions, global carbon budgets and the implications for climate mitigation targets. Environmental Research Letters, 13, 010201.
Millar, R. J., Fuglestvedt, J. S., Grubb, M., Rogelj, J., Skeie, R. B., Friedlingstein, P., Forster, P. M., Frame, D., Matthews, H. D. and Allen, M. R. (2017) Emissions budgets and pathways consistent with limiting warming to 1.5°C. Nature Geoscience, 10, 741-747
Leduc, M., Matthews, H. D. and De Elia, R. (2016) Regional estimates of the Transient Climate Response to cumulative CO2 Emissions. Nature Climate Change, 6, 474-478.
Matthews, H. D. (2016) Quantifying historical carbon and climate debts. Nature Climate Change, 6, 60-64.
Gignac, R. and Matthews, H. D. (2015) Allocating a 2°C cumulative carbon budget to countries. Environmental Research Letters, 10, 075004.
Matthews, H. D., Graham, T., Keverian, S., Smith, T., Seto, D. and Lamontagne, C. (2014) National contributions to observed global warming. Environmental Research Letters, 9, 014010.
Gillett, N. P., Arora, V. K., Matthews, H. D. and Allen, M. R. (2013) Constraining the ratio of global warming to cumulative CO2 emissions using CMIP5 simulations. Journal of Climate, 26, 6844-6858.
Matthews, H. D. and Solomon, S. (2013) Irreversible does not mean unavoidable. Science, 340, 438-439.
Matthews, H. D. and Zickfeld, K. (2012) Climate response to zeroed emissions of greenhouse gases and aerosols. Nature Climate Change, 2, 338—341.
Damyanov, N, Matthews, H. D. and Mysak, L. (2012) Observed changes in the outdoor skating season in Canada. Environmental Research Letters, 7, 014028.
Matthews, H. D. and Weaver, A. J. (2010) Committed climate warming. Nature Geoscience, 3, 142-143.
Davis, S. J., Caldeira, K. and Matthews, H. D. (2010) Future CO2 emissions and climate change from existing energy infrastructure. Science, 329, 1330-1333.
Matthews, H. D., Gillett, N., Stott, P. and Zickfeld, K. (2009) The proportionality of global warming to cumulative carbon emissions. Nature, 459, 829-832.
Matthews, H. D. and Turner S. E. (2009) Of mongooses and mitigation: Ecological analogues to geoengineering. Environmental Research Letters, 4, 045105.
Zickfeld, K., Eby, M., Matthews, H. D. and Weaver, A. J. (2009) Setting cumulative emissions targets to reduce the risk of dangerous climate change. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences U.S.A., 106, 16129-16134.
Matthews, H. D. and Caldeira, K. (2008) Stabilizing climate requires near-zero emissions. Geophysical Research Letters, L04705.
Matthews, H. D. and Caldeira, K. (2007) Transient climate-carbon simulations of planetary geoengineering. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, U.S.A., 104, 9949-9954.
Friedlingstein, P. et al. (2006) Climate-carbon cycle feedback analysis, results from the C4MIP model intercomparison. Journal of Climate, 19, 3337-3353. (Matthews, H. D., co-author)
Matthews, H. D. (2005) Decrease of emissions required to stabilize atmospheric CO2 due to positive carbon cycle-climate feedbacks. Geophysical Research Letters, 32, L21707.
Matthews, H. D., Eby, M., Weaver, A. J. and Hawkins, B. J. (2005) Primary productivity control of simulated carbon cycle-climate feedbacks. Geophysical Research Letters, 32, L14708.
Matthews, H. D., Weaver, A. J. and Meissner, K. J. (2005) Terrestrial carbon cycle dynamics under recent and future climate change. Journal of Climate, 18, 1609-1628.
Matthews, H. D., Weaver, A. J., Meissner, K. J., Gillett, N. P. and Eby, M. (2004) Natural and anthropogenic climate change: Incorporating historical land cover change, vegetation dynamics and the global carbon cycle. Climate Dynamics, 22, 461-479.

Students

Current students

Name	Degree	Research Area	Co-supervisor	Unit
Antti-Ilari Partanen	Postdoc	Spatial climate response to cumulative emissions	Martin Leduc	GPE, Concordia and Ouranos Research Consortium
Nadine Mengis	Postdoc	Carbon budgets for ambitious climate targets		GPE, Concordia
Yann Chavaillaz	Postdoc	Extreme and abrupt climate changes	Philippe Roy	GPE, Concordia and Ouranos Research Consortium
Daniel Horen Greenford	PhD	Quantitative ethics in climate science and mitigation	Peter Brown	GPE, Concordia
Travis Moore	PhD	Extreme weather and climate change		GPE, Concordia
Maida Hadziosmanovic	PhD	Corporate contributions to and responsibility for global warming		GPE, Concordia
Etienne Guertin	PhD	Modelling coupled climate and economic dynamics		GPE, Concordia
Alexander MacIsaac	MSc	Atmospheric chemistry and climate change		GPE, Concordia
Tanya Graham	MSc	Climate impacts on terrestrial mammals		GPE, Concordia
Mitchell Dickau	Honours	Weather conditions for outdoor skating in Montreal		GPE, Concordia
Brogan Stewart	Honours	Climate impacts on primate species	Sarah Turner	GPE, Concordia
Elisa Cohen	Honours	Representation of indigenous perspectives in climate policy documents	Veronique Bussières	GPE, Concordia

Former students and postdocs

Jean-Sébastien Landry (Post-Doctoral Researcher): Modelling fire and other disturbances in the climate system
Martin Leduc (Post-Doctoral Researcher): Regional estimates of the transient climate response to cumulative CO2 emissions
Christopher Simmons (Post Doctoral Researcher & Ph.D.): Carbon cycle dynamics since the last glacial maximum
Marc-Olivier Brault (Ph.D.): Modelling the effect of continental weathering on ocean carbon cycling over the last glacial cycle
Trevor Smith (M.Sc.): Climate change impacts on wine growing in Quebec
Loukia Papadopoulos (M.Sc.): Criteria for successful implementation of Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Actions
Daniel Horen Greenford (M.Sc.): Equitable allocation of emissions embodied in international trade
Cassandra Lamontagne (M.Sc.): Local observations of environmental change and climate change impacts in Gitga'at First Nation
Travis Moore (M.Sc.): Extreme weather events due to global mean temperature increases
Marc-Olivier Brault (M.Sc.): Effect of Pleistocene megafauna on early Holocene climate
Nikolay Damyanov (M.Sc.): Effect of winter warming on outdoor skating in Canada
Andrew Pinsonneault (M.Sc.) Effect of ocean acidification on the marine carbonate cycle
Karen Paquin (M.Sc): Potential for carbon sequestration in boreal forest woodlots
Andrew Ross (M.Sc.): Probabilistic assessment of the rate of future climate change
Alex Matveev (M.Sc.): Evaluating the land use change carbon flux and its impact on climate
Samantha Mailhot (Honours): Climate clock as a tool for effective climate science communication
Tanya Graham (Honours): Impact of climate change on primate populations
Trevor Smith (Honours): Metrics for comparing the climate effect of different greenhouse gases
Serge Keverian (Honours): Regional attribution of carbon emissions and climate change
Kelly Nugent (Honours): Drivers of North American continental runoff and implications for ocean circulation
Andrew Pinsonneault (Honours): Climate model reliability in simulating enhanced forest productivity resulting from CO2 fertilization
Andrew Ross (Honours): Impact of geoengineering on the rate of climate warming.

Recent Student Publications

Partanen, A.-I., Leduc, M. and Matthews, H. D. (2017) Seasonal climate change patterns due to cumulative CO2 emissions. Environmental Research Letters, 12, 075002.
Brault, M.-O., Matthews, H. D. and Mysak, L. A. (2017) The importance of terrestrial weathering changes in multi-millennial recovery of the global carbon cycle: a two-dimensional perspective. Earth System Dynamics, 8(2), 455-475.
Landry, J.-S., Partanen, A.-I. and Matthews, H. D. (2017) Carbon cycle and climate effects of forcing from fire-emitted aerosols. Environmental Research Letters, 12(2), 025002.
Brault M.-O., Mysak L. A. and Matthews H. D. (2017) Carbon cycle implications of terrestrial weathering changes since the last glacial maximum. FACETS, 2, 267-285.
Landry, J.-S. and Matthews, H. D. (2017) The global pyrogenic carbon cycle and its impact on the level of atmospheric CO2 over past and future centuries. Global Change Biology, published online January 25.
Landry, J.-S., Parrott, L., Price, D. T., Ramankutty, N. and Matthews, H. D. (2016) Modelling long-term impacts of mountain pine beetle outbreaks on merchantable biomass, ecosystem carbon, albedo, and radiative forcing. Biogeosciences, 13, 5277-5295.
Partanen, A.-I., Keller, D. P., Korhonen, H. and Matthews, H. D. (2016) Impacts of sea spray geoengineering on marine biogeochemistry. Geophysical Research Letters, 43, 10.1002/2016GL070111.
Leduc, M., Matthews, H. D. and De Elia, R. (2016) Regional estimates of the Transient Climate Response to cumulative CO2 Emissions. Nature Climate Change, 6, 474-478.
Graham, T. L., Matthews, H. D. and Turner, S. E. (2016) Evaluating climatic changes in regions of non-human primate habitat. International Journal of Primatology, 37, 158–174.
Landry, J.-S. and Matthews, H. D. (2016) Non-deforestation fire vs. fossil fuel combustion: the source of CO2 emissions affects the global carbon cycle and climate responses. Biogeosciences, 13, 2137–2149.
Landry, J.-S., Price, D. T., Ramankutty, N., Parrott L. and Matthews, H. D. (2016) Implementation of a Marauding Insect Module (MIM, version 1.0) into the Integrated BIosphere Simulator (IBIS, version 2.6 b4) dynamic vegetation-land surface model. Geoscientific Model Development, 9, 1243–1261.
Simmons, C. and Matthews, H. D. (2016) Assessing the implications of human land-use change for the Transient Climate Response to cumulative carbon Emissions. Environmental Research Letters, 11, 035001.
Simmons, C. T., Matthews, H. D. and Mysak, L. A. (2016) Deglacial climate, carbon cycle and ocean chemistry changes in response to a terrestrial carbon release. Climate Dynamics, 46, 1287–1299.
Simmons, C. T., Matthews, H. D., & Mysak, L. A. (2015). Deglacial climate, carbon cycle and ocean chemistry changes in response to a terrestrial carbon release. Climate Dynamics, 46(3-4), 1287–1299.
Moore, T. R., Matthews, H. D., Simmons, C., & Leduc, M. (2015). Quantifying Changes in Extreme Weather Events in Response to Warmer Global Temperature. Atmosphere-Ocean, 53(4), 412–425.
Leduc, M., Matthews, H. D., & de Elía, R. (2015). Quantifying the Limits of a Linear Temperature Response to Cumulative CO2 Emissions. Journal of Climate, 28(24), 9955–9968.
Landry, J.-S., Matthews, H. D., & Ramankutty, N. (2015). A global assessment of the carbon cycle and temperature responses to major changes in future fire regime. Climatic Change, 133(2), 179–192.
Gignac, R., & Matthews, H. D. (2015). Allocating a 2° C cumulative carbon budget to countries. Environmental Research Letters.10(7),075004

Opportunities

Current Opportunities

I am looking for graduate students interested in learning about global warming and climate modelling, and exploring the role of greenhouse gas cycles in the context of recent and future climate change. Potential students should have good quantitative skills, and some knowledge of computer programming would be an asset. Possible research projects include: