Xavier Fettweis
Xavier Fettweis (born 10 October 1977) is a Belgian climatologist and full professor at the University of Liège (ULiège),[1] where he leads the Laboratory of Climatology[2] and the development of the regional climate model MAR (Modèle Atmosphérique Régional).[3] His research focuses on the surface mass balance and climate of the Greenland ice sheet[4] and the Antarctic ice sheets, on atmospheric circulation changes in the Arctic,[5] and on regional climate projections for Belgium and western Europe.[6] In 2013 he received the European Geosciences Union's Arne Richter Award for Outstanding Young Scientists.[7]
Early life and education
[edit]Fettweis was born in Waremme, Belgium.[8] He developed an early interest in meteorology as a child, after a small weather station was installed at his parents' home.[9]
He obtained a master's degree in mathematics from the University of Liège in 2000, followed by a postgraduate diploma (DEA) in physics from the Université catholique de Louvain (UCLouvain) in 2001. He completed a PhD in climatology at UCLouvain in August 2006, supervised by Jean-Pascal van Ypersele, with a thesis on climate modelling of the melting of the Greenland ice sheet using the MAR regional climate model.[10]
Career
[edit]Between 2001 and 2007, Fettweis held research positions at UCLouvain, including as a research fellow of the Fund for Scientific Research (Belgium)|F.R.S.-FNRS and as a research engineer in climatology. In September 2007 he returned to the University of Liège as an assistant in climatology, joining the Laboratory of Climatology led by Michel Erpicum.[9]
He subsequently held several F.R.S.-FNRS postdoctoral and research positions at ULiège, interspersed with a period in 2010 as a postdoctoral researcher at the Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Research Utrecht (IMAU) at Utrecht University under Michiel van den Broeke. He became an F.R.S.-FNRS research associate in 2013 and senior research associate in 2021.[11] Since 2017 he has headed the Laboratory of Climatology at ULiège, succeeding Michel Erpicum. He was appointed associate professor in 2022, professor in 2023, and full professor in 2025, and became vice-dean of research of the Faculty of Sciences in October 2025.[12][13]
Fettweis is a frequent commentator on climate change in the Belgian and international press, radio and television, giving on average one to two media interviews per week and delivering roughly one public lecture per month on climate and climate change.[14] He has been interviewed by Belgian broadcaster RTBF on topics including heatwaves in Belgium,[15] the 2022 COP27 summit, and the 2025 withdrawal of the United States from the Paris Agreement.[16]
Research
[edit]Fettweis leads the development of the MAR regional climate model at ULiège[17] and coordinates its use for studying the surface mass balance and climate of the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets,[18] atmospheric circulation changes over the Arctic,[19] and weather and climate projections for Belgium and western Europe, including snow cover and flood risk.[15] His work has examined the contribution of the Greenland ice sheet to past and future sea-level rise,[20] including contributions to the IPCC's Fifth Assessment Report and to international model inter-comparison projects such as ISMIP6, of which he led the Greenland surface-mass-balance model inter-comparison exercise (GrSMBMIP).[9]
He is also involved in the Katabata project, set up with engineer Damien Ernst, which studies katabatic winds in southern Greenland with a view to assessing their potential for wind-energy production.[21]
Awards and honours
[edit]- Henri Garnir Award for the best master's thesis in mathematics at ULiège (2000).[9]
- Arne Richter Award for Outstanding Young Scientists, European Geosciences Union (2013)[7]
He is a member of the European Geosciences Union, the American Geophysical Union,[22] and the College of the Royal Academy of Sciences, Letters and Fine Arts of Belgium.[9]
Selected publications
[edit]- Fettweis, X. (2007-10-31). "Reconstruction of the 1979–2006 Greenland ice sheet surface mass balance using the regional climate model MAR". The Cryosphere. 1 (1): 21–40. Bibcode:2007TCry....1...21F. doi:10.5194/tc-1-21-2007. ISSN 1994-0424.
- Fettweis, X.; Hanna, E.; Lang, C.; Belleflamme, A.; Erpicum, M.; Gallée, H. (2013-02-07). "Brief communication "Important role of the mid-tropospheric atmospheric circulation in the recent surface melt increase over the Greenland ice sheet"". The Cryosphere. 7 (1): 241–248. Bibcode:2013TCry....7..241F. doi:10.5194/tc-7-241-2013. ISSN 1994-0424.
- Fettweis, X.; Franco, B.; Tedesco, M.; van Angelen, J. H.; Lenaerts, J. T. M.; van den Broeke, M. R.; Gallée, H. (2013-03-14). "Estimating the Greenland ice sheet surface mass balance contribution to future sea level rise using the regional atmospheric climate model MAR". The Cryosphere. 7 (2): 469–489. Bibcode:2013TCry....7..469F. doi:10.5194/tc-7-469-2013. ISSN 1994-0424.
- Fettweis, Xavier; Box, Jason E.; Agosta, Cécile; Amory, Charles; Kittel, Christoph; Lang, Charlotte; van As, Dirk; Machguth, Horst; Gallée, Hubert (2017-04-25). "Reconstructions of the 1900–2015 Greenland ice sheet surface mass balance using the regional climate MAR model". The Cryosphere. 11 (2): 1015–1033. Bibcode:2017TCry...11.1015F. doi:10.5194/tc-11-1015-2017. ISSN 1994-0424.
- Fettweis, Xavier; Hofer, Stefan; Krebs-Kanzow, Uta; Amory, Charles; Aoki, Teruo; Berends, Constantijn J.; Born, Andreas; Box, Jason E.; Delhasse, Alison; Fujita, Koji; Gierz, Paul; Goelzer, Heiko; Hanna, Edward; Hashimoto, Akihiro; Huybrechts, Philippe (2020-11-11). "GrSMBMIP: intercomparison of the modelled 1980–2012 surface mass balance over the Greenland Ice Sheet". The Cryosphere. 14 (11): 3935–3958. Bibcode:2020TCry...14.3935F. doi:10.5194/tc-14-3935-2020. ISSN 1994-0424.
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ↑ Bernaerts, Maïli (2026-07-17). ""Les modèles climatiques actuels sont encore trop optimistes" Xavier Fettweis, climatologue à l'ULiège redoute un emballement du réchauffement climatique". La Libre.be (in French). Retrieved 2026-07-17.
- ↑ Demet, Adrien; Lejeune, Gil. "Retrait des États-Unis de l'accord de Paris : 'Ça pourrait faire exploser les émissions de CO2', avertit un climatologue - RTBF Actus". RTBF (in French). Retrieved 2026-07-16.
- ↑ "MAR, the climate model that predicts the evolution of winter precipitation in Belgium". www.news.uliege.be. 2017-12-13. Retrieved 2026-07-16.
- ↑ Fecht, Sara (2020-04-15). "Unusually Clear Skies Drove Record Loss of Greenland Ice in 2019 – State of the Planet". Retrieved 2026-07-17.
- ↑ Gander, Kashmira (2019-12-27). "Record Hit for Most Ice to Melt in Antarctica in One Day, Data Suggests". Newsweek. Retrieved 2026-07-17.
- ↑ Van Ypersele, Jean-Pascal (2022-06-15). "Chaleur: l'analyse de Xavier Fettweis sur l'impact du réchauffement climatique". RTL Info (in French). Retrieved 2026-07-17.
- 1 2 "Arne Richter Awards for Outstanding Early Career Scientists". European Geosciences Union (EGU). Retrieved 2026-07-16.
- ↑ "Climato.be - Dr. Xavier FETTWEIS". climato.ulg.ac.be. Archived from the original on 2019-12-14. Retrieved 2026-07-17.
- 1 2 3 4 5 Mynott, Sara. "GeoTalk: Xavier Fettweis". GeoLog. Retrieved 2026-07-17.
- ↑ "Fiche annuaire FETTWEIS Xavier". www.uliege.be. Retrieved 2026-07-17.
- ↑ wechangeforlife (2019-04-23). "Xavier Fettweis / FNRS Research Associat". WeChangeForLife (in French). Retrieved 2026-07-17.
- ↑ "Directory sheet FETTWEIS Xavier". www.uliege.be. Retrieved 2026-07-17.
- ↑ "Portrait of Xavier Fettweis". www.geographie.uliege.be. 2022-06-12. Retrieved 2026-07-17.
- ↑ Binamé, Antoine. "20 ans séparent les modèles de projections climatiques de la réalité : comment expliquer un tel décalage ? - RTBF Actus". RTBF (in French). Retrieved 2026-07-17.
- 1 2 Falcinelli, Sylvia. "Changement climatique : les records 'deviennent la norme', et nous, on s'habitue ? - RTBF Actus". RTBF (in French). Retrieved 2026-07-17.
- ↑ Angot, Hugues. "COP27 : 'Il faudrait mettre en place une police du climat pour vérifier si les engagements sont tenus', plaide le climatologue Xavier Fettweis - RTBF Actus". RTBF (in French). Retrieved 2026-07-17.
- ↑ Louis, Julie. "Why are Patagonian glaciers rapidly losing mass?". www.eurekalert.org. Retrieved 2026-07-17.
- ↑ Otosaka, Inès N.; Shepherd, Andrew; Ivins, Erik R.; Schlegel, Nicole-Jeanne; Amory, Charles; Broeke, Michiel R. van den; Horwath, Martin; Joughin, Ian; King, Michalea D.; Krinner, Gerhard; Nowicki, Sophie; Payne, Anthony J.; Rignot, Eric; Scambos, Ted; Simon, Karen M. (2023-04-20). "Mass balance of the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets from 1992 to 2020". Earth System Science Data. 15 (4): 1597–1616. Bibcode:2023ESSD...15.1597O. doi:10.5194/essd-15-1597-2023. ISSN 1866-3508.
- ↑ "Greenland: Heatwave causes 'massive melting event'". dw.com. Retrieved 2026-07-17.
- ↑ Hofer, Stefan. "The melting of the Greenland ice sheet could lead to a sea level rise of 18 cm in 2100!". www.eurekalert.org. Retrieved 2026-07-17.
- ↑ Lang, Hofer S. "The melting of the Greenland ice sheet could lead to a sea level rise of 18 cm in 2100 A new study applying the latest climate models predicts a 60 percent greater melting of the Greenland ice sheet than previously predicted. Data that will be included in the next IPCC report". ScienceDaily. Retrieved 2026-07-17.
- ↑ "Xavier Fettweis". European Geosciences Union (EGU). Retrieved 2026-07-17.
