My research interests cover: 

• Internal climate variability on interannual, decadal and multidecadal timescales
• Teleconnections within the tropics and from low to high latitudes
• Inter-basin interactions
• Tropical interannual variability
• Pacific Decadal Variability and Atlantic Multidecadal Variability
• Monsoons
• Climate predictions and climate services

Since 2025, I am also leading The Norwegian Research School for Climate-Informed Innovation and Decision-making funded by the Research Council of Norway.

GEOF212: Physical Climatology

I have also previously taught: 

• GEOF210: Data Analysis in Meteorology and Oceanography
• GEOF348: Advanced Climate Dynamics

Conference lecture

• Lea Svendsen (2025). Er ekstremer den nye normalen?. (external link)
• Lea Svendsen (2018). Pacific impact on Arctic surface temperature trends. (external link)
• Lea Svendsen; Noel Keenlyside; Ingo Bethke et al. (2015). Investigating the role of the Atlantic and Pacific in the early 20th century warming. (external link)
• Lea Svendsen; Belén Rodriguez-Fonseca (2015). Influence of an Atlantic Niño on the Indian summer Monsoon. (external link)
• Yiguo Wang; Francois Counillon; Noel Keenlyside et al. (2019). Seasonal predictions initialised by assimilating SST data with the EnKF. (external link)
• Lea Svendsen (2020). Climate Variability and Change: Why we need long coupled reanalyses. (external link)
• Lea Svendsen; Francois Counillon; Noel Keenlyside et al. (2018). Seasonal prediction skill in the tropical Atlantic using anomaly coupling. (external link)
• Ashneel Chandra; Noel Sebastian Keenlyside; Lea Svendsen et al. (2022). Processes driving changes of heat in the upper equatorial Indian Ocean. (external link)
• Lea Svendsen (2022). NorCPM and Attributing Model Biases. (external link)
• Lea Svendsen; Noel Keenlyside; Ingo Bethke et al. (2017). Pacific contribution to the early 20th century warming in the Arctic. (external link)
• Lea Svendsen; Fei-Fei Luo; Syam Sankar et al. (2016). External forcing as a source for the observed multi-decadal relation between AMV and the Indian summer monsoon. (external link)
• Lea Svendsen; Fei-Fei Luo; Syam Sankar et al. (2016). The link between Atlantic multi-decadal variability and the Indian summer monsoon. (external link)
• Noel Keenlyside; Teferi Dejene Demissie; Shunya Koseki et al. (2018). Tropical Atlantic model error and regional projections of climate change. (external link)
• Lea Svendsen; Nils G Kvamstø; Noel Keenlyside (2013). Weakening AMOC connects Equatorial Atlantic and Pacific interannual variability. (external link)
• Lea Svendsen (2013). Atlantic multi-decadal variability and the connection to ISMR. (external link)
• Lea Svendsen (2019). Pacific impact on decadal surface temperature trends in the Arctic. (external link)
• Lea Svendsen (2025). Analysis plans for CoRea1860+. (external link)
• Lea Svendsen; Noel Keenlyside; Ingo Bethke et al. (2017). Pacific contribution to the early 20th century warming in the Arctic. (external link)
• Lea Svendsen (2025). Climate Services for and with the renewable energy sector: examples from Norway. (external link)
• Lea Svendsen (2018). Pacific decadal variability and Arctic temperature trends. (external link)
• Lea Svendsen (2023). Pacific influence on Arctic Climate on decadal timescales. (external link)
• Yiguo Wang; Francois Stephane Counillon; Lea Svendsen et al. (2025). An ensemble-based coupled reanalysis of the climate from 1860 to the present (CoRea1860+). (external link)
• Lea Svendsen; Noel Keenlyside; Yongqi Gao et al. (2015). The Indian Summer Monsoon and Atlantic Multi-decadal variability. (external link)
• Lea Svendsen; Nils Gunnar Kvamstø; Noel Keenlyside (2013). Weakening AMOC connects Equatorial Atlantic and Pacific interannual variability. (external link)
• Lea Svendsen; Noel Keenlyside; Yu Kosaka et al. (2019). Pacific contribution to decadal temperature trends in the Arctic during the 20th century. (external link)
• Lea Svendsen; Yu Kosaka; Bunmei Taguchi (2020). Pacific versus Atlantic Contributions to Multidecadal Variability in the Arctic: A Multi-Model Intercomparison. (external link)
• Lea Svendsen; Yu Kosaka; Bunmei Taguchi (2022). Pacific contribution to multidecadal variability in the Arctic: A multi-model intercomparison. (external link)
• Jakob Simon Dörr; David Bonan; Marius Årthun et al. (2023). Forced and internal components of observed Arctic sea ice changes. (external link)
• Lea Svendsen (2023). Pacific contribution to decadal trends in Arctic climate. (external link)
• Lea Svendsen; Feifei Luo; ShuangLin Li et al. (2018). Atlantic multi-decadal variability and the Indian summer monsoon in CMIP5 models. (external link)
• Jakob Simon Dörr; David Bonan; Marius Årthun et al. (2024). Forced and internal components of observed Arctic sea ice changes. (external link)
• Lea Svendsen; Noel Keenlyside; Yongqi Gao et al. (2014). The influence of Atlantic multi-decadal variability on the Indian summer monsoon. (external link)
• Lea Svendsen; Noel Keenlyside; Steffen Hetzinger et al. (2013). Multi-decadal variability in Atlantic SST and Indian Summer Monsoon Rainfall in proxy records. (external link)
• Lea Svendsen; Nils G Kvamstø; Noel Keenlyside (2013). Weakening AMOC connects equatorial Atlantic and Pacific interannual variability. (external link)
• Lea Svendsen; Belén Rodriguez-Fonseca (2022). Tropical atmospheric response of Atlantic Niños to changes in the ocean background state. (external link)
• Lea Svendsen; Noel Keenlyside; Ingo Bethke et al. (2018). Pacific contribution to the early 20th century warming in the Arctic. (external link)
• Jakob Simon Dörr; Marius Årthun; Tor Eldevik et al. (2023). Arctic sea ice variability and retreat. (external link)

Conference poster

• Lea Svendsen; Steffen Hetzinger; Noel Keenlyside et al. (2013). Marine-based multi-proxy reconstruction of Atlantic multi-decadal variability. (external link)
• Lea Svendsen; Belén Rodriguez-Fonseca; Noel Keenlyside et al. (2016). Does the impact of Atlantic Niños on the Indian summer monsoon depend on the background state?. (external link)
• Francois Counillon; Noel Keenlyside; Shunya Koseki et al. (2018). Relating model bias and prediction skill in the tropical Atlantic. (external link)
• Ashneel Chandra; Noel Sebastian Keenlyside; Lea Svendsen et al. (2022). INTRASEASONAL OCEAN HEAT CONTENT VARIATIONS IN THE TROPICAL INDIAN OCEAN. (external link)
• Lea Svendsen; Y. Kosaka; Bunmei Taguchi (2022). Pacific contributions to multidecadal variability in the Arctic: A multi-model intercomparison. (external link)
• Lea Svendsen; Nils G Kvamstø; Noel Keenlyside (2012). Simulated response of the El Niño-Southern Oscillation to a weakening Atlantic meridional overturning circulation in the Bergen Climate Model. (external link)
• Lea Svendsen; Steffen Hetzinger; Noel Keenlyside et al. (2014). Marine-based multiproxy reconstruction of Atlantic multidecadal variability. (external link)
• Lea Svendsen; Noel Keenlyside; Ingo Bethke et al. (2016). Investigating the Role of the Atlantic and Pacific in the Early 20th Century Warming. (external link)
• Yiguo Wang; Francois Counillon; Noel Keenlyside et al. (2018). Seasonal-to-decadal prediction with the Norwegian Climate Prediction Model. (external link)
• Lea Svendsen; Nils G Kvamstø; Noel Keenlyside (2013). Weakening AMOC connects Equatorial Atlantic and Pacific interannual variability. (external link)
• Ashneel Chandra; Noel Sebastian Keenlyside; Lea Svendsen et al. (2021). Intraseasonal variations of Ocean Heat Content in the tropical Indian and Pacific Ocean. (external link)
• Lea Svendsen; Noel Keenlyside; Ingo Bethke et al. (2018). Pacific contribution to the early 20th century warming in the Arctic. (external link)
• Lea Svendsen; Noel Sebastian Keenlyside; Morven Muilwijk et al. (2022). Pacific contribution to decadal surface temperature trends during the 20th century. (external link)

Media interview

• Adrian Sollund; Lea Svendsen (2025). Meteorolog: Charterstedene som er farlige. (external link)
• Line Brustad; Lea Svendsen (2024). Kan gi mer nedbør. (external link)
• Lars Erik Ertzgaard Ringen; Lea Svendsen (2023). Studio 2: El Niño og vinterværet. (external link)
• Synne Ulltang; Lea Svendsen (2023). Vinteren i år kan bli kaldare og tørrare, men veit du kvifor?. (external link)
• Christian C. Nerdrum; Lea Svendsen (2024). Klimaforsker: – 75 prosent sjanse for La Niña. (external link)
• Lea Svendsen (2022). Det er utslippene våre som er årsaken. (external link)
• Lea Svendsen (2016). Atlanterhavets påvirkning på globalt klima. (external link)
• Lea Svendsen (2016). Atlanterhavets påvirkning på globalt klima. (external link)
• Eirik Flugstad; Lea Svendsen (2023). P2 Pulsen: El Nino og globale temperatura rekorder. (external link)
• Line Brustad; Lea Svendsen (2023). Ingenting vi har sett før. (external link)
• Lars Ursin; Lea Svendsen (2025). Økende bekymringer for endringer i store klimasystemer. (external link)
• Solfrid Langeland; Lea Svendsen (2024). Klimavarsling #uibforklart. (external link)
• Guro Tarjem; Lea Svendsen (2023). Abels Tårn: El Nino. (external link)
• Kjersti Fløttum; Lea Svendsen; Ellen Marie Viste (2019). Blir klimaet bedre om vi snakker norsk? PODCAST. (external link)
• Line Brustad; Lea Svendsen (2024). Utviklingen snur ikke. (external link)
• Line Brustad; Lea Svendsen (2023). Rekonstruert El Niño overrasker. (external link)

Lecture

• Lea Svendsen (2025). The Norwegian Research School for Climate-Informed innovation and decision-making. (external link)
• Lea Svendsen; Ingjald Pilskog (2022). Termgruppe for Klimafaget. (external link)
• Lea Svendsen (2019). Forced and Natural Variability in the Arctic. (external link)
• Lea Svendsen (2018). Stillehavets påvirkning på Arktis. (external link)
• Lea Svendsen (2016). Etter et år med globale temperaturrekorder: hva skjer nå?. (external link)
• Lea Svendsen (2025). Climate Services and co-production. (external link)
• Lea Svendsen (2018). Arktis blir varmere: en kombinasjon av naturlige variasjoner of eksterne strålingspådrivere. (external link)
• Lea Svendsen (2024). Varmt – El Niño og varmerekorder. (external link)
• Lea Svendsen (2022). Når verden blir varmere. (external link)
• Lea Svendsen (2022). Klima nå og i morgen. (external link)
• Lea Svendsen (2022). In the middle of global warming. (external link)
• Lea Svendsen (2023). Termgruppe for klimafaget: hvorfor og hvordan. (external link)
• Lea Svendsen (2023). Vilt og vått, men ikkje vakkert! - Ein prat om fysikken bak klimaendringane. (external link)
• Lea Svendsen (2022). Midt i global oppvarming. (external link)
• Lea Svendsen (2019). Monsoon Variability and Change. (external link)
• Lea Svendsen (2022). Paneldeltaker på Bærekraftsbrunsj. (external link)

Academic article

• Youfang Yan; Lea Svendsen; Chunzai Wang et al. (2019). A North-South Contrast of Subsurface Salinity Anomalies in the Northwestern Pacific From 2002 to 2013. (external link)
• Lander Rodriguez Crespo; Arthur Prigent; Noel Sebastian Keenlyside et al. (2022). Weakening of the Atlantic Niño variability under global warming. (external link)
• Feifei Luo; Shuanglin Li; Yongqi Gao et al. (2018). The connection between the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation and the Indian Summer Monsoon since the Industrial Revolution is intrinsic to the climate system. (external link)
• Lea Svendsen; Noel Keenlyside; Ingo Bethke et al. (2018). Pacific contribution to the early twentieth-century warming in the Arctic. (external link)
• Jakob Simon Dörr; David Bonan; Marius Årthun et al. (2023). Forced and internal components of observed Arctic sea-ice changes. (external link)
• Lea Svendsen; Nils G Kvamstø; Noel Keenlyside (2013). Weakening AMOC connects Equatorial Atlantic and Pacific interannual variability. (external link)
• Yiguo Wang; Francois Counillon; Noel Keenlyside et al. (2019). Seasonal predictions initialised by assimilating sea surface temperature observations with the EnKF. (external link)
• Syam Sankar; Lea Svendsen; Bindu Gokulapalan et al. (2016). The relationship between Indian summer monsoon rainfall and Atlantic multidecadal variability over the last 500 years. (external link)
• Feifei Luo; Shuanglin Li; Yongqi Gao et al. (2017). The connection between the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation and the Indian Summer Monsoon in the CMIP5 models. (external link)
• Lea Svendsen; Steffen Hetzinger; Noel Keenlyside et al. (2014). Marine-based multiproxy reconstruction of Atlantic multidecadal variability. (external link)
• Yiguo Wang; Francois Stephane Counillon; Lea Svendsen et al. (2025). An ensemble-based coupled reanalysis of the climate from 1860 to the present (CoRea1860+). (external link)
• Roberto Suarez Moreno; Lea Svendsen; Francois Stephane Counillon et al. (2026). Prediction skill of ENSO and ENSO teleconnections in NorCPM: A comparative analysis with C3S. (external link)
• Emily Grace Simmonds; Kwaku Peprah Adjei; Christoffer Wold Andersen et al. (2022). Insights into the quantification and reporting of model-related uncertainty across different disciplines. (external link)
• Zhe Han; Feifei Luo; Shuanglin Li et al. (2016). Simulation by CMIP5 models of the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation and its climate impacts. (external link)
• Lea Svendsen; Belén Rodríguez-Fonseca; Elsa Mohino et al. (2023). Tropical Atmospheric Response of Atlantic Niños to Changes in the Ocean Background State. (external link)
• Lea Svendsen; Noel Keenlyside; Morven Muilwijk et al. (2021). Pacific contribution to decadal surface temperature trends in the Arctic during the twentieth century. (external link)
• Ashneel Chandra; Noel Sebastian Keenlyside; Lea Svendsen et al. (2024). Processes Driving Subseasonal Variations of Upper Ocean Heat Content in the Equatorial Indian Ocean. (external link)
• Ingo Bethke; Yiguo Wang; Francois Stephane Counillon et al. (2021). NorCPM1 and its contribution to CMIP6 DCPP. (external link)

Radio or TV participation

• Ingjald Pilskog; Ellen Viste; Kjersti Fløttum et al. (2019). Blir klimaet bedre om vi snakker norsk?. (external link)
• Martin Hirth; Lea Svendsen (2020). Energi og Klima podcast. (external link)
• Martin Hirth; Lea Svendsen (2020). Energi og Klima podcast. (external link)
• Martin Hirth; Lea Svendsen (2020). Energi og Klima podcast. (external link)
• Martin Hirth; Lea Svendsen (2020). Energi og Klima podcast. (external link)

Popular science article

• Lea Svendsen (2020). Hva gjør La Niña med været?. (external link)

Academic book chapter

• Tor Eldevik; Lars Henrik Smedsrud; Camille Li et al. (2020). The Arctic Mediterranean. (external link)
• Lea Svendsen (2021). Atlantic multidecadal oscillation and Indian Summer Monsoon Variability: A revisit. (external link)

Doctoral thesis (PhD)

• Lea Svendsen; Noel Keenlyside; Yongqi Gao (2016). Impacts of Atlantic multi-decadal variability on the Indo-Pacific and Northern Hemisphere climate. (external link)

Research report

• Anita Verpe Dyrrdal; Sigrid Jørgensen Bakke; Inger Hanssen-Bauer et al. (2025). Klima i Norge – kunnskapsgrunnlag for klimatilpasning oppdatert i 2025. (external link)

Performing arts

• Lea Svendsen (2020). Neste Steg. Klima: Menneskets tidsalder. (external link)

See a complete overview of publications in Cristin.