Meet PLOS Climate Academic Editor Maya Ben-Yami

In this interview, we get to know Maya Ben-Yami of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impacts Research, who recently joined PLOS Climate as an Academic Editor in the journal’s new section on Climate Resilience, Extremes and Tipping Points.

Could you tell us about your research background and your current work?

Although I started my time in research studying the atmospheres of extrasolar planets, I quickly transitioned to working on the earth’s own climate, first through the lens of remote earth observation, and then through the study of abrupt climate changes.

During my PhD at the Technical University of Munich, I worked on climate tipping elements, parts of the climate system that could potentially undergo abrupt and irreversible transitions. My focus was primarily on the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC), but my interest spanned many aspects of climate tipping points, and I collaborated on papers studying both the Amazon rainforest and atmospheric circulation changes. In my own work I delved deeper into the methodology of early warning signals for climate tipping points, quantifying the uncertainty of different methods using both observational and climate model data. I also used some of this climate model data to study the impact a collapse of the AMOC would have on monsoon circulation.

While I continue to study impacts and early warning signals, I am currently also working on larger questions in climate tipping point research, from how to define “tipping” to the future directions of tipping point research and communication. 

Why did you decide to join PLOS Climate as an Academic Editor?

I find the state of the modern publishing industry worrying, and so am a big supporter of non-profit journals like PLOS Climate. Open science, interdisciplinary and equitable research is essential to keep the scientific community strong and reliable. I am happy to be able to contribute to PLOS Climate’s work.

What kinds of submissions to PLOS Climate would you encourage?

I’m excited to see submissions to PLOS Climate that take novel, interesting and nuanced approaches to climate science and tipping point research. These could be anything from a paper that dives deeply into all the aspects of one specific question, to one that takes a bird’s eye view on a large body of research. I would also encourage researchers to not restrict their submissions to positive or “groundbreaking” results – in science, a lot can be learnt from negative results.