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Warren L. Prell (born September 15, 1944) is an American oceanographer and climate scientist who is professor emeritus at Brown University. He is known for his research in paleoceanography, focusing on monsoonal systems, ocean circulation, and their interactions with global climate change.

Warren L. Prell was born on September 15, 1944, in the United States. He earned his Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) degree with Honors in Geology from Hanover College in 1966 and completed his Ph.D. in Geological Sciences at Columbia University in 1974. His doctoral dissertation focused on the "Late Pleistocene Sedimentary, Faunal and Temperature History of the Colombia Basin, Caribbean Sea."^[1]

Prell began his career as a geologist aboard research vessels such as the R/V Eastward and the Glomar Challenger during the Deep Sea Drilling Project Leg 15.^[2] He later served as director of oceanographic and geologic programs for the New York City Energy Research and Development Authority before joining Brown University as an assistant professor in the Department of Geological Sciences in 1975.^[1]

Prell was promoted to full professor in 1989 and was appointed to the prestigious Henry L. Doherty Chair in Oceanography in 1990.^[3] From 2005 to 2008, he served as Chair of the Department of Geological Sciences.

Prell's research has focused on understanding past climate systems through paleoceanography. His work has contributed significantly to the study of:

• The Indian Ocean monsoon system and its orbital-scale variability.^[2]
• Carbonate preservation patterns and sedimentary processes in marine environments.^[1]
• Hypoxia and water quality improvements in estuarine systems such as Narragansett Bay.^[4]

He has also been a co-chief scientist on international drilling expeditions such as Leg 184 of the Ocean Drilling Program in the South China Sea.^[2]

Prell has authored numerous influential papers and edited several major volumes on oceanography and climate science. Notable works include:

• "Zonal temperature-anomaly maps of Indian Ocean surface waters: Modern and ice-age patterns" (*Science*, 1979).
• "Evolution of Asian monsoons and phased uplift of the Himalaya-Tibetan Plateau since Late Miocene times" (*Journal of Geophysical Research*, 2001).^[2]

He has also contributed to class reports on estuarine oceanography for Narragansett Bay, fostering student engagement with real-world environmental issues.^[2]

Prell was appointed to the Henry L. Doherty Chair in Oceanography (1990).^[3]

• Warren L. Prell at Brown University
• DEEPS Emeriti Faculty