This research is reflected by a long list of publications in highly respected, peer reviewed journals.

With Samuel S. P. Shen, he co-authored the book Climate Mathematics: Theory and Applications (Cambridge University Press, 2019).

This award is given in recognition of “outstanding contributions to one or more of the following area(s): societal impact, service to the Earth and space community, scientific leadership, and promotion of talent/career pool.” Among his honors to date, Somerville has received awards from the American Meteorological Society for both his research and his popular book The Forgiving Air: Understanding Environmental Change, a new edition of which was published in 2008 (ISBN 9781878220851).

He was a Coordinating Lead Author for the 2007 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Fourth Assessment report (IPCC AR4).

It synthesizes the most recent scientific findings from hundreds of peer reviewed papers in areas such as greenhouse gas emissions, sea level, glaciers, tipping points and extreme climate events, among other key topics.