Ozone layer scientist who ‘saved the world’ dies

[Andrew Lockley]

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2012/mar/12/ozone-layer-scientist-dies

Ozone layer scientist who ‘saved the world’ dies

F Sherwood Rowland won Nobel prize for raising the alarm over CFC gases destroying Earth's ultraviolet shield

Associated Press

Mon 12 Mar 2012 02.03 EDT

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 8 years old

F Sherwood Rowland, the Nobel prize-winning chemist who sounded the alarm on the thinning of the Earth's ozone layer, has died at 84.

The Nobel prize was awarded more than two decades after Rowland and post-doctoral student Mario Molina calculated that if human use of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) – a propellant in aerosol sprays, deodorants and other household products – continued at an unchanged rate, the ozone layer protecting it from excessive ultraviolet radiation would be depleted after several decades. Their work built upon findings by the atmospheric scientist Paul Crutzen.

Their prediction caught enormous attention and was strongly challenged partly because the non-toxic properties of CFCs were thought to make it environmentally safe.

Rowland was among three scientists awarded the 1995 Nobel for chemistry for explaining how the ozone layer is formed and decomposed through chemical processes in the atmosphere.

"It was to turn out that they had even underestimated the risk," a Nobel committee said in its award citation for Rowland, Molina and Crutzen.

Molina said his former mentor never shied from defending his work or advocating a ban on CFCs. "He showed me that if we believe in the science ... we should speak out when we feel it's important for society to change."

His work on ozone depletion made Rowland a prominent voice for scientists concerned about global warming. "Isn't it a responsibility of scientists, if you believe that you have found something that can affect the environment, isn't it your responsibility to do something about it, enough so that action actually takes place?" Rowland said at a White House climate change roundtable in 1997.

"If not us, who? If not now, when?"

Rowland died on Saturday at his home of complications from Parkinson's disease, said Kenneth C Janda, the dean of the University of California, Irvine, where Rowland worked in the physical sciences department.

"We have lost our finest friend and mentor," Janda said. "He saved the world from a major catastrophe: never wavering in his commitment to science, truth and humanity and did so with integrity and grace."

Rowland is survived by his wife of nearly 60 years, Joan, a son and a daughter

[Andrew Lockley]

Apologies, this was found by a search for an appropriate story to support the news. 

It was Paul Crutzen who recently died. An obit is below. Apologies for the mistake. 

https://www.mpic.de/4677594/trauer-um-paul-crutzen#:~:text=The%20atmospheric%20scientist%20Paul%20J,the%20ozone%20layer%20and%20climate.&text=Professor%20Paul%20J.%20Crutzen%20died,the%20age%20of%2087%20years.

The Max Planck Institute for Chemistry mourns the loss of its former director and Nobel Laureate Paul J. Crutzen

The atmospheric scientist Paul J. Crutzen (December 3, 1933 – January 28, 2021) showed how human activities affect planet Earth and pose a threat to the ozone layer and climate.

JANUARY 28, 2021

(Link to Condolences)

original

Paul Crutzen at the Anthropocene Symposium 2013

C. Costard

Professor Paul J. Crutzen died on 28 January, 2021, at the age of 87 years. The Dutchman was Director of the Atmospheric Chemistry Department at the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry in Mainz, Germany, from 1980 to 2000. Together with Mario J. Molina and F. Sherwood Rowland he received the 1995 Nobel Prize for Chemistry for identifying how nitrogen oxides erode the Earth’s ozone layer and discovering chemical processes that cause the ozone hole.

"Paul Crutzen was a pioneer in many ways," says Martin Stratmann, President of the Max Planck Society. "He was the first to show how human activities damage the ozone layer. This knowledge about the causes of ozone depletion was the basis for the worldwide ban on ozone-depleting substances – a hitherto unique example of how Nobel Prize-winning basic research can directly lead to a global political decision.”

MPG-President Stratmann adds: “Paul Crutzen was also a pioneer of the sciences focusing on the impact of human civilization on the environment, whether through his findings on the destruction of the ozone layer or through his later scientific work on human-made climate change. Moreover, I was fortunate to have the opportunity to get to know him personally, not only as a brilliant scientist, but also as an open, patient, and kind human being. I am greatly saddened by his loss, both personally and on behalf of the Max Planck Society – with Paul Crutzen, science has lost a true role model."

The impact of humans on the atmosphere, the climate and the Earth system

“I am deeply saddened by the death of Paul. His limitless scientific curiosity, creative ideas and his charismatic personality left their mark not only on me and our institution but on many generations of scientists”, says Jos Lelieveld, managing director of the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry. “Paul continued his scientific activities for many years after retiring from the post, well into advanced age. We have lost a dear friend and will all feel his loss dearly. Our thoughts are with his wife, children and grandchildren.”

Crutzen’s scientific work focused on the impact of humans on the atmosphere, climate and Earth system. In addition to his research on atmospheric chemistry and the ozone hole, he also examined the potential consequences of a global nuclear war. In the early 1980s, together with his student John Birks, he discovered that a darkening of the Earth’s atmosphere from the fires ignited by nuclear war could lead to a “nuclear winter” resulting in a dramatic decline of the Earth’s habitability. His findings were essential contributions to the global efforts and achievements in nuclear disarmament.

Paul J. Crutzen coined the term Anthropocene, which he used to describe the current era in which human activity is shaping our planet through the profound influence on global atmospheric, biological, and geological processes. He commented on the scientific and social debates that followed his proposal on the concept of the Anthropocene: "I see the debate as an opportunity to achieve the ecological reorientation that is urgently needed."

Paul J. Crutzen's work will continue to guide science and society

“Paul and his great scientific work will continue to guide scientific and societal progress and serve as a unique source of inspiration: for his students, his colleagues and co-workers, as well as the global community”, praises Prof. Ulrich Pöschl, deputy managing director of the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry.

With Paul J. Crutzen´s death, science has lost a brilliant researcher, a leading scholar and a warning voice at a time when human interference with the environment has become increasingly evident, both locally and globally. In the past few years, he grew increasingly concerned about the timely societal recognition of the extent and severity of climate change. Crutzen was a dedicated mediator between science, politics, and society.

Together with his colleague and friend Ram Ramanathan, he warned early on that “drastic measures are needed at the international level to reduce the concentrations of greenhouse gases, in particular of CO2, through energy savings, renewable energy sources, and sequestration of CO2.”

Sincere concern about man-made climate change led Paul J. Crutzen to pose the question whether geoengineering – the deliberate manipulation of the Earth's climate by scientific and technological methods – might be a viable last resort to counteract global warming. His deliberations on the introduction of sulfur particles into the upper layers of the atmosphere triggered intense debate within both scientific and political circles. Crutzen aimed at intensifying research in this area and provide the world with options for responding to a climate change emergency.

Paul J. Crutzen discussed the extent to which mankind exploits the natural resources of planet Earth in numerous publications and public lectures. He typically ended presentations with a picture of himself and his grandson calling on the audience to preserve the Earth for future generations.

Biographical information

Paul J. Crutzen did not start as an atmospheric scientist. His initial career was in civil engineering and from there he moved on to become a computer programmer at the Department of Meteorology at Stockholm University in Sweden. He was fascinated by this field of science and he studied it whilst continuing in his job, and acquiring a PhD in meteorology with distinction in 1968. Paul J. Crutzen and his long-time colleague and friend Henning Rodhe both studied with Bert Bolin, later involved in establishing the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change of the United Nations.

After the period in Stockholm, Crutzen taught and did research at various institutions, among them the University of Oxford, the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in Boulder, CO, Colorado State University, the University of Chicago, and the University of California. In 1980, he became Director of the Atmospheric Chemistry Department at the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry in Mainz, Germany. He continued his scientific activities for many years after formal retirement in 2000, up to recent years.

Paul J. Crutzen published over 360 peer-reviewed scientific journal articles, another 135 scientific publications in research journals, and 15 books. He was one of the most highly cited scientists in the world, was bestowed numerous awards and honors, and was a member of many scientific academies, such as council member of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, and an honorary member of the German National Academy of Natural Sciences Leopoldina.

Paul J. Crutzen is survived by his wife Terttu, his daughters Ilona and Sylvia, and three grandchildren.

Condolences