Wikipedia

Paul J. Crutzen

Paul Jozef Crutzen(Dutch pronunciation:[pʌulˈjoːzəfˈkrʏtsə(n)];3 December 1933 – 28 January 2021)[2][3]was a Dutchmeteorologistandatmospheric chemist.[4][5][6]In 1995, he was awarded theNobel Prize in ChemistryalongsideMario MolinaandFrank Sherwood Rowlandfor their work on atmospheric chemistry and specifically for his efforts in studying the formation and decomposition of atmospheric ozone. In addition to studying theozone layerandclimate change,he popularized the termAnthropoceneto describe a proposed new epoch in the Quaternary period when human actions have a drastic effect on the Earth. He was also amongst the first few scientists to introduce the idea of anuclear winterto describe the potential climatic effects stemming from large-scale atmospheric pollution including smoke from forest fires, industrial exhausts, and other sources like oil fires.

Paul J. Crutzen
Crutzen in 2010
Born
Paul Jozef Crutzen

(1933-12-03)3 December 1933
Amsterdam,Netherlands
Died28 January 2021(2021-01-28)(aged 87)
Mainz,Germany
Alma materUniversity of Stockholm
Known for
Awards
Scientific career
Fields
Institutions
ThesisDetermination of parameters appearing in the "dry" and the "wet" photochemical theories for ozone in the stratosphere.(1968)
Doctoral advisor
Doctoral students
Websitewww.mpic.de/3864489/paul-crutzen

He was a member of theRoyal Swedish Academy of Sciencesand an electedforeign member of the Royal Societyin the United Kingdom.[7]

Early life and education

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Crutzen was born in Amsterdam, the son of Anna (Gurk) and Josef Crutzen.[8]In September 1940, the same year Germany invaded The Netherlands, Crutzen entered his first year of elementary school. His classes moved around to different locations after the primary school was taken over by the Germans; during the last months of the war he experienced the 'winter of hunger' with several of his schoolmates dying of famine or disease.[9]In 1946 with some special help he graduated from elementary school and moved ontoHogere Burgerschool(Higher Citizens School). There, with the help of his cosmopolitian parents he became fluent in French, English, and German.[9]Along with languages he also focused on natural sciences in this school, graduating in 1951; however his exam results did not qualify him for university scholarships.[9]Instead, he studiedCivil Engineeringat aHigher Professional Educationschool with lower costs, and took a job with the Bridge Construction Bureau in Amsterdam in 1954.[9]After completing military service, in 1958 he married Terttu Soininen, a Finnish university student whom he had met a few years earlier and moved with her toGävle,a tiny city 200 km north of Stockholm where he took a job at a construction bureau.[9]After seeing an advertisement by the Department of Meteorology at Stockholm University for a computer programmer, he applied, was selected, and in July 1959 moved with his wife and new daughter Ilona to Stockholm.[9]

Beginning of academic career

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In the 1920's Norwegian meteorologists began using fluid mechanics in analyse weather, and by 1959 the Meteorology Institute of Stockholm University was at the forefront of meteorology research using numerical modeling.[9]The theories were validated in 1960 by images fromTiros,the first weather satellite.

At that time, Stockholm University housed the fastest computers in the world with theBESK(Binary Electronic Sequence Calculator) and its successor, theFacit EDB.Crutzen was involved with the programming and application of some of those early numerical models for weather prediction, and also developed a tropical cyclone model himself.[9]

Working as a programmer at the university, he was able to take other lectures and in 1963 applied for a PhD program with a thesis combining mathematics, statistics and meteorology.[9]

Although intending to extend his cyclone model for his thesis, around 1965 he was asked to helpUSscientists with a numerical model for the distribution ofoxygenallotropes(atomic oxygen, molecular oxygen andozone) in thestratosphere,themesosphereand the lowerthermosphere.This involved studies of stratospheric chemistry and the photochemistry of ozone. His PhD awarded in 1968,Determination of parameters appearing in the "dry" and the "wet" photochemical theories for ozone in the stratosphere,suggested thatnitrogen oxides(NOx) should be studied.[9]

His thesis was well-received and led to a post-doctoral fellowship at theClarendon Laboratoryof theUniversity of Oxford,on behalf of the European Space Research Organisation (ESRO), the precursor ofESA.[9]

Research career

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Crutzen conducted research primarily inatmospheric chemistry.[10][11][12][13][14][15]He is best known for his research onozone depletion.In 1970[16]he pointed out that emissions ofnitrous oxide(N2O), a stable, long-lived gas produced by soil bacteria, from the Earth's surface could affect the amount of nitric oxide (NO) in the stratosphere. Crutzen showed that nitrous oxide lives long enough to reach the stratosphere, where it is converted into NO. Crutzen then noted that increasing use of fertilizers might have led to an increase in nitrous oxide emissions over the natural background, which would in turn result in an increase in the amount of NO in the stratosphere. Thus human activity could affect the stratospheric ozone layer. In the following year, Crutzen and (independently) Harold Johnston suggested that NO emissions from the fleet of, then proposed,supersonic transport(SST) airliners (a few hundredBoeing 2707s), which would fly in the lower stratosphere, could also deplete the ozone layer; however more recent analysis has disputed this as a large concern.[17]

In 1974 Crutzen received a prepublication draft of a scientific paper byFrank S. Rowland,professor of Chemistry atUniversity of California, Irvine,and Mario J. Molina, a postdoctoral fellow from Mexico. It concerned the possible destructive effects of chlorofluoromethanes on the ozone layer. Crutzen immediately developed a model of this effect, which predicted severe depletion of ozone if those chemicals continued to be used at that current rate. [9]

Crutze has listed his main research interests as "Stratospheric and tropospheric chemistry, and their role in the biogeochemical cycles and climate".[18]From 1980, he worked at the Department of Atmospheric Chemistry at theMax Planck Institute for Chemistry,[19]inMainz,Germany; theScripps Institution of Oceanographyat theUniversity of California, San Diego;[20]and atSeoul National University,[21]South Korea. He was also a long-timeadjunct professoratGeorgia Institute of Technologyandresearch professorat the department of meteorology atStockholm University,Sweden.[22]From 1997 to 2002 he was professor of aeronomy at the Department of Physics and Astronomy atUtrecht University.[23]

He co-signed a letter from over 70 Nobel laureate scientists to theLouisiana Legislaturesupporting the repeal of that U.S. state'screationismlaw, theLouisiana Science Education Act.[24]In 2003 he was one of 22 Nobel laureates who signed theHumanist Manifesto.[25]

As of 2021,Crutzen had anh-indexof 151 according toGoogle Scholar[26]and of 110 according toScopus.[27]On his death, the president of theMax Planck Society,Martin Stratmann,said that Crutzen's work led to the ban on ozone-depleting chemicals, which was an unprecedented example of Nobel Prize basic research directly leading to a global political decision.[28]

Anthropocene

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Main article:Anthropocene

One of Crutzen's research interests was theAnthropocene.[29][30]In 2000, inIGBPNewsletter 41, Crutzen andEugene F. Stoermer,to emphasize the central role of mankind in geology and ecology, proposed using the termanthropocenefor the current geological epoch. In regard to its start, they said:

To assign a more specific date to the onset of the "anthropocene" seems somewhat arbitrary, but we propose the latter part of the 18th century, although we are aware that alternative proposals can be made (some may even want to include the entire holocene). However, we choose this date because, during the past two centuries, the global effects of human activities have become clearly noticeable. This is the period when data retrieved from glacial ice cores show the beginning of a growth in the atmospheric concentrations of several "greenhouse gases", in particular CO2and CH4.Such a starting date also coincides with James Watt's invention of the steam engine in 1784.[31]

Geoengineering(Climate intervention)

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Steve Connor, Science Editor ofThe Independent,wrote that Crutzen believes that political attempts to limit man-made greenhouse gases are so pitiful that a radical contingency plan is needed. In a polemical scientific essay that was published in the August 2006 issue of the journalClimatic Change,he says that an "escape route" is needed ifglobal warmingbegins to run out of control.[32]

Crutzen advocated forclimate engineeringsolutions, including artificially cooling the global climate by releasing particles ofsulphurin the upper atmosphere, along with other particles at lower atmospheric levels, which would reflect sunlight and heat back into space. If this artificial cooling method actually were to work, it would reduce some of the effects of the accumulation of green house gas emissions caused by human activity, potentially extending the planet's integrity and livability.[33]

In January 2008, Crutzen published findings that the release ofnitrous oxide(N2O) emissions in the production ofbiofuelsmeans that they contribute more to global warming than the fossil fuels they replace.[34]

Nuclear winter

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Crutzen was also a leader inpromotingthe theory ofnuclear winter.Together withJohn W. Birkshe wrote the first publication introducing the subject:The atmosphere after a nuclear war: Twilight at noon(1982).[35]They theorized the potential climatic effects of the large amounts of sooty smoke from fires in the forests and in urban and industrial centers and oil storage facilities, which would reach the middle and higher troposphere. They concluded that absorption of sunlight by the black smoke could lead to darkness and strong cooling at the earth's surface, and a heating of the atmosphere at higher elevations, thus creating atypical meteorological and climatic conditions which would jeopardize agricultural production for a large part of the human population.[36]

In aBaltimore Sunnewspaper article printed in January 1991, along with his nuclear winter colleagues, Crutzen hypothesized that the climatic effects of theKuwait oil fireswould result in "significant"nuclear winter-like effects; continental-sized effects of sub-freezing temperatures.[37]

Awards and honours

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Crutzen,Mario J. Molina,andF. Sherwood Rowlandwere awarded theNobel Prize in Chemistryin 1995 "for their work in atmospheric chemistry, particularly concerning the formation and decomposition of ozone".[4]Some of Crutzen's others honours include the below:

Personal life

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In 1956 Crutzen met Terttu Soininen, whom he married a few years later in February 1958. In December of the same year, the couple had a daughter. In March 1964, the couple had another daughter.[4]

Crutzen died aged 87 on 28 January 2021.[45]

References

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  1. ^ab"Professor Paul Crutzen ForMemRS: Foreign Member".London:Royal Society.Archived fromthe originalon 5 October 2015.
  2. ^"Paul Crutzen, who shared Nobel for ozone work, has died".AP NEWS.28 January 2021.
  3. ^Benner, Susanne, Ph.D. (29 January 2021)."Max Planck Institute for Chemistry mourns the loss of Nobel Laureate Paul Crutzen".idw-online.de.{{cite web}}:CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  4. ^abc"Paul J. Crutzen – Facts".NobelPrize.org.Archivedfrom the original on 5 December 2018.
  5. ^"Paul J. Crutzen – Curriculum Vitae".NobelPrize.org.Archivedfrom the original on 18 October 2020.
  6. ^An Interview – Paul Crutzen talks to Harry KrotoFreeview video by the Vega Science Trust.
  7. ^Müller, Rolf (2022)."Paul Jozef Crutzen. 3 December 1933 – 28 January 2021".Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society.72:127–156.doi:10.1098/rsbm.2022.0011.S2CID251743974.
  8. ^"The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1995".
  9. ^abcdefghijkl"Paul J. Crutzen: The engineer and the ozone hole".ESA.int.29 May 2007.Archivedfrom the original on 30 December 2020.
  10. ^Ramanathan, V.;Crutzen, P.J.; Kiehl, J.T.; Rosenfeld, D. (2001). "Aerosols, Climate, and the Hydrological Cycle".Science.294(5549): 2119–2124.Bibcode:2001Sci...294.2119R.CiteSeerX10.1.1.521.1770.doi:10.1126/science.1064034.PMID11739947.S2CID18328444.
  11. ^Ramanathan, V.; Crutzen, P.J.; Lelieveld, J.; Mitra, A.P.; Althausen, D.; et al. (2001)."Indian Ocean Experiment: An integrated analysis of the climate forcing and effects of the great Indo-Asian haze"(PDF).Journal of Geophysical Research.106(D22): 28, 371–28, 398.Bibcode:2001JGR...10628371R.doi:10.1029/2001JD900133.
  12. ^Andreae, M.O.; Crutzen, P.J. (1997). "Atmospheric Aerosols: Biogeochemical Sources and Role in Atmospheric Chemistry".Science.276(5315): 1052–1058.doi:10.1126/science.276.5315.1052.
  13. ^Dentener, F.J.; Carmichael, G.R.; Zhang, Y.; Lelieveld, J.; Crutzen, P.J. (1996)."Role of mineral aerosol as a reactive surface in the global troposphere".Journal of Geophysical Research.101(D17): 22, 869–22, 889.Bibcode:1996JGR...10122869D.doi:10.1029/96jd01818.
  14. ^Crutzen, P.J.; Andreae, M.O. (1990). "Biomass Burning in the Tropics: Impact on Atmospheric Chemistry and Biogeochemical Cycles".Science.250(4988): 1669–1678.Bibcode:1990Sci...250.1669C.doi:10.1126/science.250.4988.1669.PMID17734705.S2CID22162901.
  15. ^Crutzen, P.J.; Birks, J.W. (1982). "The atmosphere after a nuclear war: Twilight at noon".Ambio.11(2/3): 114–125.JSTOR4312777.
  16. ^Crutzen, P.J. (1970)."The influence of nitrogen oxides on the atmospheric content"(PDF).Q. J. R. Meteorol. Soc.96(408): 320–325.doi:10.1002/qj.49709640815.Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 9 August 2017.Retrieved29 April2017.
  17. ^Bekman, Stas."24 Will commercial supersonic aircraft damage the ozone layer?".stason.org.
  18. ^"Scientific Interest of Prof. Dr. Paul J. Crutzen".Mpch-mainz.mpg.de. Archived fromthe originalon 14 October 2008.Retrieved27 October2008.
  19. ^"Atmospheric Chemistry: Start Page".Atmosphere.mpg.de. Archived fromthe originalon 8 November 2008.Retrieved27 October2008.
  20. ^"Obituary Notice, Paul Crutzen, 1933–2021".Scripps Institution of Oceanography. 29 January 2021.Retrieved3 February2021.
  21. ^Choi, Naeun (10 November 2008)."Nobel Prize Winner Paul Crutzen Appointed as SNU Professor".Useoul.edu. Archived fromthe originalon 8 March 2016.Retrieved26 December2008.
  22. ^Keisel, Greg (17 November 1995)."Nobel Prize winner at Tech".The Technique.Archived fromthe originalon 21 July 2011.Retrieved22 May2007.
  23. ^"Catalogus Professorum – Prof Detail".profs.library.uu.nl.Retrieved29 January2021.
  24. ^"repealcreationism.com | 522: Connection timed out".www.repealcreationism.com.
  25. ^"Notable Signers".Humanism and Its Aspirations.American Humanist Association.Retrieved1 October2012.
  26. ^Paul J. Crutzenpublications indexed byGoogle Scholar
  27. ^"Scopus preview – Crutzen, Paul J. – Author details – Scopus".www.scopus.com.Retrieved15 October2021.
  28. ^Schwartz, John (4 February 2021)."Paul Crutzen, Nobel Laureate Who Fought Climate Change, Dies at 87".The New York Times.Retrieved3 March2023.
  29. ^Zalasiewicz, Jan; Williams, Mark; Steffen, Will; Crutzen, Paul (2010). "The New World of the Anthropocene1".Environmental Science & Technology.44(7): 2228–2231.Bibcode:2010EnST...44.2228Z.doi:10.1021/es903118j.hdl:1885/36498.PMID20184359.
  30. ^Steffen, W.; Grinevald, J.; Crutzen, P.; McNeill, J. (2011)."The Anthropocene: conceptual and historical perspectives".Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences.369(1938): 842–867.Bibcode:2011RSPTA.369..842S.doi:10.1098/rsta.2010.0327.ISSN1364-503X.PMID21282150.
  31. ^"Opinion: Have we entered the" Anthropocene "?".IGBP.net.Retrieved24 December2016.
  32. ^Steve Connor (31 July 2006)."Scientist publishes 'escape route' from global warming".The Independent.London. Archived fromthe originalon 23 July 2008.Retrieved27 October2008.
  33. ^Crutzen, Paul J. (August 2006)."Albedo enhancement by stratospheric sulfur injections: a contribution to resolve a policy dilemma?".Climatic Change.77(3–4): 211–219.Bibcode:2006ClCh...77..211C.doi:10.1007/s10584-006-9101-y.
  34. ^Crutzen, P. J.; Mosier, A. R.; Smith, K. A.; Winiwarter, W (2008)."N2O release from agro-biofuel production negates global warming reduction by replacing fossil fuels "(PDF).Atmos. Chem. Phys.8(2): 389–395.Bibcode:2008ACP.....8..389C.doi:10.5194/acp-8-389-2008.
  35. ^Paul J. Crutzen andJohn W. Birks:The atmosphere after a nuclear war: Twilight at noonAmbio,1982 (abstract)
  36. ^Gribbin, John; Butler, Paul (3 March 1990)."Science: A nuclear winter would 'devastate' Australia".NewScientist.com.Archivedfrom the original on 13 April 2016.Retrieved28 January2021.
  37. ^Roylance, Frank D. (23 January 1991)."Burning oil wells could be disaster, Sagan says".baltimoresun.com.
  38. ^abcde"The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1995".NobelPrize.org.Retrieved31 January2021.
  39. ^"Past Laureates".Tyler Prize.
  40. ^"P.J. Crutzen".Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences. Archived fromthe originalon 21 July 2015.
  41. ^"Krutzen P.. – General information"(in Russian).Russian Academy of Sciences.Retrieved1 February2021.
  42. ^"APS Member History".
  43. ^Honorary members– website of the Royal Netherlands Chemical Society
  44. ^"Paul J. Crutzen (1933–2021):: ChemViews Magazine:: ChemistryViews".www.chemistryviews.org.29 January 2021.Retrieved31 January2021.
  45. ^"The Max Planck Institute for Chemistry mourns the loss of its former director and Nobel Laureate Paul J. Crutzen".Max Planck Institute for Chemistry.28 January 2021.Retrieved1 February2021.
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