Paul J. Crutzen

Paul Jozef Crutzen (Dutch pronunciation: [pʌul ˈjoːzəf ˈkrɵtsə(n)]; 3 December 1933 – 28 January 2021)[2][3] was a Dutch meteorologist and atmospheric chemist.[4][5][6] He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1995 for his work on atmospheric chemistry and specifically for his efforts in studying the formation and decomposition of atmospheric ozone. In addition to studying the ozone layer and climate change, he popularized the term Anthropocene to describe a proposed new era when human actions have a drastic effect on the Earth. He was also amongst the first few scientists to introduce the idea of a nuclear winter to 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 May 2010
Born
Paul Jozef Crutzen

(1933-12-03)3 December 1933
Amsterdam, Netherlands
Died28 January 2021(2021-01-28) (aged 87)
Mainz, Germany
CitizenshipDutch
Alma materUniversity of Stockholm
Known forResearch on ozone hole
Anthropocene term
Awards
Scientific career
Fields
InstitutionsUniversity of Stockholm
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
Colorado State University
Max Planck Institute for Chemistry
Scripps Institution of Oceanography
ThesisDetermination of parameters appearing in the "dry" and the "wet" photochemical theories for ozone in the stratosphere. (1968)
Doctoral advisorBert Bolin
Georg Witt
Doctoral studentsJohannes Lelieveld
Deliang Chen
Websitewww.mpic.de/3864489/paul-crutzen

He was a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences and an elected foreign member of the Royal Society in the United Kingdom.

Early life and education

Crutzen was born in Amsterdam, the son of Anna (Gurk) and Josef Crutzen.[7] In September 1940, the same year Germany invaded The Netherlands, Crutzen entered his first year of elementary school. After many delays and school switches caused by events in the war, Crutzen graduated from elementary school and moved onto "Hogere Burgerschool" (Higher Citizens School) in 1946, where he became fluent in French, English, and German. Along with languages he also focused on natural sciences in this school, from which he graduated in 1951. After this he entered a technical school where he studied Civil Engineering, fulfilled his military service, and married his wife. In 1958, he moved his young family to Gävle.[8]

Research and career

Crutzen conducted research primarily in atmospheric chemistry.[9][10][11][12][13][14] He is best known for his research on ozone depletion. In 1970[15] he pointed out that emissions of nitrous oxide (N
2O), 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 hundred Boeing 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.[16]

He listed his main research interests as "Stratospheric and tropospheric chemistry, and their role in the biogeochemical cycles and climate".[17] Since 1980, he worked at the Department of Atmospheric Chemistry at the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry,[18] in Mainz, Germany; the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California, San Diego;[19] and at Seoul National University,[20] South Korea. He was also a long-time adjunct professor at Georgia Institute of Technology and research professor at the department of Meteorology at Stockholm University, Sweden.[21] From 1997 to 2002 he was professor Aeronomy at the department of Physics and Astronomy at Utrecht University. [22]

He co-signed a letter from over 70 Nobel laureate scientists to the Louisiana Legislature supporting the repeal of that U.S. state's creationism law, the Louisiana Science Education Act.[23] In 2003 he was one of 22 Nobel laureates who signed the Humanist Manifesto.[24]

Anthropocene
Main article: Anthropocene

One of Crutzen's research interests was the Anthropocene.[25][26] In 2000, in IGBP Newsletter 41, Crutzen and Eugene F. Stoermer, to emphasize the central role of mankind in geology and ecology, proposed using the term anthropocene for 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 CO2 and CH4. Such a starting date also coincides with James Watt's invention of the steam engine in 1784.[27]

Geoengineering (Climate intervention)

Steve Connor, Science Editor of The 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 journal Climatic Change, he says that an "escape route" is needed if global warming begins to run out of control.[28]

Crutzen advocated for climate engineering solutions, including artificially cooling the global climate by releasing particles of sulphur in 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.[29]

In January 2008, Crutzen published findings that the release of nitrous oxide (N
2O) emissions in the production of biofuels means that they contribute more to global warming than the fossil fuels they replace.[30]

Nuclear winter

Crutzen was also a leader in promoting the theory of nuclear winter. Together with John Birks he wrote the first publication introducing the subject: The atmosphere after a nuclear war: Twilight at noon (1982).[31] 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.[32]

In a Baltimore Sun newspaper article printed in January 1991, along with his nuclear winter colleagues, Crutzen hypothesized that the climatic effects of the Kuwait oil fires would result in "significant" nuclear winter-like effects; continental-sized effects of sub-freezing temperatures.[33]

Awards and honours

Crutzen, Mario J. Molina, and F. Sherwood Rowland were awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 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

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 by the name of Ilona. In March 1964, the couple had another daughter, Sylvia.[4]

Crutzen died aged 87 on 28 January 2021.[40]

References
  1. "Professor Paul Crutzen ForMemRS: Foreign Member". London: Royal Society. Archived from the original on 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.
  4. "Paul J. Crutzen - Facts". NobelPrize.org. Archived from the original on 5 December 2018.
  5. "Paul J. Crutzen - Curriculum Vitae". NobelPrize.org. Archived from the original on 18 October 2020.
  6. An Interview - Paul Crutzen talks to Harry Kroto Freeview video by the Vega Science Trust.
  7. https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/chemistry/1995/crutzen/biographical/
  8. "Paul J. Crutzen: The engineer and the ozone hole". ESA.int. 29 May 2007. Archived from the original on 30 December 2020.
  9. 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. CiteSeerX 10.1.1.521.1770. doi:10.1126/science.1064034. PMID 11739947. S2CID 18328444.
  10. 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.
  11. 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.
  12. 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.
  13. 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. PMID 17734705. S2CID 22162901.
  14. Crutzen, P.J.; Birks, J.W. (1982). "The atmosphere after a nuclear war: Twilight at noon". AMBIO. 11 (2/3): 114–125. JSTOR 4312777.
  15. 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 from the original (PDF) on 9 August 2017. Retrieved 29 April 2017.
  16. stason.org, Stas Bekman: stas (at). "24 Will commercial supersonic aircraft damage the ozone layer?". stason.org.
  17. "Scientific Interest of Prof. Dr. Paul J. Crutzen". Mpch-mainz.mpg.de. Archived from the original on 14 October 2008. Retrieved 27 October 2008.
  18. "Atmospheric Chemistry: Start Page". Atmosphere.mpg.de. Archived from the original on 8 November 2008. Retrieved 27 October 2008.
  19. "Obituary Notice, Paul Crutzen, 1933-2021". Scripps Institution of Oceanography. Retrieved 3 February 2021.
  20. Choi, Naeun (10 November 2008). "Nobel Prize Winner Paul Crutzen Appointed as SNU Professor". Useoul.edu. Archived from the original on 8 March 2016. Retrieved 26 December 2008.
  21. Keisel, Greg (17 November 1995). "Nobel Prize winner at Tech". The Technique. Archived from the original on 21 July 2011. Retrieved 22 May 2007.
  22. "Catalogus Professorum - Prof Detail". profs.library.uu.nl. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
  23. "repealcreationism.com | 522: Connection timed out". www.repealcreationism.com.
  24. "Notable Signers". Humanism and Its Aspirations. American Humanist Association. Retrieved 1 October 2012.
  25. 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. PMID 20184359.
  26. 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. ISSN 1364-503X. PMID 21282150.
  27. "Opinion: Have we entered the "Anthropocene"?". IGBP.net. Retrieved 24 December 2016.
  28. Steve Connor (31 July 2006). "Scientist publishes 'escape route' from global warming". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 23 July 2008. Retrieved 27 October 2008.
  29. 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.
  30. 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.
  31. Paul J. Crutzen and John W. Birks: The atmosphere after a nuclear war: Twilight at noon AMBIO, 1982 (abstract)
  32. Gribbin, John; Butler, Paul (3 March 1990). "Science: A nuclear winter would 'devastate' Australia". NewScientist.com. Archived from the original on 13 April 2016. Retrieved 28 January 2021.
  33. Roylance, Frank D. "Burning oil wells could be disaster, Sagan says". baltimoresun.com.
  34. "The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1995". NobelPrize.org. Retrieved 31 January 2021.
  35. "Past Laureates". Tyler Prize.
  36. "P.J. Crutzen". Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on 21 July 2015.
  37. "Krutzen P .. - General information" (in Russian). Russian Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
  38. Honorary members - website of the Royal Netherlands Chemical Society
  39. "Paul J. Crutzen (1933 – 2021) :: ChemViews Magazine :: ChemistryViews". www.chemistryviews.org. Retrieved 31 January 2021.
  40. "The Max Planck Institute for Chemistry mourns the loss of its former director and Nobel Laureate Paul J. Crutzen". Max Plank Institute for Chemistry. 28 January 2021. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
  • Paul J. Crutzen on Nobelprize.org including the Nobel Lecture, 8 December 1995 My Life with O3, NOx and Other YZOxs
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