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Susan Solomon

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Susan Solomon
Susan Solomon
Born1956 (age 67–68)
Chicago, Illinois
CitizenshipUnited States
Alma materB.S. Illinois Institute of Technology, Ph.D. University of California, Berkeley
Known forOzone Studies
AwardsNational Medal of Science, Nobel Peace Prize
Scientific career
FieldsAtmospheric Chemistry
InstitutionsMIT

Susan Solomon (born 1956 in Chicago)[1] is an atmospheric chemist, working for most of her career at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.[2] In 2011, Solomon joined the faculty at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where she serves as the Ellen Swallow Richards Professor of Atmospheric Chemistry & Climate Science.[3] Solomon was one of the first to propose chlorofluorocarbons as the cause of the Antarctic ozone hole.[2]

Solomon is a member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, the European Academy of Sciences, and the French Academy of Sciences.[4]

Biography

Early life

Solomon began her interest in science as a child watching The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau.[1] In high school she placed third in a national science fair, with a project that measured the percent of oxygen in a gas mixture.[1]

Solomon received a bachelor's degree in chemistry from Illinois Institute of Technology in 1977.[5] She received her Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of California, Berkeley in 1981, where she specialized in atmospheric chemistry.[5]

Marriage

Solomon married Barry Sidwell in 1988.[1]

Work

Solomon was formerly the head of the Chemistry and Climate Processes Group of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Chemical Sciences Division until 2011. In 2011, she joined the faculty of the Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Books

The Coldest March: Scott's Fatal Antarctic Expedition, Yale University Press, 2002 ISBN 0-300-09921-5 - Depicts the tale of Captain Robert Falcon Scott's failed 1912 Antarctic expedition, specifically applying the comparison of modern meteorological data with that recorded by Scott's expedition in an attempt to shed new light on the reasons for the demise of Scott's polar party.

The ozone hole

Solomon was chosen to lead the National Ozone Expedition to McMurdo Sound in Antarctica to investigate the hole in the ozone layer in 1986 and another in 1987.[2] Her team discovered higher levels of chlorine oxide than expected in the atmosphere, which had been released by the chlorofluorocarbons.[5]

Solomon also showed that volcanoes could accelerate the reactions caused by chlorofluorocarbons, and so increase the damage to the ozone layer.[5] Her work formed the basis of the U.N. Montreal Protocol, an international agreement to protect the ozone layer by regulating damaging chemicals.[1]

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

Solomon served as a contributing author for the Third Assessment Report[6] and Co-Chair of Working Group 1 for the Fourth Assessment Report[7] of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.[2]

Awards

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f "Mario Molina and Susan Solomon". Environmental Chemistry. Chemical Heritage Foundation. Archived from the original on 2013-02-17. Retrieved 2007-02-20.
  2. ^ a b c d "InterViews". National Academy of Sciences. 2004-07-26. Archived from the original on 2013-02-19. Retrieved 2013-02-17.
  3. ^ "People". Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences website. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Retrieved 2013-2-17. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  4. ^ "Susan Solomon: Pioneering Atmospheric Scientist". Top Tens: History Makers. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 2007-01-05. Archived from the original on 2013-02017. Retrieved 2007-02-20. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |archivedate= (help)
  5. ^ a b c d e "Meet Susan Solomon". Faces in the Environment. Chemical Heritage Foundation. 2001. Retrieved 2007-02-20.
  6. ^ "Climate Change 2001: The Scientific Basis" (pdf). Third Assessment Report. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. 2001. p. 21. Retrieved 2013-2-17. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  7. ^ "Climate Change 2007 The Physical Science Basis" (pdf). Fourth Assessment Report. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. 2007. Retrieved 2013-2-17. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  8. ^ "Laureate 2009". Volvo Environment Prize website. Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, Stockholm, Sweden. Retrieved 03-07-2013. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)

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