Richard Alley Explained

Richard Alley
Birth Name:Richard Blane Alley
Birth Date:1957 8, df=yes
Workplaces:Pennsylvania State University
Thesis Title:Transformations in polar firn
Thesis Url:http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/16148211
Thesis Year:1987
Doctoral Advisor:Charles R. Bentley
Awards:ForMemRS 2014 BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award
Heinz Award with special focus on the Environment (2011)
Roger Revelle Medal (2007)
AGU Fellow (2000)[1]

Richard Blane Alley (born 18 August 1957)[2] is an American geologist and Evan Pugh Professor of Geosciences at Pennsylvania State University. He has authored more than 240 refereed scientific publications about the relationships between Earth's cryosphere and global climate change,[3] and is recognized by the Institute for Scientific Information as a Highly Cited Researcher.[4] [5] [6] [7]

Education

Alley was educated at Ohio State University and University of Wisconsin–Madison, where he was awarded a PhD in 1987.[8]

Research and career

In 1999, Alley was invited to testify about climate change by Vice President Al Gore[9] after his research with Greenland ice cores indicated that the last Ice Age ended abruptly and violently rather than as a result of gradual change.[10] He appeared again before the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation in 2003; before the U.S. House Committee on Science and Technology in 2007;[11] and in 2010.[12] [13]

Alley's 2007 testimony was due to his role as a lead author of "Chapter 4: Observations: Changes in Snow, Ice and Frozen Ground" for the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). He has participated in the joint UN/WMO panel since 1992, having been a contributing author to both the second and third IPCC assessment reports.

Alley has written several papers in the journals Nature and Science,[14] [15] [16] [17] [18] [19] and chaired the National Research Council on Abrupt Climate Change. In 2000, he published the book The Two-Mile Time Machine: Ice Cores, Abrupt Climate Change, and Our Future. He has appeared in numerous climate change-related television documentaries and has given many public presentations and media interviews about the subject.[20] [21] [22] [23]

Alley gave the Bjerknes lecture to the 2009 American Geophysical Union meeting titled "The biggest control knob- Carbon Dioxide in Earth's climate history". A video of the presentation[24] is available (also available on YouTube).

His more recent work has examined ice sheets and the factors that affect "calving", the process by which ice sheets break up.[10] [25]

Awards and honors

Alley was awarded the Seligman Crystal in 2005 "for his prodigious contribution to our understanding of the stability of the ice sheets and glaciers of Antarctica and Greenland, and of erosion and sedimentation by this moving ice."[3] Alley is one of several Penn State earth scientists who are contributors to the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which shared the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize with Al Gore.

In 2005 he was also the first recipient of the Louis Agassiz Medal for his "outstanding and sustained contribution to glaciology and for his effective communication of important scientific issues in the public policy arena". His award citation stated "He is imaginative, sharp and humorous, and remains a thorn in the backside of the Bush administration."[26]

In 2008 Alley was elected to the National Academy of Sciences. He was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2010.[27]

In 2011, he received the 17th Annual Heinz Award with a special focus on the environment.[28] [29]

On 28 April 2014 the National Center for Science Education announced that its first annual Friend of the Planet award had been presented to Alley and Michael E. Mann.[30] He was elected a Foreign Member of the Royal Society (ForMemRS) in the same year, his nomination reads: He won the 2014 BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award in Climate Change category for his “pioneering research” into the “mechanics of ice and its implications for abrupt climate change,” in the words of the jury's citation. He is the 2017 recipient of the Wollaston Medal, which is the highest award given by the Geological Society of London. It is reserved for geologists who have made a significant impact on the field through a substantial body of impactful research.

In 2018, Alley was named the recipient of the Roy Chapman Andrews Society Distinguished Explorer Award.[31] Alley was chosen primarily because of his discoveries advancing the understanding of rapid climate change and the stability of polar climates.

Television series

In addition to his research, Alley has made several appearances on television. On Sunday, April 10, 2011, PBS debuted a special program on climate change, entitled EARTH: The Operators’ Manual,[32] hosted by Alley.[33] The program's aim was to present an objective, accessible assessment of the Earth's problems and possible solutions, with the stated intention of leaving viewers informed, energized and optimistic. The series continued through 2012 on PBS and affiliates. The series is accompanied by a book of the same name, also by Richard Alley.[34] It was published on April 18, 2011. He has also appeared in episodes of the History Channel series Mega Disasters.

External links

Notes and References

  1. 10.1029/00EO00055. 2000EOSTr..81...79.. Newly elected fellows of AGU for 2000. Eos Transactions. 81. 8. 79. 2000. . free.
  2. Alexander E. Gates: Earth Scientists from A to Z, Facts on File, 2003
  3. Web site: Citation for Richard Alley. Penn State College of Earth and Mineral Sciences. 2008-09-30. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20080517035013/http://www.geosc.psu.edu/documents/alley_seligman.pdf. 2008-05-17.
  4. Web site: Alley, Richard B. . . 2008-09-30 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20070519223724/http://hcr3.isiknowledge.com/author.cgi . 19 May 2007 .
  5. https://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=richard+alley Richard Alley publications
  6. Taylor . R. B.. Mayewski . Richard B. Alley. Clark . P. A.. Stuiver. Sowers. T.. Alley. M.. K. C.. P. U. . Holocene climatic instability: A prominent, widespread event 8200 yr ago . . 25. 6 . 483 . 1997 . 10.1130/0091-7613(1997)025<0483:HCIAPW>2.3.CO;2. 1997Geo....25..483A . 55608759.
  7. Abrupt Climate Change . J. M. . Wallace . . 299 . 5615 . 2005–2010 . L. D. . Mar 2003 . 10.1126/science.1081056 . 12663908 . 2003Sci...299.2005A . Alley . R. B. . Marotzke . Talley . J. . Nordhaus . W. D. . Overpeck . J. T. . Peteet . D. M. . Pielke Jr . R. A. . Pierrehumbert . R. T. . Rhines . P. B. . Stocker . T. F. . 19455675 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20170312182619/http://www.ecobb.dancingflames.org/dancingflames/EnvSci/Articles/EnvScipdffiles/Climate%20Models/AbruptClimateChange.pdf . 2017-03-12.
  8. http://www.geosc.psu.edu/academic-faculty/alley-richard Richard Alley
  9. Web site: Guest Speakers. Ursinus College. 2008-09-30. dead. https://archive.today/20120726090650/http://academic.ursinus.edu/ftn/speakers.htm. 2012-07-26.
  10. Roberts . Leslie Carol . The race to understand polar ice sheets . Knowable Magazine . 15 November 2023 . 10.1146/knowable-111423-3. free . 19 December 2023.
  11. Web site: Changes in Ice: The 2007 IPCC Assessment. United States House of Representatives. 2008-09-30. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20080924230501/http://democrats.science.house.gov/Media/File/Commdocs/hearings/2007/full/08feb/alley_testimony.pdf. 2008-09-24.
  12. Web site: The Role of Warming in Melting Ice and Sea-Level Rise, and the Possibility of Abrupt Climate Changes. United States House of Representatives. 2010-12-18. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20101205065640/http://democrats.science.house.gov/Media/file/Commdocs/hearings/2010/Energy/17nov/Alley_Testimony.pdf. 2010-12-05.
  13. 10.1126/science.1114613. 16239468. Ice-Sheet and Sea-Level Changes. Science. 310. 5747. 456–60. 2005. Alley . R. B.. Clark. P. U.. Huybrechts. P. Joughin. I. 2005Sci...310..456A. 37599421.
  14. Web site: Dan and Carole Burack President's Distinguished Lecture Series. University of Vermont. 2008-09-30. https://web.archive.org/web/20110419031417/http://www.uvm.edu/president/DLS/alley.html. 2011-04-19. dead.
  15. 10.1126/science.286.5442.1104. Northern Hemisphere Ice-Sheet Influences on Global Climate Change. Science. 286. 5442. 1104–1111. 1999. Clark . P. U..
  16. 10.1029/97JC00269. The Greenland Ice Sheet Project 2 depth-age scale: Methods and results. Journal of Geophysical Research. 102. C12. 26411–26423. 1997. Meese . D. A.. Gow . A. J.. Alley . R. B.. Zielinski . G. A.. Grootes . P. M.. Ram . M.. Taylor . K. C.. Mayewski . P. A.. Bolzan . J. F. . 1997JGR...10226411M. free.
  17. 10.1029/97JC01283. Validity of the temperature reconstruction from water isotopes in ice cores. Journal of Geophysical Research. 102. C12. 26471–26487. 1997. Jouzel . J.. Alley . R. B.. Cuffey . K. M.. Dansgaard . W.. Grootes . P.. Hoffmann . G.. Johnsen . S. J.. Koster . R. D.. Peel . D.. Shuman . C. A.. Stievenard . M.. Stuiver . M.. White . J. . 1997JGR...10226471J. free.
  18. 10.1126/science.270.5235.455. Large Arctic Temperature Change at the Wisconsin-Holocene Glacial Transition. Science. 270. 5235. 455. 1995. Cuffey . K. M.. Clow . G. D.. Alley . R. B.. Stuiver . M.. Waddington . E. D.. Saltus . R. W.. 1995Sci...270..455C. 176515556.
  19. 10.1126/science.263.5154.1747. Changes in Atmospheric Circulation and Ocean Ice Cover over the North Atlantic During the Last 41,000 Years. Science. 263. 5154. 1747–51. 1994. Mayewski . P. A.. Meeker . L. D.. Whitlow . S.. Twickler . M. S.. Morrison . M. C.. Bloomfield . P.. Bond . G. C.. Alley . R. B.. Gow . A. J.. Meese . D. A.. Grootes . P. M.. Ram . M.. Taylor . K. C.. Wumkes . W. . 17795382. 1994Sci...263.1747M. 25037993.
  20. Book: Richard Alley. EARTH: The Operators' Manual. April 18, 2011. W. W. Norton & Company. 978-0-393-08109-1. registration.
  21. Book: Richard Alley. The Two-Mile Time Machine: Ice Cores, Abrupt Climate Change, and Our Future. July 1, 2002. Princeton University Press. 978-0-691-10296-2.
  22. Book: Richard Alley. Robert Bindschadler. Robert Bindschadler. The West Antarctic Ice Sheet: Behavior and Environment (Antarctic Research Series). September 2000. American Geophysical Union. 978-0-87590-957-8.
  23. Book: Richard Alley. Rocking the parks: Geological stories of the national parks. Kendall/Hunt Pub. Co. 1999. 978-0-7872-5706-4 .
  24. Web site: Richard Alley lecture to the 2009 AGU "The biggest control knob- Carbon Dioxide in Earth's climate history" . American Geophysical Union. 2010-12-28.
  25. Alley . R.B. . Cuffey . K.M. . Bassis . J.N. . Alley . K.E. . Wang . S. . Parizek . B.R. . Anandakrishnan . S. . Christianson . K. . DeConto . R.M. . Iceberg Calving: Regimes and Transitions . Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences . 30 May 2023 . 51 . 1 . 189–215 . 10.1146/annurev-earth-032320-110916 . en . 0084-6597. free . 2023AREPS..51..189A .
  26. Web site: EGU Louis Agassiz Medallist 2006. European Geosciences Union. 2008-09-28.
  27. Web site: Book of Members, 1780-2010: Chapter A. American Academy of Arts and Sciences. 15 April 2011.
  28. Web site: The Heinz Awards: Richard Alley. The Heinz Awards. August 26, 2016.
  29. News: Kalson . Sally . PSU professor's climate work wins 1 of 9 Heinz Awards . . 2011-09-13 . 2013-05-17.
  30. Web site: Friend of Darwin and Friend of the Planet awards for 2014 . . 28 April 2014 . 28 April 2014 .
  31. Web site: 2018 Roy Chapman Andrews Society Distinguished Explorer Award . Roy Chapman Andrews Society.
  32. Web site: EARTH: The Operators' Manual : PBS. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20110413162440/http://pbs.org/programs/earth-the-operators-manual. 2011-04-13. PBS.
  33. Web site: Host Richard Alley | Earth: The Operators' Manual.
  34. Web site: Products | Earth: The Operators' Manual.

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