Hans Oeschger
Encyclopedia
Professor Hans Oeschger was the founder of the Division of Climate and Environmental Physics at the Physics Institute of the University of Bern in 1963 and director until his retirement in 1992.
Oeschger was the first to date the "age" of Pacific deep water. The Oeschger counter was the leading instrument for many years which enabled the Oeschger's team to measure the activity of naturally occurring radioisotopes (3H, 14C, 26Al, 37Ar, 39Ar, 81Kr, 85Kr).
Oeschger was a pioneer and leader in ice core research. In collaboration with his colleagues he was the first to measure the glacial-interglacial change of atmospheric . They showed in 1979 that the atmospheric concentration of during the glacial was almost 50% lower than today.
Together with his colleagues Chester C. Langway and Willi Dansgaard
, he documented a series of abrupt climate change
s in the Greenland
ice core
s now known as Dansgaard-Oeschger events.
Hans Oeschger was deeply troubled by the potential of an increased greenhouse effect
caused by the steady increase of atmospheric . He said: “The worst for me would be, if there were serious changes in the next 5 to 10 years and we scientists are helpless and did not have the courage to point at these dangerous developments early.”
He was a Lead Author of the First Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
.
The European Geophysical Society established the Hans Oeschger Medal in his honour in 2001 http://www.copernicus.org/EGU/awards/hans_oeschger_overview.html.
The centre of excellence for climate research at the University of Bern (Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research http://www.oeschger.unibe.ch/index_en.html), which was founded in 2007, is named after Hans Oeschger.
Oeschger was the first to date the "age" of Pacific deep water. The Oeschger counter was the leading instrument for many years which enabled the Oeschger's team to measure the activity of naturally occurring radioisotopes (3H, 14C, 26Al, 37Ar, 39Ar, 81Kr, 85Kr).
Oeschger was a pioneer and leader in ice core research. In collaboration with his colleagues he was the first to measure the glacial-interglacial change of atmospheric . They showed in 1979 that the atmospheric concentration of during the glacial was almost 50% lower than today.
Together with his colleagues Chester C. Langway and Willi Dansgaard
Willi Dansgaard
Willi Dansgaard was a Danish paleoclimatologist. He was Professor Emeritus of Geophysics at the University of Copenhagen and a member of the Royal Danish Academy of Science and Letters, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, the Icelandic Academy of Sciences, and the Danish Geophysical Society.-...
, he documented a series of abrupt climate change
Abrupt climate change
An abrupt climate change occurs when the climate system is forced to transition to a new state at a rate that is determined by the climate system itself, and which is more rapid than the rate of change of the external forcing...
s in the Greenland
Greenland
Greenland is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark, located between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Though physiographically a part of the continent of North America, Greenland has been politically and culturally associated with Europe for...
ice core
Ice core
An ice core is a core sample that is typically removed from an ice sheet, most commonly from the polar ice caps of Antarctica, Greenland or from high mountain glaciers elsewhere. As the ice forms from the incremental build up of annual layers of snow, lower layers are older than upper, and an ice...
s now known as Dansgaard-Oeschger events.
Hans Oeschger was deeply troubled by the potential of an increased greenhouse effect
Greenhouse effect
The greenhouse effect is a process by which thermal radiation from a planetary surface is absorbed by atmospheric greenhouse gases, and is re-radiated in all directions. Since part of this re-radiation is back towards the surface, energy is transferred to the surface and the lower atmosphere...
caused by the steady increase of atmospheric . He said: “The worst for me would be, if there were serious changes in the next 5 to 10 years and we scientists are helpless and did not have the courage to point at these dangerous developments early.”
He was a Lead Author of the First Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is a scientific intergovernmental body which provides comprehensive assessments of current scientific, technical and socio-economic information worldwide about the risk of climate change caused by human activity, its potential environmental and...
.
The European Geophysical Society established the Hans Oeschger Medal in his honour in 2001 http://www.copernicus.org/EGU/awards/hans_oeschger_overview.html.
The centre of excellence for climate research at the University of Bern (Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research http://www.oeschger.unibe.ch/index_en.html), which was founded in 2007, is named after Hans Oeschger.
Awards
- Urey Medal, 1987
- Seligman Crystal, 1991
- Marcel-Benoist Prize, 1991
- Tyler Prize for Environmental AchievementTyler Prize for Environmental AchievementThe Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement is an award for environmental science, environmental health and energy. Tyler Laureates receive a $200,000 annual prize and a gold medallion...
, 1996 - Revelle Medal of the American Geophysical UnionAmerican Geophysical UnionThe American Geophysical Union is a nonprofit organization of geophysicists, consisting of over 50,000 members from over 135 countries. AGU's activities are focused on the organization and dissemination of scientific information in the interdisciplinary and international field of geophysics...
, 1997