Biography

Mahlman received his undergraduate degree from Chadron State College

Chadron State College

Chadron State College is a four-year public college in the Nebraska State College System in Chadron, Nebraska. The college is located in the northern part of the Nebraska Panhandle, in the Pine Ridge area....

 in 1962 and his Ph.D. from Colorado State University

Colorado State University

Colorado State University is a public research university located in Fort Collins, Colorado. The university is the state's land grant university, and the flagship university of the Colorado State University System.The enrollment is approximately 29,932 students, including resident and...

 in 1967. From 1970 until 2000 he worked at the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory

Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory

The Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory is a laboratory in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration /Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research . The current director is Dr. V...

 of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration at Princeton

Princeton, New Jersey

Princeton is a community located in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States. It is best known as the location of Princeton University, which has been sited in the community since 1756...

, serving as director from 1984-2000. He is currently a Senior Research Associate at the National Center for Atmospheric Research

National Center for Atmospheric Research

The National Center for Atmospheric Research has multiple facilities, including the I. M. Pei-designed Mesa Laboratory headquarters in Boulder, Colorado. NCAR is managed by the nonprofit University Corporation for Atmospheric Research and sponsored by the National Science Foundation...

.

Mahlman was a pioneer in the use of computational models of the atmosphere to examine the interactions between atmospheric chemistry and physics. His early work focussed on understanding the distribution of fallout from atmospheric nuclear bomb tests. He then became interested in the physics of transport in the stratosphere

Stratosphere

The stratosphere is the second major layer of Earth's atmosphere, just above the troposphere, and below the mesosphere. It is stratified in temperature, with warmer layers higher up and cooler layers farther down. This is in contrast to the troposphere near the Earth's surface, which is cooler...

, in which mixing is relatively weak and parcels of air can be tracked for long periods of time. At the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory

Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory

The Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory is a laboratory in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration /Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research . The current director is Dr. V...

 Mahlman collaborated with Syukoro Manabe to develop dynamical models of the stratospheric circulation that demonstrated the importance of meanders in the polar jet stream for producing exchange between the polar and subtropical stratosphere. He then worked to extend these models to include the chemistry of nitrous oxide and ozone. While Mahlman was skeptical of early work that suggested that chloroflourocarbons were responsible for depleting the ozone layer, measurements of high levels of free chlorine in the ozone hole caused him to change his mind in late 1987, and he later was one of the first to sound the alarm about ozone depletion over the Arctic.

As director of the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory

Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory

The Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory is a laboratory in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration /Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research . The current director is Dr. V...

, became involved in interpreting the results of computer models of global warming

Global warming

Global warming refers to the rising average temperature of Earth's atmosphere and oceans and its projected continuation. In the last 100 years, Earth's average surface temperature increased by about with about two thirds of the increase occurring over just the last three decades...

 for the public and policymakers.
On global warming

Global warming

Global warming refers to the rising average temperature of Earth's atmosphere and oceans and its projected continuation. In the last 100 years, Earth's average surface temperature increased by about with about two thirds of the increase occurring over just the last three decades...

, he said in 2004 http://commerce.senate.gov/hearings/testimony.cfm?id=1080&wit_id=2925:

Global warming is real and is a phenomenon that humans have created. Climate scientists worldwide have understood its essence since the so-called "Charney Report" of the National Research Council 25 years ago. Our burning of fossil fuels (coal, oil, and natural gas) is the indisputably direct cause of the ever-increasing concentrations of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. This added carbon dioxide acts directly to warm the planet. There is no scientific controversy about these facts. The eventual warming amounts for Earth are expected to be substantial, but with some remaining uncertainty concerning how much warming we will receive for given scenarios of future amounts of carbon dioxide, and other "greenhouse" gases... A doubling of atmospheric carbon dioxide amounts is expected to occur within this century... Another 3-6 degrees Fahrenheit global warming is expected to occur this century, with continued warming thereafter... Tropical storms are expected on average to have stronger winds, and much more rain... I do, however, believe that it is scientists' obligation to communicate the science of global warming, including its remaining uncertainties, to leaders and stakeholders, worldwide. I would also argue that it is our responsibility to offer our science-based perspectives on the available policy options, as well as their strengths and weaknesses.

Mahlman has received numerous awards and honor, including the Carl-Gustaf Rossby Research Medal

Carl-Gustaf Rossby Research Medal

The Carl-Gustaf Rossby Research Medal is the highest award for atmospheric science of the American Meteorological Society. It is presented to individual scientists, who receive a medal...

 of the American Meteorology Society.

External links

• CV
• Senate testimony on Climate Change, 2004
• Review of The Skeptical Environmentalist
  The Skeptical Environmentalist
  The Skeptical Environmentalist: Measuring the Real State of the World is a book by Danish environmentalist author Bjørn Lomborg, controversial for its claims that overpopulation, declining energy resources, deforestation, species loss, water shortages, certain aspects of global warming, and an...
  
  (follow link)
• A CONVERSATION WITH JERRY MAHLMAN - Listening to the Climate Models, and Trying to Wake Up the World
• Interview: Straight talk about climate change. Jerry Mahlman on dealing with your grandkids' problem