Veerabhadran Ramanathan
Encyclopedia
Veerabhadran Ramanathan is Victor Alderson Professor of Applied Ocean Sciences and director of the Center for Atmospheric Sciences at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography
, University of California, San Diego
. He has contributed to many areas of the atmospheric sciences including developments to general circulation models, atmospheric chemistry, and radiative transfer
. He has been a part of major projects such as the Indian Ocean Experiment and the Earth Radiation Budget Experiment, and is known for his contributions to the area of atmospheric aerosol research. He has received numerous awards, and is a member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences. He has spoken about the topic of global warming
, and written that "the effect of greenhouse gases on global warming is, in my opinion, the most important environmental issue facing the world today."
, India. At the age of 11, he moved with his family to Bangalore
. Unfortunately, the classes at the school he attended were taught in English, and not his native Tamil
. He admits that he "lost the habit of listening to my teachers and had to figure out things on my own". He received his bachelors degree in engineering from Annamalai University
, and a masters degree from the Indian Institute of Science
. In 1970, he arrived in the United States to study interferometry
at the State University of New York at Stony Brook
under the direction of Robert Cess. Before Ramanathan could begin working on his Ph.D. research, Cess decided to change his research and focus on planetary atmospheres.
Ramanathan has contributed to many areas of the atmospheric sciences. His first major findings were in the mid-1970s and were related to the greenhouse effect
of CFCs and other trace gases Until that time, carbon dioxide
was thought to be the sole greenhouse gas
responsible for global warming
. He also contributed to the early development of global circulation models and the detecting and attribution of climate change.
His focus then shifted to the radiative effects of clouds on the climate. This was done using the Earth Radiation Budget Experiment (ERBE), which showed that clouds have a large cooling effect on the planet. ERBE was also able to measure the greenhouse effect without the use of climate models.
Recently, he has published on the aerosol
radiative properties. His work has shown that aerosols have a cooling effect on the surface of the planet, and at the top of the atmosphere, but the forcing at the top of the atmosphere was only one-third the magnitude as the surface forcing. This has implications for the hydrologic cycle. While working on the Central Equatorial Pacific Experiment, he discovered that absorbing black carbonaceous aerosols have a larger influence on climate than previously thought, which led to the development of the Indian Ocean Experiment (INDOEX). In the 1990s, he led the Indian Ocean Experiment with Paul Crutzen and discovered the widespread existence of atmospheric brown clouds
covering much of the Indian Ocean region. They found that the vast majority of the aerosols were anthropogenic in origin, and that the surface cooling caused by the aerosols is more important than the atmospheric heating. These atmospheric brown clouds may have masked as much as 50% of the surface heating caused by the increase in carbon dioxide, and caused reduced precipitation during the Indian monsoon.
Ramanathan is also interested in the impact of climate change on agriculture
in India
. While atmospheric brown clouds partially offset the warming due from carbon dioxide, their effect on agriculture has been less certain. A statistical rice model couple to a regional climate model has shown that reductions of both carbon dioxide and atmospheric brown clouds will increase crop yield.
He has also written on avoiding dangerous anthropogenic climate change
. Ramanathan writes that there are several tipping points
in the climate system, and that they do not all occur at the same temperature threshold; the tipping point for the arctic summer sea ice is likely to be smaller than that for the West Antarctic Ice Sheet
. While the planet has seen an observed warming of 0.6°C since pre-industrial times, it has already most likely committed itself to 2.4°C (1.4°C to 4.3°C) of warming. These values surpass several of the tipping point thresholds.
with Balakrishnan on a potential project that will reduce air pollution and global warming. Project Surya, which means Sun in Sanskrit
, will use inexpensive solar cooker
s in rural India, and document the reductions in carbon dioxide and soot emissions. The byproducts of biofuel cooking and biomass burning are significant contributors to global warming, and the expanded use of renewable energy is expected to decrease their effects.
The burning of solid fuels causes substantial health risks as well. An estimated 440,000 deaths per year are attributed to unsanitary food preparation techniques due to aerosol exposure. Over 3 billion people cook and heat their home by burning biomass such as wood
and feces
. The project, costing an estimated $4.5 million, will buy 3,500 cookers and impact up to 15,000 people. As of November 2008, the project has not been funded.
Project Surya was soft launched in March 2009. Each household in the village of Khairatpur, Uttar Pradesh
received a biomass cook stoves and a solar lamp. Surya has since received $150,000 in funding from UNEP.
. He is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science
, American Meteorological Society
, American Geophysical Union
, and American Academy of Arts and Sciences
. In 1995, the Royal Netherlands Academy of Sciences awarded him the Buys Ballot Medal
"... for outstanding scientific work in the science of atmosphere over the last decade or two." In 2002, he was awarded the Carl-Gustaf Rossby Research Medal
, "... for fundamental insights into the radiative roles of clouds, aerosols and key gases in the Earth's climate system." And he was elected a member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences in 2002 "... for fundamental contributions to our modern understanding of global climate change and human impacts on climate and environment", an Academician of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences
in 2004 and a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
in 2008.
Scripps Institution of Oceanography
Scripps Institution of Oceanography in La Jolla, California, is one of the oldest and largest centers for ocean and earth science research, graduate training, and public service in the world...
, University of California, San Diego
University of California, San Diego
The University of California, San Diego, commonly known as UCSD or UC San Diego, is a public research university located in the La Jolla neighborhood of San Diego, California, United States...
. He has contributed to many areas of the atmospheric sciences including developments to general circulation models, atmospheric chemistry, and radiative transfer
Radiative transfer
Radiative transfer is the physical phenomenon of energy transfer in the form of electromagnetic radiation. The propagation of radiation through a medium is affected by absorption, emission and scattering processes. The equation of radiative transfer describes these interactions mathematically...
. He has been a part of major projects such as the Indian Ocean Experiment and the Earth Radiation Budget Experiment, and is known for his contributions to the area of atmospheric aerosol research. He has received numerous awards, and is a member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences. He has spoken about the topic 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...
, and written that "the effect of greenhouse gases on global warming is, in my opinion, the most important environmental issue facing the world today."
Background and education
Ramanathan was born in MaduraiMadurai
Madurai is the third largest city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. It served as the capital city of the Pandyan Kingdom. It is the administrative headquarters of Madurai District and is famous for its temples built by Pandyan and...
, India. At the age of 11, he moved with his family to Bangalore
Bangalore
Bengaluru , formerly called Bengaluru is the capital of the Indian state of Karnataka. Bangalore is nicknamed the Garden City and was once called a pensioner's paradise. Located on the Deccan Plateau in the south-eastern part of Karnataka, Bangalore is India's third most populous city and...
. Unfortunately, the classes at the school he attended were taught in English, and not his native Tamil
Tamil language
Tamil is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. It has official status in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and in the Indian union territory of Pondicherry. Tamil is also an official language of Sri Lanka and Singapore...
. He admits that he "lost the habit of listening to my teachers and had to figure out things on my own". He received his bachelors degree in engineering from Annamalai University
Annamalai University
Annamalai University is a Public University located in Annamalai Nagar, Chidambaram, Tamil Nadu, India. The university offers courses of higher education in arts, sciences and engineering.The university also provides around 380 courses under distance mode...
, and a masters degree from the Indian Institute of Science
Indian Institute of Science
Indian Institute of Science is a research institution of higher learning located in Bangalore, India. It was established in 1909.-History:After a chance meeting between Jamsetji N...
. In 1970, he arrived in the United States to study interferometry
Interferometry
Interferometry refers to a family of techniques in which electromagnetic waves are superimposed in order to extract information about the waves. An instrument used to interfere waves is called an interferometer. Interferometry is an important investigative technique in the fields of astronomy,...
at the State University of New York at Stony Brook
State University of New York at Stony Brook
The State University of New York at Stony Brook, also known as Stony Brook University, is a public research university located in Stony Brook, New York, on the North Shore of Long Island, about east of Manhattan....
under the direction of Robert Cess. Before Ramanathan could begin working on his Ph.D. research, Cess decided to change his research and focus on planetary atmospheres.
Research and publications
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...
of CFCs and other trace gases Until that time, carbon dioxide
Carbon dioxide
Carbon dioxide is a naturally occurring chemical compound composed of two oxygen atoms covalently bonded to a single carbon atom...
was thought to be the sole greenhouse gas
Greenhouse gas
A greenhouse gas is a gas in an atmosphere that absorbs and emits radiation within the thermal infrared range. This process is the fundamental cause of the greenhouse effect. The primary greenhouse gases in the Earth's atmosphere are water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and ozone...
responsible for 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 also contributed to the early development of global circulation models and the detecting and attribution of climate change.
His focus then shifted to the radiative effects of clouds on the climate. This was done using the Earth Radiation Budget Experiment (ERBE), which showed that clouds have a large cooling effect on the planet. ERBE was also able to measure the greenhouse effect without the use of climate models.
Recently, he has published on the aerosol
Aerosol
Technically, an aerosol is a suspension of fine solid particles or liquid droplets in a gas. Examples are clouds, and air pollution such as smog and smoke. In general conversation, aerosol usually refers to an aerosol spray can or the output of such a can...
radiative properties. His work has shown that aerosols have a cooling effect on the surface of the planet, and at the top of the atmosphere, but the forcing at the top of the atmosphere was only one-third the magnitude as the surface forcing. This has implications for the hydrologic cycle. While working on the Central Equatorial Pacific Experiment, he discovered that absorbing black carbonaceous aerosols have a larger influence on climate than previously thought, which led to the development of the Indian Ocean Experiment (INDOEX). In the 1990s, he led the Indian Ocean Experiment with Paul Crutzen and discovered the widespread existence of atmospheric brown clouds
Aerosol
Technically, an aerosol is a suspension of fine solid particles or liquid droplets in a gas. Examples are clouds, and air pollution such as smog and smoke. In general conversation, aerosol usually refers to an aerosol spray can or the output of such a can...
covering much of the Indian Ocean region. They found that the vast majority of the aerosols were anthropogenic in origin, and that the surface cooling caused by the aerosols is more important than the atmospheric heating. These atmospheric brown clouds may have masked as much as 50% of the surface heating caused by the increase in carbon dioxide, and caused reduced precipitation during the Indian monsoon.
Ramanathan is also interested in the impact of climate change on agriculture
Climate change and agriculture
Climate change and agriculture are interrelated processes, both of which take place on a global scale. Global warming is projected to have significant impacts on conditions affecting agriculture, including temperature, carbon dioxide, glacial run-off, precipitation and the interaction of these...
in India
Global warming in India
The effects of global warming on the Indian subcontinent vary from the submergence of low-lying islands and coastal lands to the melting of glaciers in the Indian Himalayas, threatening the volumetric flow rate of many of the most important rivers of India and South Asia. In India, such effects are...
. While atmospheric brown clouds partially offset the warming due from carbon dioxide, their effect on agriculture has been less certain. A statistical rice model couple to a regional climate model has shown that reductions of both carbon dioxide and atmospheric brown clouds will increase crop yield.
He has also written on avoiding dangerous anthropogenic climate change
Avoiding Dangerous Climate Change
The related terms "avoiding dangerous climate change" and "preventing dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system" date to 1995 and earlier, in the Second Assesment Report of the International Panel on Climate Change and previous science it cites.In 2002, the United Nations...
. Ramanathan writes that there are several tipping points
Tipping point (climatology)
A climate tipping point is a point when global climate changes from one stable state to another stable state, in a similar manner to a wine glass tipping over. After the tipping point has been passed, a transition to a new state occurs...
in the climate system, and that they do not all occur at the same temperature threshold; the tipping point for the arctic summer sea ice is likely to be smaller than that for the West Antarctic Ice Sheet
West Antarctic Ice Sheet
The West Antarctic Ice Sheet is the segment of the continental ice sheet that covers West Antarctica, the portion of Antarctica on the side of the Transantarctic Mountains which lies in the Western Hemisphere. The WAIS is classified as a marine-based ice sheet, meaning that its bed lies well...
. While the planet has seen an observed warming of 0.6°C since pre-industrial times, it has already most likely committed itself to 2.4°C (1.4°C to 4.3°C) of warming. These values surpass several of the tipping point thresholds.
Project Surya
In March 2007, Ramanathan wrote a white paperWhite paper
A white paper is an authoritative report or guide that helps solve a problem. White papers are used to educate readers and help people make decisions, and are often requested and used in politics, policy, business, and technical fields. In commercial use, the term has also come to refer to...
with Balakrishnan on a potential project that will reduce air pollution and global warming. Project Surya, which means Sun in Sanskrit
Sanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
, will use inexpensive solar cooker
Solar cooker
A solar cooker, or solar oven, is a device which uses the energy of sunlight to heat food or drink to cook it or sterilize it. High-tech versions, for example electric ovens powered by solar cells, are possible, and have some advantages such as being able to work in diffuse light. However at...
s in rural India, and document the reductions in carbon dioxide and soot emissions. The byproducts of biofuel cooking and biomass burning are significant contributors to global warming, and the expanded use of renewable energy is expected to decrease their effects.
The burning of solid fuels causes substantial health risks as well. An estimated 440,000 deaths per year are attributed to unsanitary food preparation techniques due to aerosol exposure. Over 3 billion people cook and heat their home by burning biomass such as wood
Wood
Wood is a hard, fibrous tissue found in many trees. It has been used for hundreds of thousands of years for both fuel and as a construction material. It is an organic material, a natural composite of cellulose fibers embedded in a matrix of lignin which resists compression...
and feces
Feces
Feces, faeces, or fæces is a waste product from an animal's digestive tract expelled through the anus or cloaca during defecation.-Etymology:...
. The project, costing an estimated $4.5 million, will buy 3,500 cookers and impact up to 15,000 people. As of November 2008, the project has not been funded.
Project Surya was soft launched in March 2009. Each household in the village of Khairatpur, Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh abbreviation U.P. , is a state located in the northern part of India. With a population of over 200 million people, it is India's most populous state, as well as the world's most populous sub-national entity...
received a biomass cook stoves and a solar lamp. Surya has since received $150,000 in funding from UNEP.
Honors and awards
Ramanathan is an ISI highly cited researcherISI highly cited researcher
ISI Highly Cited is a database of "highly cited researchers"—scientific researchers whose publications are most often cited in academic journals over the past decade, published by the Institute for Scientific Information...
. He is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science
American Association for the Advancement of Science
The American Association for the Advancement of Science is an international non-profit organization with the stated goals of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific responsibility, and supporting scientific education and science outreach for the...
, American Meteorological Society
American Meteorological Society
The American Meteorological Society promotes the development and dissemination of information and education on the atmospheric and related oceanic and hydrologic sciences and the advancement of their professional applications. Founded in 1919, the American Meteorological Society has a membership...
, American Geophysical Union
American Geophysical Union
The 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...
, and American Academy of Arts and Sciences
American Academy of Arts and Sciences
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences is an independent policy research center that conducts multidisciplinary studies of complex and emerging problems. The Academy’s elected members are leaders in the academic disciplines, the arts, business, and public affairs.James Bowdoin, John Adams, and...
. In 1995, the Royal Netherlands Academy of Sciences awarded him the Buys Ballot Medal
Buys Ballot Medal
The Buys Ballot Medal is a prize given out by the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences. It was instituted in 1888 to honor the achievements of meteorologist C.H.D. Buys Ballot...
"... for outstanding scientific work in the science of atmosphere over the last decade or two." In 2002, he was awarded 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...
, "... for fundamental insights into the radiative roles of clouds, aerosols and key gases in the Earth's climate system." And he was elected a member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences in 2002 "... for fundamental contributions to our modern understanding of global climate change and human impacts on climate and environment", an Academician of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences
Pontifical Academy of Sciences
The Pontifical Academy of Sciences is a scientific academy of the Vatican, founded in 1936 by Pope Pius XI. It is placed under the protection of the reigning Supreme Pontiff. Its aim is to promote the progress of the mathematical, physical and natural sciences and the study of related...
in 2004 and a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences or Kungliga Vetenskapsakademien is one of the Royal Academies of Sweden. The Academy is an independent, non-governmental scientific organization which acts to promote the sciences, primarily the natural sciences and mathematics.The Academy was founded on 2...
in 2008.