Richard Alley
Encyclopedia
Richard B. Alley is an American
geologist
and Evan Pugh Professor
of Geosciences at the Pennsylvania State University
. He has authored more than 170 refereed scientific publications about the relationships between Earth's cryosphere
and global climate change, and is recognized by the Institute for Scientific Information
as a "highly cited researcher."
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
. 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, 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.
Alley gave the Bjerknes lecture to the 2009 American Geophysical Union meeting- "The biggest control knob- Carbon Dioxide in Earth's climate history". A video of the presentation is available (also available on YouTube).
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." 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 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."
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.
PU Clark, RB Alley, D Pollard 1999. "Northern Hemisphere Ice-Sheet Influences on Global Climate Change"
Science 5 November 1999: Vol. 286. no. 5442, pp. 1104 – 1111
DOI: 10.1126/science.286.5442.1104
DA Meese, AJ Gow, RB Alley, GA Zielinski, PM Grootes, M Ram, KC Taylor, PA Mayewski, JF Bolzan 1997.
"The Greenland Ice Sheet Project 2 depth-age scale: Methods and results"
Journal of Geophysical Research. C. Oceans Vol. 102, no. C12, pp. 26,411 - 26,423. Nov 1997
abstract
J Jouzel, RB Alley, KM Cuffey, W Dansgaard 1997.
"Validity of the temperature reconstruction from water isotopes in ice cores"
Journal of Geophysical Research. C. Oceans 97JC01283
abstract
KM Cuffey, GD Clow, RB Alley, M Stuiver, ED Waddington, RW Saltus 1995.
"Large Arctic Temperature Change at the Wisconsin–Holocene Glacial Transition"
Science 20 October 1995: Vol. 270. no. 5235, pp. 455 – 458
DOI: 10.1126/science.270.5235.455
PA Mayewski, LD Meeker, S Whitlow, MS Twickler et al. 1994.
"Changes in Atmospheric Circulation and Ocean Ice Cover over the North Atlantic During the Last 41,000 Years"
Science 25 March 1994: Vol. 263. no. 5154, pp. 1747 – 1751
DOI: 10.1126/science.263.5154.1747
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
geologist
Geologist
A geologist is a scientist who studies the solid and liquid matter that constitutes the Earth as well as the processes and history that has shaped it. Geologists usually engage in studying geology. Geologists, studying more of an applied science than a theoretical one, must approach Geology using...
and Evan Pugh Professor
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
of Geosciences at the Pennsylvania State University
Pennsylvania State University
The Pennsylvania State University, commonly referred to as Penn State or PSU, is a public research university with campuses and facilities throughout the state of Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1855, the university has a threefold mission of teaching, research, and public service...
. He has authored more than 170 refereed scientific publications about the relationships between Earth's cryosphere
Cryosphere
The cryosphere is the term which collectively describes the portions of the Earth’s surface where water is in solid form, including sea ice, lake ice, river ice, snow cover, glaciers, ice caps and ice sheets, and frozen ground . Thus there is a wide overlap with the hydrosphere...
and global climate change, and is recognized by the Institute for Scientific Information
Institute for Scientific Information
The Institute for Scientific Information was founded by Eugene Garfield in 1960. It was acquired by Thomson Scientific & Healthcare in 1992, became known as Thomson ISI and now is part of the Healthcare & Science business of the multi-billion dollar Thomson Reuters Corporation.ISI offered...
as a "highly cited researcher."
History
In 1999, Alley was invited to testify about climate change by Vice President Al Gore, in 2003 by the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, and before the U.S. House Committee on Science and Technology in 2007 and again in 2010.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
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...
. 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, and chaired the National Research Council
United States National Research Council
The National Research Council of the USA is the working arm of the United States National Academies, carrying out most of the studies done in their names.The National Academies include:* National Academy of Sciences...
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.
Alley gave the Bjerknes lecture to the 2009 American Geophysical Union meeting- "The biggest control knob- Carbon Dioxide in Earth's climate history". A video of the presentation is available (also available on YouTube).
Awards and honors
Alley was awarded the Seligman CrystalSeligman Crystal
The Seligman Crystal is an award of the International Glaciological Society.The prize is "awarded from time to time to one who has made an outstanding scientific contribution to glaciology so that the subject is now enriched"- Recipients :...
in 2005 "for his prodigious contribution to our understanding of the stability of the ice sheets and glaciers of Antarctica and 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...
, and of erosion
Erosion
Erosion is when materials are removed from the surface and changed into something else. It only works by hydraulic actions and transport of solids in the natural environment, and leads to the deposition of these materials elsewhere...
and sedimentation
Sedimentation
Sedimentation is the tendency for particles in suspension to settle out of the fluid in which they are entrained, and come to rest against a barrier. This is due to their motion through the fluid in response to the forces acting on them: these forces can be due to gravity, centrifugal acceleration...
by this moving ice." 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 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."
In 2008 Alley was elected to the National Academy of Sciences
United States National Academy of Sciences
The National Academy of Sciences is a corporation in the United States whose members serve pro bono as "advisers to the nation on science, engineering, and medicine." As a national academy, new members of the organization are elected annually by current members, based on their distinguished and...
. He was elected a Fellow of the 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 2010.
Television Series
On Sunday, April 10, 2011, PBS debuted a new kind of program on climate change. “EARTH: The Operators’ Manual” dispenses with politics, polemics or punditry; instead, it presents an objective, accessible assessment of the Earth’s problems and possibilities, with the stated intention of leaving viewers informed, energized and optimistic. The series continues through 2012 on PBS and affiliates, with host Richard Alley. The series is accompanied by a book of the same name, also by Richard Alley. It was published on April 18, 2011.Selected academic publications
Google Scholar search on author:R-Alley in physical sciences. As of Oct. 2008, 463 results; top result cited by 160.PU Clark, RB Alley, D Pollard 1999. "Northern Hemisphere Ice-Sheet Influences on Global Climate Change"
Science 5 November 1999: Vol. 286. no. 5442, pp. 1104 – 1111
DOI: 10.1126/science.286.5442.1104
DA Meese, AJ Gow, RB Alley, GA Zielinski, PM Grootes, M Ram, KC Taylor, PA Mayewski, JF Bolzan 1997.
"The Greenland Ice Sheet Project 2 depth-age scale: Methods and results"
Journal of Geophysical Research. C. Oceans Vol. 102, no. C12, pp. 26,411 - 26,423. Nov 1997
abstract
J Jouzel, RB Alley, KM Cuffey, W Dansgaard 1997.
"Validity of the temperature reconstruction from water isotopes in ice cores"
Journal of Geophysical Research. C. Oceans 97JC01283
abstract
KM Cuffey, GD Clow, RB Alley, M Stuiver, ED Waddington, RW Saltus 1995.
"Large Arctic Temperature Change at the Wisconsin–Holocene Glacial Transition"
Science 20 October 1995: Vol. 270. no. 5235, pp. 455 – 458
DOI: 10.1126/science.270.5235.455
PA Mayewski, LD Meeker, S Whitlow, MS Twickler et al. 1994.
"Changes in Atmospheric Circulation and Ocean Ice Cover over the North Atlantic During the Last 41,000 Years"
Science 25 March 1994: Vol. 263. no. 5154, pp. 1747 – 1751
DOI: 10.1126/science.263.5154.1747