May 2006
At
the helm of ESSL
Guy Brasseur.
(Photo courtesy Max Planck Institute.)
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As a new NCAR associate director and the first permanent
head of the Earth and Sun Systems Laboratory (ESSL),
Guy Brasseur wants to enhance interdisciplinary research
while maintaining a focus on traditional science.
“ESSL is the natural place to enhance more integrated
research across divisions,” he says. “But
we should not neglect fundamental science.”
Guy has long-established ties with NCAR, having served
as ACD director from 1990 to 2000. He subsequently
became the director of the Max Planck Institute for
Meteorology in Hamburg, Germany, until NCAR tapped
him this year for the ESSL position following an international
search.
A large lab, ESSL brings together four divisions—ACD,
CGD, MMM, and HAO—as well as the Institute for
Integrative and Multidisciplinary Earth Studies, a
new institute. Its research focus extends from the
bottom of the oceans to the Sun and beyond, and incorporates
such vital research areas as climate change, the interactions
of chemicals in the atmosphere, hurricanes and other
storms, and the impact of solar events on the upper
atmosphere.
NCAR combined the divisions into ESSL as part of its
2004 reorganization to help facilitate broad, interdisciplinary
initiatives. (For more on the reorganization, see the Staffnotes article on reorganization.)
In a recent interview, Guy outlined several goals for
interdisciplinary work. Among the lab’s key projects:
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Studying the upper troposphere/lower stratosphere.
The boundary region between the two lowest layers of
the atmosphere is a critical area for understanding
climate, atmospheric dynamics, and chemistry.
-
Tracking the water cycle. Scientists want
to better understand Earth’s hydrologic
cycle by improving measurements of water vapor
and learning more about sources and sinks, thereby
improving predictions of clouds and precipitation
in weather and climate models.
-
Modeling the Sun-Earth system. The Whole Atmosphere
Community Climate Model (WACCM) will study the
atmospheric response to changes in radiative output
from the Sun. “We
are extremely well-placed here to do an end-to-end
study, all the way from the Sun to where people live,” Guy
says.
Guy stresses the importance of focusing on both models
and observations. “We have to insure a good balance
between experimental observational work and modeling
work,” he says. “Models must constantly
be confronted with the real world. Most of the large
discoveries are made by people who use models and observations
at the same time and find discrepancies, and try to
find out why.”
He’s also hoping to collaborate with SERE to
develop links between research into natural systems
and social systems. Science, he believes, should be
kept relevant to society. “We have to translate
research findings into something that makes sense to
society,” he says.
A distinguished background
A native of Belgium, Guy holds two engineering degrees
and a doctorate in aeronomy from the Free University
of Brussels, where his Ph.D. dissertation dealt with
the effects of nitrogen oxides on stratospheric ozone.
He completed his postdoctoral work at the Belgian Institute
for Space Aeronomy, where he worked on advanced models
of photochemistry and chemical transport in the middle
atmosphere.
Between 1977 and 1981, Guy shifted gears, serving as
an elected member of the Belgian House of Representatives
and as a delegate to both the Council of Europe Parliamentary
Assembly in Strasbourg, France, and the Western European
Union in Paris.
Guy’s community leadership posts have included
serving as editor in chief of the Journal of Geophysical
Research–Atmospheres and as chair of the International
Atmospheric Chemistry Project of the International
Geosphere-Biosphere Programme. He is a former chair
of the IGBP’s Scientific Committee, which promotes
Earth system science at the international level, with
particular focus on the developing world. Guy is also
a past president of the Atmospheric Sciences Section
of the American Geophysical Union.
“I’ve been privileged to lead the Max Planck
Institute for Meteorology for six years,” he
says. “It’s great to return to NCAR now,
because this center is in a unique position to develop
an interdisciplinary and integrative research program
focusing on Earth system science.”
• by David
Hosansky and Bob Henson
On the Web
ESSL
homepage
In this issue...
Notes
from the field: Turbulence and pollution
Terrorism
and climate change
New
program is a star
Peter
Gilman wins Hale Prize
At
the helm of ESSL
New
Digital Image Library
Just One Look
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