News

Deb Wilson honored with OAR Employee of the Year Award

entered on 12th Dec, 2008 01:04:06 PM MST

Debra R. Wilson, Administrative Officer of the ESRL Chemical Sciences Division, was the recipient of OAR's Employee of the Year Award. She was presented with the award by Dr. Spinrad at a ceremony in Silver Spring, MD, on December 11.

Deb was awarded in two categories, Personal/Professional Excellence and Administrative/Technical Support. The citation for Deb's award reads: For indispensable contributions as Administrative Officer that have been vital to the success of the Chemical Sciences Division.

Background: As the Administrative Officer, first for the NOAA Aeronomy Laboratory and later the Chemical Sciences Division of the Earth System Research Laboratory, Deb has, for 25 years, been the key focal point for all those who are/were members of those organizations. In this capacity, she has made a sustained and cumulative contribution that is absolutely vital to the functioning and success of the Chemical Sciences Division. The year 2008 brought extraordinary demands related to a major reorganization of the CSD Division program areas and the execution of two major field missions in the Arctic. This exceptional performance in 2008 caps a career of excellence for Deb. Her achievements have enabled the Division to function at the highest scientific levels by ensuring that the day-to-day and longer-term operations would run smoothly.

20th Meeting of the Parties of the Montreal Protocol on the Ozone Layer

entered on 17th Nov, 2008 12:19:31 PM MST

This week, CSD Director A.R. Ravishankara is at the 20th Meeting of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol (ozone layer) in Doha, Qatar, in his capacity as Cochair of the Protocol's "Scientific Assessment Panel."

At this meeting, discussion is expected on the topic of strengthening the agreements related to hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs), which are being used as substitutes for chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs). Though they are more ozone friendly than the CFCs they replace, the HCFCs still do destroy some stratospheric ozone.

Ravi will provide any scientific information that may be requested by the Parties for these discussions. In addition, he will give a presentation on the plans for the next scientific assessment of the ozone layer, which will be prepared during 2009 and 2010 per the terms of the Montreal Protocol.

Also attending the meeting is CSD scientist David Fahey, who will participate in discussions of ozone, climate, and the "world avoided" by the Montreal Protocol.

Background: The annual "Meeting of the Parties" is a decisionmaking meeting of the Protocol's ~190 signatory nations. They determine whether to take new measures to strengthen the Protocol's provisions regarding the protection of the ozone layer.

Significance: This activity underscores NOAA's role in providing scientific information that is input for decisions on global environmental issues. The work contributes to the Understanding Climate Processes capability of the Climate Goal's Climate Research and Modeling Program.

CCSP synthesis and assessment report on ozone depletion about to be released

entered on 6th Nov, 2008 02:43:27 PM MST

A new NOAA-led scientific assessment on the ozone layer, to be released November 13 as part of the series of Synthesis and Assessment reports coordinated by the U.S. Climate Change Science Program, gives a first-time emphasis on the U.S. perspective in the ozone depletion issue, and updates the status of the global ozone layer. The report also offers a glimpse into expectations for recovery of the ozone layer in a changing climate, as well as a first detailed look at U.S. role in emitting - and reducing the emissions of - the chemicals that deplete the ozone layer.

Dr. A.R. Ravishankara, Director of the Chemical Sciences Division of ESRL, was the lead for the report. The author team was composed of 16 scientists from NOAA, NASA, NSF, EPA, NRL/DOD, and USDA. NOAA authors were: John Daniel (CSD/ESRL); David Fahey (CSD/ESRL); Steve Montzka (GMD/ESRL); and V. Ramaswamy (GFDL). They developed information for and about the U.S., and drew material from two recent international scientific assessment reports to which the U.S. contributed, to distill a U.S.-specific perspective on this global issue.

The report finds that U.S. production and use of ozone-depleting substances have been significant throughout the history of the ozone depletion issue, contributing about 25 percent of the global amount produced during the period from 1986 to 1994. But by adopting the 1987 international Montreal Protocol agreement to protect the ozone layer, the report finds that the U.S. has also contributed significantly to healing the ozone layer by reducing the production and use of ozone-depleting substances. The U.S. percentage of the global total production has fallen to 10% in recent years.

The numbers reflect a decline of 97-98% in the U.S. production of the ozone-damaging chemicals since the late 1980s. U.S. actions have aided international efforts to achieve a recovery of the ozone layer, which is expected to occur about mid-century for most regions of the globe. Ozone depletion is not worsening, and in some regions the ozone layer is now showing early signs of recovery.

As the CCSP 2.4 report notes, without the Montreal Protocol, the levels of ozone-depleting substances in the "world we avoided" would likely have been 50 percent larger in 2010 than currently predicted.

Background: The ozone layer, which surrounds the globe about 10-15 miles above the surface, protects living things from the Sun's harmful ultraviolet rays. Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) used in refrigeration and air conditioning, along with other manmade substances, deplete stratospheric ozone. Above Antarctica, the extreme losses occurring each spring lead to an "ozone hole" above that continent. The ozone layer is expected to recover by mid-to-late this century, largely because of the actions taken by the international community to limit ozone-depleting substances such as CFCs. The 1987 Montreal Protocol and its subsequent amendments established limits and eventual phase-outs for production and consumption of several ozone-depleting substances.

Significance: This report provides a U.S. perspective on the global issue of stratospheric ozone depletion and gives decision-support scientific information on the topic. The work was completed as part of NOAA's Climate Goal-Climate Research and Modeling Program.