CONTACT:  Patricia Viets, NOAA               FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
                                             April 1, 1998

Thomas Karl, a well-known and widely quoted scientist whose work in climate change has been published in scientific journals around the world, has been named director of the National Climatic Data Center in Asheville, N.C., a facility of the Commerce Department's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

"This is a challenging and exciting time for me," said Karl. "I am looking forward to leading the world's largest active archive of climate data and ensuring that it remains a viable resource for climate researchers around the world."

Karl, who has been with the climate center since 1980, most recently served as senior scientist there, where he analyzed global climate change, extreme weather events, and trends in global and U.S. climate over the past 100 years. He also led other scientists in their studies of the changing environment.

Karl holds a master's degree in meteorology from the University of Wisconsin. He is a fellow of the American Meteorological Society and chairman of the National Academy of Sciences Climate Research Committee. He has written over 85 peer-reviewed journal articles, been co-author or co-editor of numerous texts, and has published over 200 technical reports and atlases.

Karl has been called upon by the White House and the Congress to testify and brief on matters related to climate variability and change.

He lives in Asheville with his family.