• Important links on Paul J. Crutzen
• Selected videos and audio recordings with Paul J. Crutzen
• On this book

• Important Links on Paul J. Crutzen and the Anthropocene
• On the author Paul. J. Crutzen
• Books by Paul J. Crutzen

Nobel Laureate Prof. Dr. Paul J. Crutzen has passed away on 28 January 2021 at the age of 87. Condolences may be sent to here.

Obituaries by colleagues and in the global press may be accessed here and from the editor of this series.

Nachrufe und Berichte der deutschsprachigen Presse sind hier zugänglich.

A small video of his signing of the Golden Book of the town of Mosbach on the 31 May 2017 is here:

Photos of his participation in a private Brainstorming on the Anthropocene on 31 May 2017 in Mosbach are available here.

In German: Eine Würdigung von Paul Crutzen‘s wissenschaftlicher Arbeit und ihrer Auswirkungen auf politische Entscheidungsprozesse erfolgt auf der Jahrestagung der Vereinigung Deutscher Wissenschaftler (VDW) am 29.April in Berlin durch:

• Prof. Dr. Hartmut Graßl, ehemaliger Direktor des MPI für Meteorologie in Hamburg: “Die Nobelpreisträger Crutzen und Hasselmann“
• Michael Müller – Politiker, Bundesvorsitzender der NaturFreunde Deutschlands, ehem. Staatssekretär am Ministeriums für Umwelt, Naturschutz und Reaktorsicherheit (BMU): „Hartmut Graßl und unsere Verantwortung für die Welt“

Paul J. Crutzen, Hans Günter Brauch (Eds.): Paul J. Crutzen: A Pioneer on Atmospheric Chemistry and Climate Change in the Anthropocene. Springer Briefs on Pioneers in Science and Practice No. 50 (Cham – Heidelberg – New York – Dordrecht – London: Springer International Publishing, 2016).

ISBN (Print): 978-3-319-27459-1
ISBN (Online/eBook): 978-3-319-27460-7
DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-27460-7

Order this book on the Springer Website
Order electronic version and individual chapters

Important Links on Paul J. Crutzen

• Nobel Prize
• Wikipedia (English)
• Wikipedia (German
• Encyclopedia of World Biography
• ESA
• The Encyclopedia of Earth
• Paul Crutzen - Max-Planck-Institut für Chemie

Selected videos and audio recordings with Paul J. Crutzen

• Symposium on the 80th birthday of Paul J. Crutzen, Mainz, 2 December 2013
  For individual videos of the talks on the Anthropocene symposium see below
• Interview with Paul Crutzen by Astrid Gräslund at the meeting of Nobel Laureates in Lindau, Germany, June 2000
• Chemistry Nobel Laureate Prof. Paul J. Crutzen’s keynote speech “Air pollution in Asia and its impact on regional and global climate” on Tuesday, 2 December 2003, at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok (Thailand)
• Prof. Paul J. Crutzen at the Asian Institute of Technology, Bangkok, 3 December 2003, facilitated by the International Peace Foundation (part 1)
• Prof. Paul J. Crutzen at the Asian Institute of Technology facilitated by the International Peace Foundation (part 2)
• Prof. Paul J. Crutzen, 4 December 2003, uploaded by International Peace: Foundation
• Prof. Paul J. Crutzen at Chulalongkorn University, with an introduction by Uwe Morawetz, Chulalongkorn University (2003-2004), uploaded by International Peace Foundation on 23 December 2013
• Atmospheric Science in the human dominated era of the Anthropocene, Univer-za v Novi Gorici » Znanstveni večeri - Univerza v Novi Gorici, 21 October 2005,
  
• Dr Paul Crutzen, Nobel Prize Winner of Chemistry in 1995. The interview was recorded by UNEP OzonAction at the symposium held at the University of Cambridge, UK, on 7th May 2010
• Premio Capo d'Orlando 2010 - Vico Equense (terza parte)
• Paul Crutzen zur Klimaschädlichkeit von Biokraftstoffen und Biomasse

On this Book

This book contains texts by the Nobel laureate Paul J. Crutzen who is best known for his research on ozone depletion. It comprises Crutzen’s autobiography, several pictures documenting important stages of his life, and his most important scientific publications. The Dutch atmospheric chemist is one of the world’s most cited scientists in geosciences. His political engagement makes him a tireless ambassador for environmental issues such as climate change. He popularized the term ‘Anthropocene’ for the current geological era acknowledging the enduring influence of humankind on planet Earth. This concept conceives humans to be a geologic factor, influencing the evolution of our globe and the living beings populating it. The selection of texts is representing Paul Crutzen´s scientific oeuvre as his research interests span from ozone depletion to the climatic impacts of biomass burning, the consequences of a worldwide atomic war – the Nuclear Winter - to geoengineering and the Anthropocene.

• Comprehensive collection of key scientific papers of Prof. Crutzen. Autobiographic chapter with photos on his life and career
• He made major contributions to atmospheric chemistry on ozone depletion
• Paul. J. Crutzen received in 1995 the Nobel Prize in Chemistry with Mario J. Molina and F. Sherwood Rowland
• Paul. J. Crutzen triggered global policy debates on nuclear winter, Anthropocene and sustainability.

Contents

Part 1: On Paul J. Crutzen -- 1: The Background of an Ozone Researcher; 2: Complete Bibliography of his Writings (1965-2015)

Part 2: Scientific Texts by Paul J. Crutzen -- 3: Influence of Nitrogen Oxides on Atmospheric Ozone Content (Crutzen); 4: Biomass Burning as a Source of Atmospheric Gases CO2, H2, N2O, NO, CH3CL and COS (Crutzen/Heidt/Krasnec/Pollock/Seiler); 5 The atmosphere after a nuclear war: Twilight at noon (Crutzen/Birks); 6: Nitric–acid Cloud Formation in the Cold Antarctic Stratosphere – A Major Cause for the Springtime Ozone Hole (Crutzen/Arnoldt); 7: Biomass Burning in the Tropics: Impact on Atmospheric Chemistry and Biogeochemical Cycles (Crutzen/Andreae); 8: A Mechanism for Halogen Release from Sea-salt Aerosol in the Remote Marine Boundary Layer (Vogt/Crutzen/Sander): 9: The Indian Ocean Experiment: Widespread air pollution from South and South-East Asia (Lelieveld/Crutzen/Ramanathan/Andreae et al.); 10: Geology of Mankind (Crutzen): 11: Albedo enhancement by stratospheric sulfur injections: a contribution to resolve a policy dilemma? (Crutzen); 12: N2O Release from Agro-biofuel Production Negates Global Warming Reduction by Replacing Fossil Fuels (Crutzen/ Mosier/Smith et al.)

Backmatter: Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Max Planck Institute for Chemistry, Author, Book

© Carsten Costard, Mainz/Germany

The research of Paul J. Crutzen has been mainly concerned with the role of chemistry in climate and biogeochemistry, and in particular the photochemistry of ozone in the stratosphere and troposphere. In 1970 he hypothesized that natural ozone production by the action of solar ultraviolet radiation on molecular oxygen (O2) is mainly balanced by destruction processes, involving NO and NO2 as catalysts. These catalysts in turn result from the oxidation of N2O, a product of microbiological nitrogen conversion in soils and waters. He and Prof. Harold Johnston of the University of California, Berkeley, pointed out that NO emissions from large fleets of supersonic aircraft could cause substantial ozone losses in the stratosphere. In the years 1972-1974 Crutzen proposed that NO and NO2 could catalyse ozone production in the background troposphere by reactions occurring in the CO and CH4 oxidation chains. Additional photochemical reactions leading to ozone loss were likewise identified. These gross ozone production and destruction terms are each substantially larger than the downward flux of ozone from the stratosphere, which until then had been considered the main source of tropospheric ozone.

In 1979-1980 Crutzen and co-workers drew attention to the great importance of the tropics in atmospheric chemistry. In particular, some measurement campaigns in Brazil clearly showed that biomass burning in the tropics was a major source of air pollutants, on a par with, or larger than, industrial pollution in the developed world. In 1982 Crutzen, together with Prof. John Birks of the University of Colorado, drew attention to the risk of darkness and strong cooling at the earth surface as a consequence of heavy smoke production by extensive fires in a nuclear war (‘nuclear winter’). This study and additional studies by R. Turco, B. Toon, T. Ackerman, J. Pollack and C. Sagan and by the Scientific Committee on Problems of the Environment (SCOPE), to which Crutzen contributed, showed that more people could die from the indirect consequences of a nuclear war than by the direct impacts of the nuclear explosions.

In 1986, together with Dr. F. Arnold of the Max Planck Institute of Nuclear Physics in Heidelberg, Crutzen showed that nitric acid and water vapour could co-condense in the stratosphere at higher temperatures than required for water ice formation, providing a significant part of a chain of events leading to rapid ozone depletion at high latitudes during late winter and spring (the so-called Antarctic ‘ozone hole’). His most recent research is concerned with the role of clouds in atmospheric chemistry as well as photochemical reactions taking place in the marine boundary layer, involving catalysis by halogen gases produced by marine organisms. Also, his current research deals with the chemical and climatic effects of the heavy air pollution which is found over Asia and other regions in the developing world: the so-called ABC (Atmospheric Brown Clouds) phenomenon.

• Paul Crutzen was born in 1933 in Amsterdam. Dutch citizen. Doctor's degree in meteorology, Stockholm University, 1973. Member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences and Academia Europaea. Professor Paul Crutzen, Max Planck Institute for Chemistry, P.O. Box 3060 D-55020 Mainz, Germany.
• Mario Molina was born in 1943 in Mexico City, Mexico. PhD in physical chemistry, University of California, Berkeley. Member of the US National Academy of Sciences. Professor Mario Molina, Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences MIT 54 – 1312, Cambridge MA 02139, USA
• F. Sherwood Rowland was born in Delaware, Ohio, USA, 1927 and deceased in 2012. Doctor's degree in chemistry, University of Chicago, 1952. Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and of the US National Academy of Sciences, where he was Foreign Secretary.

Source: "Press Release: The 1995 Nobel Prize in Chemistry". Nobelprize.org. Nobel Media AB 2014. Web. 3 Jan 2015.
<http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/chemistry/laureates/1995/press.html > and at: <http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/chemistry/laureates/1995/illpres/reading.html>
and for the Award Ceremony Speech by Professor Ingmar Grenthe of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences is at:
<http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/chemistry/laureates/1995/presentation-speech.html>.

Interview with Paul Crutzen by Astrid Gräslund at the meeting of Nobel Laureates in Lindau, Germany, June 2000. Paul Crutzen talks about family background, early education and interest in natural science; his work in the Institute of Meteorology in Stockholm (5:02); his discovery (6:55); the ozone layer (15:42); the Greenhouse Effect (19:10); ozone holes (23:43); and the consequences of a 'Nuclear winter' (27:09). See a Video of the Interview, 34 min., at: <http://www.nobelprize.org/mediaplayer/index.php?id=734>.

Prof. Paul J. Crutzen on the eve of his 80th birthday on 2 December 2013 at the symposium The Anthropocene
organized in his honour by the Max Planck Institute of Chemistry in Mainz. Photo by Carsten Costard who granted permission.