Professor Michael
J. Prather
Fred Kavli
Chair and Professor- 3329 Croul
Hall, Department of Earth System Science
- University of
California, Irvine, CA 92697-3100
- tele: (949)
824-5838 (office), -8794 (dept), -3874 (fax)
-
mprather@uci.edu
Jefferson Science
Fellow
U.S.
Department of State (2005/2006, -2010)
Undergraduate
degrees in Mathematics (Yale, 1969) and Physics (Merton,
Oxford, 1971). Doctorate in Astronomy and Astrophysics (Yale,
1976).
Researcher at Harvard (1975-1985) and Goddard Institute for Space
Studies (1985-1992). Program manager at NASA HQ (1987-1992). Adjunct
Professor in Applied Physics and Nuclear Engineering at Columbia U
(1986-1992). Professor of Earth System Science at UC Irvine
(1992-present). Jefferson Science
Fellow at U.S. Deparment of State / INR (resident 2005-2006, as
consultant -2010). Member of the
Norwegian Academy of
Science and Letters. Fellow of the AGU (1997) and AAAS (2004).
Editor-in-Chief of Geophysical Research Letters
(1997-2001). International Ozone Commission
(1996-2004).
UNEP/WMO Ozone
Assessments: Lead Author/Author in
1985,
1988, 1989, 1991 and 1994.
Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate Change: Reviewer; 1992; Convening Lead
Author, 1994, 1995, 1999 and 2001; Lead Author, 2007.
The
sustained, collective work of the IPCC since 1988 was awarded the Nobel
Peace Prize in 2007.
my fifteen years
with the IPCC
RESEARCH INTERESTS
Simulation of
the physical, chemical and biological processes that
determine atmospheric composition. Development of (1) detailed
numerical models of photochemistry and atmospheric radiation, and (2)
global chemical transport models that describe ozone and other trace
gases. Studies include the predicted effects of volcanic sulfate
aerosols on stratospheric ozone loss, the role of clouds in scattering
sunlight and altering photochemistry, and the non-linearities in
chemical systems that lead to sudden changes such as the depletion of
ozone caused by CFC increases.
Numerical models
of atmospheric chemistry must simulate the
transport of trace species by winds, convective mixing, boundary layer
exchange with the surface, and exchange between the stratosphere and
troposphere. Such models are used to predict future changes in the
atmosphere and to analyze global data sets. Observed trace gas
distributions are used as measures of the atmospheric circulation or
alternatively as indicators of the location and strength of sources.
Such a quantitative understanding of these causal relationships is an
essential element of assessments of chemical and climatic change, and
it
is needed to convince governments and the public to make tough
environmental choices.
