Richard Chapin James Somerville (born 30 May 1941) is an American

climate scientist Climatology (from Greek , ''klima'', "slope"; and , ''-logia'') or climate science is the scientific study of Earth's climate, typically defined as weather conditions averaged over a period of at least 30 years. Climate concerns the atmospheric ...

who is a Distinguished Professor Emeritus at

Scripps Institution of Oceanography Scripps Institution of Oceanography (SIO) is the center for oceanography and Earth science at the University of California, San Diego. Its main campus is located in La Jolla, with additional facilities in Point Loma. Founded in 1903 and incorpo ...

at the

University of California, San Diego The University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego in communications material, formerly and colloquially UCSD) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in San Diego, California, United States. Es ...

, where he has been a professor since 1979.

Early life

Somerville was born in

Washington, DC Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and Federal district of the United States, federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from ...

, USA on 30 May 1941. He received a B. S. in

meteorology Meteorology is the scientific study of the Earth's atmosphere and short-term atmospheric phenomena (i.e. weather), with a focus on weather forecasting. It has applications in the military, aviation, energy production, transport, agricultur ...

from

Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsyl ...

in 1961 and a Ph.D. in

from

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

in 1966.

Academic career

Somerville is a theoretical meteorologist and an expert on computer simulations of the

atmosphere An atmosphere () is a layer of gases that envelop an astronomical object, held in place by the gravity of the object. A planet retains an atmosphere when the gravity is great and the temperature of the atmosphere is low. A stellar atmosph ...

. His research is on the physics of

clouds In meteorology, a cloud is an aerosol consisting of a visible mass of miniature liquid droplets, frozen crystals, or other particles, suspended in the atmosphere of a planetary body or similar space. Water or various other chemicals may c ...

and their role in the climate system. His interests include all aspects of climate, including climate science outreach and the interface between science and public policy. This research is reflected by a long list of publications in highly respected, peer reviewed journals. He comments frequently on climate and environmental issues for the media. He formally retired in 2007 but remains active in research, education and outreach. With Samuel S. P. Shen, he co-authored the book
Climate Mathematics: Theory and Applications
' (Cambridge University Press, 2019).

Honors

Somerville has been named a Fellow of three scientific societies: th
American Association for the Advancement of Science
th
American Geophysical Union
and th
American Meteorological Society
In 2017, Somerville received th
Ambassador Award
of the American Geophysical Union. This award is given in recognition of “outstanding contributions to one or more of the following area(s): societal impact, service to the Earth and space community, scientific leadership, and promotion of talent/career pool.” Among his honors to date, Somerville has received awards from the

American Meteorological Society The American Meteorological Society (AMS) is a scientific and professional organization in the United States promoting and disseminating information about the atmospheric, oceanic, and hydrologic sciences. Its mission is to advance the atmosph ...

for both his research and his popular book
The Forgiving Air: Understanding Environmental Change
', a new edition of which was published in 2008 (). He was a Coordinating Lead Author for the 2007

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is an intergovernmental body of the United Nations. Its job is to "provide governments at all levels with scientific information that they can use to develop climate policies". The World Met ...

Fourth Assessment report (IPCC AR4). Th
American Geophysical Union
awarded him its 201
Climate Communication Prize
which "highlights the importance of promoting scientific literacy, clarity of message, and efforts to foster respect and understanding of science-based values as they relate to the implications of climate change."

Advocacy and outreach

Somerville was an organizer and signatory of the 2007

Bali Declaration by Climate Scientists The 2007 Bali Declaration by Climate Scientists was a statement signed by over 200 climate scientists advocating specific targets for greenhouse gas emissions for the 21st century. The statement was based on the United Nations Framework Convention o ...

. Throughout 2009 he worked with an international team of 26 leading climate scientists to prepare the Copenhagen Diagnosis. The Copenhagen Diagnosis was released in the lead-up to the UNFCCC COP15 conference in Copenhagen. It synthesizes the most recent scientific findings from hundreds of peer reviewed papers in areas such as

greenhouse gas emissions Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from human activities intensify the greenhouse effect. This contributes to climate change. Carbon dioxide (), from burning fossil fuels such as coal, petroleum, oil, and natural gas, is the main cause of climate chan ...

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an mean, average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal Body of water, bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical ...

glacier A glacier (; or ) is a persistent body of dense ice, a form of rock, that is constantly moving downhill under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. It acquires ...

tipping points '' Star Wars: The Clone Wars'' is an American 3D CGI animated television series created by Lucasfilm Animation, Lucasfilm Animation Singapore, and CGCG Inc. The debut film was released in theaters on August 15, 2008; it served as the introduc ...

and extreme climate events, among other key topics. Interviews, lectures and popular writings can be found on his personal website. Richard Somerville wrote the chapter on Communicating Climate Change Science in the 2019 University of California online publication, ''Bending the Curve: Climate Change Solutions''. In 2022, Richard Somerville received the Haagen-Smit Clean Air Award for 2020-2021 from the California Air Resources Board, for a “lifetime of important contributions and achievements” in the field of climate change science.

References

External links

Academic profileRichard Somerville's homepageScripps Institution of OceanographySomerville on climate science and ethicsUniversity of California, San Diego
{{DEFAULTSORT:Somerville, Richard American climatologists Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change lead authors Scripps Institution of Oceanography faculty 1941 births Living people Scientists from Washington, D.C. Penn State College of Earth and Mineral Sciences alumni New York University alumni Science activists University of California, San Diego faculty Climate communication