Steven W. Running (born 1950) is an American scientist and academic. He is an emeritus regents professor of ecology at W.A. Franke College of Forestry & Conservation at the

University of Montana The University of Montana (UM) is a public research university in Missoula, Montana, United States. UM is a flagship institution of the Montana University System and its second largest campus. Fall 2024 saw total enrollment hit 10,811, marki ...

, as well as director of the Numerical Terradynamics Simulation Group. He also developed the earth observing-oriented algorithms used by the

Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) is a satellite-based sensor used for earth and climate measurements. There are two MODIS sensors in Geocentric orbit, Earth orbit: one on board the Terra (satellite), Terra (Earth ...

(MODIS) on board NASA’s satellites

Terra Terra may often refer to: * Terra (mythology), primeval Roman goddess * An alternate name for planet Earth, as well as the Latin name for the planet Terra may also refer to: Geography Astronomy * Terra (satellite), a multi-national NASA scient ...

and

Aqua Aqua is the Latin word for water. As such, it is often used in many words which relate to water, such as aquatic life. In English, it may also refer to: Arts * Aqua (color), a greenish-blue color Business * Aqua (Chicago), an 82-story resid ...

. Running's MOD17 algorithms are used to provide accurate and continuous global monitoring of the terrestrial biosphere, specifically generating near-real-time data sets for repeated monitoring of vegetation primary production on vegetated land at 1-km resolution at 8-day intervals. These datasets are unique in that they provide global data on primary productivity and span a decade. A recognized expert in global ecosystem monitoring, Running was invited to serve on the board of the

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 ...

(IPCC). In 2007, the IPCC was awarded the

Nobel Peace Prize The Nobel Peace Prize (Swedish language, Swedish and ) is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the Will and testament, will of Sweden, Swedish industrialist, inventor, and armaments manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Nobe ...

"for their efforts to build up and disseminate greater knowledge about

man-made climate change Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes ...

, and to lay the foundations for the measures that are needed to counteract such change". Running made the following statement about winning the prize: "We've got to get past all the petty bickering and get to work. This is about a big transition for society over the next 50 years. The path we are on is unsustainable. What the Nobel committee is saying is that we've got to wake up. We've got to change the course of the whole world." Running is co-author of the 2007 book ''Forest Ecosystems'' and has published over 300 scientific papers. In 2012, Running suggested a tenth

planetary boundary Planetary boundaries are a framework to describe limits to the impacts of human activities on the Earth system. Beyond these limits, the environment may not be able to continue to self-regulate. This would mean the Earth system would leave th ...

, the annual net global

primary production In ecology, primary production is the synthesis of organic compounds from atmospheric or aqueous carbon dioxide. It principally occurs through the process of photosynthesis, which uses light as its source of energy, but it also occurs through ...

of all

terrestrial plant A terrestrial plant is a plant that grows on, in or from land. Other types of plants are aquatic plant, aquatic (living in or on water), semiaquatic (living at edge or seasonally in water), epiphyte, epiphytic (living on other plants), and litho ...

s, as an easily determinable measure integrating many variables that will give "a clear signal about the health of ecosystems".

References

External links

Dr. Steve Running: 5 Stages of Climate Grief University of Montana Lecture
{{DEFAULTSORT:Running, Steve Living people 1950 births American scientists