Claude Lorius, 1996 Tyler Laureate
Claude Lorius, chairman, French Institute of Polar Research and Technology
(Grenoble) has participated in 17 polar field campaigns, with a cumulative
total of 5 years spent in some of the coldest spots on the planet. He was
the first to appreciate the value of the air bubbles trapped in the ice
sheets and developed methods to determine the atmospheric pressure at the
time of ice formation thus providing insight to the original thickness of
the ice.
He played a significant role in promoting international cooperation in polar ice research. Foremost among these efforts was the successful collaboration between Soviet, American, and French scientists in the recovery and analysis of the longest ice core drilled to date. The information obtained from the Vostok Core, collected in East Antarctica, is exceptional because it provides the first continuous ice record of the drastic swings in global climate over the last 150,000 years extending from the present interglacial (or warming) period through about 100,000 years of glacial cooling, then on through the previous interglacial episode and into the tail of another glaciation. The drilling has now reached a depth of 3,100 meters which will allow scientists to extend the time scale to about 400,000 years.
Data from the analysis of the Vostok Core by Dr. Lorius and his team are stunning and include detailed records of air temperature, methane, carbon dioxide, and aerosols, to name but four climate system properties that this record has faithfully preserved. Of particular interest has been the reconstruction of atmospheric carbon dioxide and methane variations during the last climatic cycles which shows a strong relationship between climate and the chemical composition of the atmosphere (in particular the concentration of greenhouse gases.) This data provides a strong warning signal about the possible impact of human activities on climate.
Dr. Lorius was born on February 27, 1932 in Besancon, France. He received a masters and doctorate degree in Physical Sciences from the Sorbonne University in Paris. Dr. Lorius began his scientific career in 1955 as a researcher on the Antarctic Committee for the International Geophysical Year at the National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS).
Dr. Lorius is a member of the French and Russian Academies of Sciences
and among his numerous awards and honors are the Chevalier of the Legion
of Honor and the Italgas Prize.