Willi Dansgaard

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Willi Dansgaard
Born(1922-08-30)30 August 1922
Copenhagen University

Willi Dansgaard (30 August 1922

Royal Danish Academy of Science and Letters, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, the Icelandic Academy of Sciences, and the Danish Geophysical Society
.

Early life and career

Dansgaard grew up in Copenhagen, to parents who owned an engraving shop. In 1947, he graduated from the University of Copenhagen, winning a gold medal for his thesis on X-ray dosimetry.[3]

After several years of research, including some at sites in

isotopes. According to his student Jørgen Peder Steffensen:[3]

In June 1952, Dansgaard made a discovery that came to influence the rest of his scientific career. He discovered that it was possible to determine the temperature of the precipitating clouds by analysing the stable isotopic composition of rain water. In the following 12 years, he systematically collected water samples from all over the world in collaboration with the

.

Overview

Dansgaard was the first paleoclimatologist to demonstrate that measurements of the trace isotopes

hydrogen-1 and deuterium related to the temperature of source water, and the absolute humidity.[4]

He was the first scientist to extract palaeoclimatic information from the American

Dansgaard-Oeschger events
.

Awards

Notes

  1. ^ II, Thomas H. Maugh (7 February 2011). "Willi Dansgaard dies at 88; scientist who recognized climate record in ice cap" – via LA Times.
  2. ^ "Nekrolog: Professor emer., Dr. Phil. Willi Dansgaard er død". Archived from the original on 2011-01-14. Retrieved 2011-01-14.
  3. ^
    S2CID 233320475
    . Retrieved 9 July 2021. Willi Dansgaard, a great pioneer of climate research, died on 8 January 2011 at the age of 88. He was born on 30 August 1922 and grew up in the centre of Copenhagen where his parents had an engraving shop. He finished his university degree in physics, mathematics and astronomy in 1947 with a gold medal award for a thesis on X-ray dosimetry at the Biophysics Laboratory of the University of Copenhagen.
  4. ^ Martin, Douglas (January 28, 2011). "Willi Dansgaard Dies at 88; Read Climates in Old Ice". NY Times. Retrieved February 6, 2022. He discovered that as clouds rise and cool, heavier forms of oxygen (or isotopes — those with more neutrons) will react to the cold sooner, condensing and falling back to earth as precipitation before lighter ones do; a preponderance of heavier oxygen molecules would then indicate colder atmospheric temperatures.
  5. ^ "The Seligman Crystal". International Glaciological Society. Retrieved 30 November 2016.[permanent dead link]

External links