Profile of Lonnie G. Thompson

PROFILE

Profile of Lonnie G. Thompson ithin the bustling campus Virginia or Ohio, I may have ended up of Ohio State University there because I did really enjoy it.’’ (Columbus, OH) rests one Thompson entered Marshall Univer- of the most extensive ar- sity (Huntington, WV) in 1966, unde- chivesW of the Earth’s history chronicling cided as to which scientific field to the past 700,000 years. Visually, this re- pursue. He started studying physics and pository may not appear impressive: no met his future wife, Ellen Mosley, who fossils or pottery fragments, just ice— was the only woman majoring in physics lots and lots of ice. Over 7,000 m (Ϸ4.2 at that time. After doing well in an in- miles) of glacial ice, to be exact, have troductory geology class during his been collected from some of the most junior year, however, Thompson was imposing mountaintops of the world: the invited by the instructor to help out in Andes, the Himalayas, even the snows a project making mineral sets for West of Mount Kilimanjaro. Trapped and Virginia’s state parks. Working on the preserved within these frozen cylindrical sets and discussing geology with the cores, however, lies the true beauty of other students convinced Thompson these specimens: small flecks of dust that earth science was the path to fol- and oxygen isotopes that provide a his- Lonnie G. Thompson low, and he graduated with a bachelor’s torical record of trends and shifts in the degree in geology in 1970. earth’s climate. At the time, Thompson’s career ambi- At first glance, the geologist who led in a recent National Research Council tions swayed toward the practical side. the way in stockpiling this vast frozen report that Thompson helped review ‘‘I think that, like many people, when I library, Lonnie Thompson, University (3), the ratios of oxygen isotopes in vari- started out, I was looking for what I could Distinguished Professor at Ohio State ous ice cores show that the current tem- train myself in so I could get a job and University’s School of Earth Sciences, peratures in many tropical regions are receive a paycheck,’’ he says. ‘‘Then, I also appears unassuming. But, starting the warmest they have been in millennia think, if you’re lucky, as you go down that with a 1974 reconnaissance mission to and are now threatening many of these route, somewhere along the line, you find the Quelccaya ice cap in Peru, Thomp- glaciers with extinction. This alarming your purpose.’’ For his financial goals, son has led 50 expeditions to remote trend has turned Thompson into both a Thompson applied to Ohio State Univer- highlands in 15 countries, braving howl- scientist and an advocate for the cause sity with the aim of studying with J. ing winds, frostbite, rockslides, and alti- to protect these precious commodities, William Schopf, a well known coal expert tude sickness in his quest to collect and and his effort on both fronts earned him who worked for the U.S. Geological Sur- analyze these valuable ice cores. Consid- an election to the National Academy of vey. If there was one thing that was plenti- ful in West Virginia, it was coal. Once ered the founder of tropical alpine Sciences in 2005. Although Thompson Thompson arrived in Columbus, however, paleoclimatology, Thompson had the wants his repository to be a place where he was exposed to the then-new field of foresight to understand the importance scientists can analyze ice samples from polar paleoclimatology, which examines of ice in tropical latitudes when most all over the world, he does not want it eyes were focused exclusively on polar the physical and chemical properties pre- to become a museum that holds the last served in layers of ice and snow to under- latitudes. But even he did not realize vestiges of these glaciers. just how valuable his ice-core collection stand ancient climate patterns. Thompson obtained a part-time job analyzing some would become. Coal to Cores In 1978, as Thompson was preparing of the first deep-ice samples from Green- Thompson was raised on a small farm land and Antarctica and was thrilled by for his first ice-core drilling on Peru’s on the outskirts of Gassaway, WV. He Quelccaya, he decided to take some the experience. grew up in a working-class family, and, baseline measurements of the glacier so He switched to the Institute for Polar unfortunately, rural West Virginia was he could monitor how tropical glaciers Studies at Ohio State University but felt not an easy place to find work. Thomp- behave over time. ‘‘I didn’t know quite that the polar ice cores were not telling son had numerous part-time jobs while what to expect, since no one had ever the complete story. ‘‘Polar glaciers only taken such measurements on Quelccaya, in high school, and he managed to raise cover 10% of the earth, and they’re in the world’s largest tropical ice cap,’’ he some extra revenue at school by betting regions where nobody lives,’’ he ex- says. Every 2 to 3 years, he returned for on one of his favorite pastimes: predict- plains. Thompson then crossed paths updated photographs and measure- ing the weather. Thompson had set up with John Mercer, a glacial geologist ments, which revealed a surprising flow: an amateur weather station in a family who, before coming to Ohio State, had the Quelccaya glacier was retreating, barn, where he took temperature, pres- worked for the American Geographical and, not only that, the retreat was accel- sure, and humidity readings twice a day. Society, compiling an atlas of the plan- erating (1). ‘‘If you go back to that time, ‘‘And at that time, you could actually et’s glaciers. ‘‘[Mercer] brought with him global warming wasn’t even an issue. get from the NOAA [National Oceanic all the aerial photographs he had used People were worrying about the next ice and Atmospheric Administration] a in making the atlas, and it was in those age.’’ But measurements of other gla- daily weather map for the U.S., and boxes that we found the photos of the ciers revealed the same stark results; the then you could look at those charts and Quelccaya ice cap,’’ says Thompson. ice caps were getting smaller, whereas learn to predict what’s going to happen the next day and the following day by the air around them was getting warmer. This is a Proﬁle of a recently elected member of the National As highlighted in Thompson’s Inaugu- what’s upstream from where we were Academy of Sciences to accompany the member’s Inaugural ral Article in a recent issue of PNAS living,’’ he says. ‘‘If you could have got- Article on page 10536 in issue 28 of volume 103. (2), the results of which also appeared ten a degree in meteorology in West © 2006 by The National Academy of Sciences of the USA

www.pnas.org͞cgi͞doi͞10.1073͞pnas.0605347103 PNAS ͉ August 1, 2006 ͉ vol. 103 ͉ no. 31 ͉ 11437–11439 Downloaded by guest on September 28, 2021 Thompson began thinking that studying this tropical ice would be an effective way to connect the data from the Arctic and Antarctic. Says Thompson, ‘‘50% of the surface of the planet is in the tropics, that’s where 70% of the people live. That’s also the place where you have the big climate events that impact the world today. El Ninõ, monsoons—those are all tropical phenomena.’’ Thompson and Mercer took the photographs to Washington, DC, to meet with the manager of the Office of Polar Programs, which at the time was the only agency that funded ice studies. Thompson recalls that the manager seemed interested in his proposal but in the end told him, ‘‘Lonnie, we can’t fund that because it’s not north of the Arctic Circle and it’s not south of the Antarctic Circle.’’ Disappointed, Thompson headed to Byrd Station in Antarctica later that year to do field- work for the 1973–1974 summer season. Thompson, hiking on Mount Kilimanjaro glacier, 2000. ‘‘Toward the end of that field season, I got a telex from the program manager, Jay Zwally,’’ says Thompson, ‘‘and it first glaciological and geologic data climbed up, leaving the drill and genera- said, ‘I’ve funded all of my real science from this icy environment (4). tor behind, and obtained a 24-year projects, and I have $7,000 left. What Shortly after Thompson returned record of the isotopes and dust accumu- could you do on that tropical glacier for from the exploratory trek, he wrote an lation from one crevasse, from which $7,000?’ And I telexed back and said, ambitious proposal to go back and drill they published a paper on the El Ninõ ‘I think we could get there!’’’ the ice field. The Atmospheric Science record (5). ‘‘Still, we really either had to Division of the National Science Foun- give up at that stage or come up with a Reaching the Summit dation (NSF) funded his venture, based new way to drill,’’ he says. In June 1974, Thompson stood before on their interest in obtaining El Ninõ Thompson and Bruce Koci, an engi- the awe-inspiring sight of Peru’s massive and monsoon data. ‘‘And they didn’t neer at the University of Nebraska (Lin- Quelccaya ice cap stretching across the care where the records came from, coln, NE), came up with the idea of a horizon. He seemed an unlikely sort to whether it was ice or lakes or instru- solar-powered drill, which should oper- be standing at the summit of this impos- ments,’’ says Thompson. He admits that ate fairly well in the thin mountain at- ing ice cap; although he had a fair bit of mosphere. With Koci, who designed and wilderness experience stemming from tested the solar panels, Thompson wrote his youth in the Boy Scouts in rural ‘‘[The tropics] another NSF proposal. ‘‘Willi Dansgaard West Virginia, he had only one previous over in Denmark, a pioneer in glaciol- mountain climbing experience, a har- have the big climate ogy and someone I really admired, was rowing one that was still fresh in his one of the reviewers, and he actually mind. As his 1974 field season at Byrd events that impact the sent me a copy of his review, which es- Station was concluding, one of Thomp- sentially said the ice cap was too high son’s colleagues, David Rugh, convinced world today. El Ninõ, for human beings, and the technology him to stop in New Zealand on the way did not exist to drill,’’ says Thompson. back to the U.S. to scale Mount Malte- monsoons—those are ‘‘So I figured we were pretty much fin- Brun. The climb started well, but at one ished.’’ Fortunately, the new program stage Thompson slipped and swung off all tropical phenomena.’’ manager, Hassan Virji, a meteorologist the side of the mountain. ‘‘I was looking from the University of Wisconsin (Mad- down the 2,000 feet below me,’’ he re- ison, WI), went out on a limb and gave calls, ‘‘and I’m saying, ‘God, if I get off he was a bit naı¨ve in his approach. ‘‘We Thompson a second chance. ‘‘[Virji] told of here, I will never climb another thought, OK, we bring up a drill from me that maybe Dansgaard was right, but mountain again for the fun of it!’’’ Antarctica and a generator, and we’ll we would never know until we tried,’’ Yet, just a short time later, Thomp- contract with the Peruvian Air Force says Thompson. This time, Thompson son and colleagues Mercer, Chilean for a helicopter, and we fly up there, hedged his bets, knowing full well how glaciologist Cedomir Marangunic, and we drill the core, put [the ice] in the many things could go wrong. ‘‘Before I Canadian mountaineer John Ricker helicopter, and we leave,’’ he says. How- left, I actually started preparing to enter stood at the summit of the Quelccaya ever, after two failed attempts, it be- the M.B.A. program at Ohio State, just ice cap. After a grueling 2-day journey came apparent that they could not get in case Willi was right,’’ he says. ‘‘Life is from the end of the nearest road, these the gear up to the 19,000-foot-high ice about having options!’’ four expeditioners became the first cap. The helicopter could not ascend Fortunately, the fates smiled on recorded people to set foot on the that high, and the drill and generator Thompson’s 1983 drilling excursion Quelccaya ice cap. They stayed at the were too large for pack animals. Un- party: they managed to get all their gear top for a few more days, recording the daunted, Thompson and his colleagues up by pack animal without incident and

11438 ͉ www.pnas.org͞cgi͞doi͞10.1073͞pnas.0605347103 Zagorski Downloaded by guest on September 28, 2021 even drilled two cores to the bedrock The Heat Is On means that the system is capable of instead of one. Also, ‘‘[1983] turned out In 1992, Thompson gave his first presen- abrupt change, whether naturally driven to be a big El Nin˜o year,’’ says Thomp- tation on global warming at a public or human-driven,’’ Thompson says. son, ‘‘which maximized the radiation lecture at Ohio State. ‘‘Interestingly, With another abrupt climate change coming in because of the lack of precipi- when it was originally scheduled, it was potentially looming, Thompson’s collec- tation.’’ The only snag was that they did canceled because it was too cold, Ϫ25, tion efforts have taken on a sense of not have the ability to bring the cores so I got a lot of ribbing over that the urgency. He has targeted 13 sites back frozen, so they bottled and sealed next week when we did present it,’’ he around the world as high-priority areas 6,000 water samples. ‘‘And one set of recalls. ‘‘But you know, we don’t see for recovery, although he is pessimistic bottles we sent to Dansgaard’s lab, and things like that in Columbus anymore,’’ that he will be able to extract cores he analyzed the isotopes on them, and he adds. Indeed, as the years went on, from all these mountain glaciers before from that day on he was our biggest fewer and fewer people were laughing they dwindle as they have on Mount supporter,’’ says Thompson. as the evidence of climate change from Kilimanjaro. Thompson notes that there With those first samples, Thompson Thompson and others began to mount, are many hindrances, not the least of managed to build a 1,500-year record of perhaps most dramatically in 2001. After which has become, ironically, the cost of tropical precipitation, revealing past El his expedition to the top of Mount Kili- fuel. ‘‘Right now we have a drilling Nin˜os as well as dry periods (6), includ- manjaro, Thompson proclaimed that the project in the southwest Himalayas, and ing evidence that that the Southern ice surface had dwindled by 80% in the fuel prices in Tibet have doubled,’’ he Hemisphere was cooled by the ‘‘Little 20th century and could be completely says. ‘‘It’s absolutely amazing how much Ice Age’’ that occurred between A.D. gone by 2015. Although Thompson had we are at the mercy of fossil fuels.’’ 1500 and 1800 (7). Over the next 20 been following glacier retreat in the Still, Thompson will do what he can years, Thompson and his team, many Andes for years, attaching this effect to to preserve these shrinking pieces of from the original expedition, followed a mountain that attracts over 25,000 history. When he is not in the field, he up with dozens of other expeditions, tourists a year helped capture the pub- tries to make people aware of the situa- traversing the globe to collect ice sam- lic’s attention and turned Thompson tion of climate change as much as possi- ples to build an older, more thorough into a celebrity. ble, whether at university lectures, local record. Return trips to the Peruvian and In his PNAS Inaugural Article (2), churches, or in front of the U.S. Senate. Bolivian Andes yielded samples that Thompson returned to his ice-core li- ‘‘I think credibility is an important went back over 20,000 years to the last brary to place this recent warming trend point, whether people listen or not,’’ Ice Age (8, 9), revealing that the Ama- in a historical context. Looking at his- he says. His most recent venture was zon basin was much cooler and drier in torical composites of oxygen isotope serving on the advisory board for the the ancient past and highlighting that ratios within several core samples, climate-change documentary An Incon- the tropics were just as susceptible to Thompson found that the current warm- venient Truth, a film he thinks will help climate shifts as temperate regions are. ing at low latitudes is unprecedented for bring about positive action on this topic Ice from the top of Mount Kilimanjaro at least 2,000 years. In fact, radiocarbon- (12). With chronic asthma and aging indicated that a heavy drought affected dating the recently exposed plants at the bones, Thompson knows he only has a few years of glacier trekking left, and he that region Ϸ4,000 years ago (10), coin- edges of Quelccaya showed that the gla- hopes that when he puts his pick axe ciding with the Biblical account of a cier has not been this small for over down for the last time, future genera- great Egyptian famine. Cores taken 5,000 years, before a widespread cooling tions will be able to study glaciers some- from the remote Himalayas go back event that blanketed much of the tropics place more exotic than the cold room at even farther, some over 500,000 years and is evidenced in many tropical Ohio State’s Polar Research Center. (11), rivaling the ancient ice unearthed records. ‘‘And the fact that the plants from the polar regions. were so well preserved, of course, Nick Zagorski, Science Writer

1. Thompson, L. G., Mosley-Thompson, E. & Hen- Arnao, B. M. (1984) Science 226, 50–53. Campen, R. K., Bolzan, J. F., et al. (1998) Science derson, K. A. (2000) J. Quaternary Sci. 15, 377– 6. Thompson, L. G., Mosley-Thompson, E., Bol- 282, 1858–1864. 394. zan, J. F. & Koci, B. R. (1985) Science 229, 10. Thompson, L. G., Mosley-Thompson, E., Davis, 2. Thompson, L. G., Mosley-Thompson, E., Brecher, 971–973. M. E., Henderson, K. A., Brecher, H. H., Zagor- H., Davis, M., Leo´n, B., Les, D., Lin, P.-N., 7. Thompson, L. G., Mosley-Thompson, E., Dans- odnov, V. S., Mashiotta, T. A., Lin, P.-N., Mashiotta, T. & Mountain, K. (2006) Proc. Natl. gaard, W. & Grootes, P. M. (1986) Science 234, Mikhalenko, V. N., Hardy, D. R. & Beer, J. (2002) Acad. Sci. USA 103, 10536–10543. 361–364. Science 298, 589–593. 3. National Research Council (2006) Surface 8. Thompson, L. G., Mosley-Thompson, E., Davis, 11. Thompson, L. G., Yao, T., Davis, M. E., Hender- Temperature Reconstructions for the Last 2,000 M. E., Lin, P.-N., Henderson, K. A., Cole-Dai, J., son, K. A., Mosley-Thompson, E., Lin, P.-N., Beer, Years (The National Academies, Washington Bolzan, J. F. & Liu, K.-B. (1995) Science 269, J., Synal, H.-A., Cole-Dai, J. & Bolzan, J. F. (1997) DC). 46–50. Science 276, 1821–1825. 4. Mercer, J. H., Thompson, L. G., Marangunic, C. & 9. Thompson, L. G., Davis, M. E., Mosley-Thomp- 12. An Inconvenient Truth (2006) (Paramount Classics Ricker, J. (1975) Antarctic J. U.S. X, 19–24. son, E., Sowers, T. A., Henderson, K. A., Zagor- and Participant Productions, Los Angeles), 100 5. Thompson, L. G., Mosley-Thompson, E. & odnov, V. S., Lin, P.-N., Mikhalenko, V. N., min, color, documentary film.

Zagorski PNAS ͉ August 1, 2006 ͉ vol. 103 ͉ no. 31 ͉ 11439 Downloaded by guest on September 28, 2021