Biography:Jérôme Chappellaz

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Short description: French geochemist and paleoclimatologist (born 1964)
Jérôme Chappellaz
Chappellaz standing in front of an Antarctic research station
Chappellaz in 2018
Born (1964-12-22) 22 December 1964 (age 59)
Lyon, France
Alma materJoseph Fourier University
Known forresearch on greenhouse gases
Awards2013 Science Innovation Award
2014 Niels Bohr Medal of Honor
Scientific career
Fieldsglaciology, geochemistry, paleoclimatology
InstitutionsCNRS (France's National Center for Scientific Research)
WebsiteOfficial website

Jérôme Chappellaz (born 22 December 1964) is a French glaciologist, geochemist and paleoclimatologist who is director of the French Polar Institute.[1] A senior researcher at France's National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS),[2][3] he is a co-founder[4] and chairman of the Ice Memory Foundation.[5]

Youth and education

Coming from a family of Savoyard craftsmen, Jérôme Chappellaz became interested in volcanology from a very young age, after reading the works of Haroun Tazieff. At university, he studied geology, geophysics and geochemistry.[6]

Chappellaz earned his Diploma of Advanced Studies (DEA) and wrote his doctoral thesis at Joseph Fourier University in Grenoble, within the Laboratory of Glaciology and Environmental Geophysics, which was directed by the glaciologist Claude Lorius. At the time Chappellaz started his doctorate work, in 1987, Lorius was carrying out early analyses of carbon dioxide trapped in Antarctic ice.[7]

As suggested by his thesis advisor Dominique Raynaud, Chappellaz began work on methane (CH4), which is also a greenhouse gas.[6] Eventually, he developed an experimental technique for analyzing the methane in air bubbles naturally trapped in polar ice. He thus obtained the first recording of greenhouse gases covering a complete glacial-interglacial cycle, i.e. 160,000 years, for his 1990 thesis "Étude du méthane atmosphérique au cours du dernier cycle climatique à partir de l'analyse de l'air piégé dans la glace antarctique" (Atmospheric methane over the last climatic cycle from the analysis of the air trapped in Antarctic ice).[8] CNRS recruited him as a research fellow in 1990, at the age of 25 years.[6]

Scientific contributions

Jérôme Chappellaz began his career at the CNRS with a year at the Goddard Institute for Space Studies (NASA) in New York, headed by Professor James Hansen. There he carried out the very first work of modeling the global biogeochemical cycle of atmospheric methane in the glacial and interglacial period, revealing the major role played by variations in the extent of wetland, in particular in tropical regions, in the natural evolution of this greenhouse gas.[6]

In 1995, with his Swiss colleague Thomas Blunier, he initiated the use of rapid variations of methane in natural ice to establish a common chronology of ice cores drilled in Greenland and Antarctica, demonstrating thanks to these new chronologies that when the Greenlandic climate warms sharply during a glaciation, the Antarctic continent cools, due to heat exchanges generated by ocean circulation.[6]

He acted as scientific advisor for director Luc Jacquet's feature film Ice and the Sky (La glace et le ciel), which was shown as the closing film of the 2015 Cannes Film Festival.[9]

In 2018, he became director of the French Polar Institute (Institut polaire français Paul-Émile Victor, IPEV).[2] The IPEV oversees French science in the Arctic, Antarctic, and Sub-Antarctic Islands; the director's role is to ensure logistical support in all these regions.[10]

Ice Memory project

In 2015, Chappellaz co-founded (together with Patrick Ginot) the international heritage project Ice Memory so that future researchers can study ice cores from disappearing glaciers.[1][11] According to Wired UK, "the Ice Memory project plans to create a library of hundreds of cores in an ice cave at Antarctica's Concordia Research Station, where mean annual temperatures hover around -54°C."[12] Chappellaz continued in a leadership role through at least 2020; National Geographic in 2017 described him as the project's "coordinator".[13][14] He is also president of the board of directors of the Ice Memory Foundation.[15]

The first samples to be preserved were three cores from a glacier in the French Alps, near the Mont Blanc summit.[12] Chappellaz told reporters that, due to rising temperatures, Alpine glacier cores must be preserved before melting surface water contaminates lower ice layers.[16]

Building the Antarctic vault has been delayed by the COVID pandemic, but Chappellaz expressed confidence that the project, which is endorsed by UNESCO, will proceed.[14] As of 2021, Ice Memory was storing glacier samples from Europe, Bolivia, and Russia in Europe, while waiting for Antarctic storage to become available.[17]

Chappellaz says that teams will collect ice from other sites, including Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania and Mera Peak in Nepal.[13]

Awards

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Tosseri, Bénévent (4 May 2017). "L'archiviste des glaces: Jérôme Chappellaz (The Ice Archivist)" (in French). La Croix. https://www.la-croix.com/Journal/Larchiviste-glaces-2017-05-03-1100844409. "« Je suis à la frontière entre la science et l’ingénierie », se définit ce fils de scieur de bois savoyard, né dans la vallée de la Maurienne. ('I am on the border between science and engineering,' says this son of a Savoyard woodcutter, born in the Maurienne valley.)" 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Nomination de M. Jérôme Chappellaz à la direction de l'IPEV" (in French). IPEV. 1 March 2018. https://institut-polaire.fr/fr/1er-mars-2018-nomination-de-m-jerome-chappellaz-a-direction-de-lipev/. "Directeur de recherche au CNRS, M. Jérôme Chappellaz succède ce 1er mars à M. Yves Frenot en poste depuis 2010. (CNRS research scientist Jérôme Chappellaz succeeds on March 1 to the post held by Yves Frenot since 2010.)" 
  3. ↑ "Jérôme Chappellaz" (in en). https://www.insu.cnrs.fr/en/node/1044. 
  4. ↑ Khadilkar, Dhananjay (20 October 2016). "Ice Detectives Scramble before Climate Change Destroys Evidence of Itself". Scientific American. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/ice-detectives-scramble-before-climate-change-destroys-evidence-of-itself/. "Water from the Col du Dôme’s melting surface could easily infiltrate the glacier’s underlying layers and damage chemical data, says Jérôme Chappellaz, Protecting Ice Memory co-founder and a research director at the National Center for Scientific Research in Paris" 
  5. ↑ Flochlay, Anne-Claire. "Governance" (in en). https://www.ice-memory.org/governance/governance-944423.kjsp?RH=1634726162578. 
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 Sobocinski, Aurélie (26 November 2014). "Il fait parler la glace (He makes the ice talk)" (in French). CNRS Le Journal. https://lejournal.cnrs.fr/articles/il-fait-parler-la-glace. 
  7. ↑ Bison, Marjorie (2 October 2014). "Les détectives du changement climatique (Detectives of climate change)" (in French). EchoSciences Grenoble. https://www.echosciences-grenoble.fr/articles/les-detectives-du-changement-climatique. "je commence en 1987 un doctorat au LGGE sur l’évolution de la concentration en méthane (CH4) dans l’atmosphère. Le début de ma thèse correspond à la période où les premières analyses de traces de dioxyde de carbone (CO2) sont réalisées par Claude Lorius et son équipe dans des carottes de glace provenant de la base antarctique soviétique Vostok. (I started in 1987 a doctorate at LGGE [Laboratory of Glaciology and Environmental Geophysics in Grenoble] on the evolution of the concentration of methane (CH4) in the atmosphere. The beginning of my thesis corresponds to the period when the first analyzes of traces of carbon dioxide (CO2) were carried out by Claude Lorius and his team in ice cores from the Soviet Antarctic base Vostok." 
  8. ↑ Chappellaz, Jérôme (January 1990). Étude du méthane atmosphérique au cours du dernier cycle climatique à partir de l'analyse de l'air piégé dans la glace antarctique par Jérôme Chappellaz. Theses.fr (These de doctorat) (in français). Retrieved 22 January 2022.
  9. ↑ "La Glace et le Ciel" (in French). Observatoire des Sciences de l'Université de Grenoble. 2 July 2021. https://www.osug.fr/grand-public/ressources/archives/la-glace-et-le-ciel.html. "Wild-Touch Productions ... réunit un groupe d’experts prêts à s’engager dans la réalisation du projet "La Glace et le Ciel" et présidé par Jérôme Chappellaz. (Wild-touch Productions ... assembled a group of experts ready to engage themselves with Ice and Sky, led by Jérôme Chappellaz.)" 
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 "Jérôme Chappellaz Conseiller aux Affaires polaires auprès de la direction du CNRS (Jérôme Chappellaz Advisor for Polar Affairs to the CNRS management" (in fr). CNRS. https://www.insu.cnrs.fr/en/node/1044. "Jérôme Chappellaz est Directeur de recherche au CNRS et Directeur de l'institut polaire français Paul-Émile Victor (IPEV)...En sa qualité de Directeur de l'IPEV, il a la responsabilité de coordonner et organiser l'accompagnement logistique de la science française en Arctique, Antarctique et dans les Iles Subantarctiques(Jérôme Chappellaz is Director of Research at the CNRS and Director of the French Polar Institute Paul-Émile Victor (IPEV)...As Director of the IPEV, he is responsible for coordinating and organizing the logistical support of French science in the Arctic, Antarctic and in the Sub-Antarctic Islands.)" 
  11. ↑ Cailloce, Laure (14 January 2019). "Memory on Ice". CNRS News. https://news.cnrs.fr/slideshows/memory-on-ice. "The goal of the Ice Memory programme, launched in 2015 by the glaciologists Jérôme Chappellaz and Patrick Ginot, is to create a global ice archive sanctuary in Antarctica." 
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 "Putting 20,000 years of history on ice: French project is saving glaciers from climate change". Wired UK. 16 December 2016. https://www.wired.co.uk/article/ice-memories. 
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 "Scientists Collect Ice Cores From Glaciers Before They Disappear". 29 June 2017. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/adventure/article/scientists-collect-ice-cores-from-glaciers-before-they-disappear-spd?loggedin=true. "Pending funding, Chappellaz said the Ice Memory project has plans to conduct drilling operations at a dozen other glaciers, including Mount Elbrouz, Mount Kilimanjaro, Mera Peak, and sites in the Swiss Alps and the Altai Mountains." 
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 Adam, David (28 May 2020). "Quest to secure the world's vanishing ice". Knowable Magazine. doi:10.1146/knowable-052720-1. https://knowablemagazine.org/article/physical-world/2020/ice-core-vault. Retrieved 22 January 2022. "The containers would rest on movable sleds, which could be shifted should the walls of the ice cave start to deform over time, says Jérôme Chappellaz, director of the French Polar Institute and another leader on the project.". 
  15. ↑ "Fondation Ice Memory: Gouvernance" (in fr). Fondation Ice Memory. https://www.ice-memory.org/fondation-ice-memory/gouvernance/gouvernance-944441.kjsp?RH=1832088615308700. "Conseil d'administration Jérôme Chappellaz - Président" 
  16. ↑ Chazan, David (26 July 2016). "Mont Blanc ice cores will be sent to Antarctica to preserve climate record". The Telegraph. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/07/24/mont-blanc-ice-cores-will-be-sent-to-antarctica-to-preserve-clim/. "Samples of ice from Mont Blanc are to be sent to Antarctica where they will be preserved for future research because glaciers in the French Alps are melting at an accelerating rate." 
  17. ↑ "Scientists scramble to harvest ice cores as glaciers melt". Reuters. 13 September 2021. https://www.reuters.com/lifestyle/science/scientists-scramble-harvest-ice-cores-glaciers-melt-2021-09-13/. "So far they [Ice Memory scientists] have drilled in Europe, Bolivia and Russia. The cores are temporarily being stored in Europe, but the plan is to ship them to Antarctica for long-term storage because the site wouldn’t depend on power, which could suffer an outage." 
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 "Talents". CNRS. https://www.cnrs.fr/en/node/1968. "The silver medal is awarded, as their careers take off, to researchers who are already recognised at the national and international levels. The bronze medal is given in recognition of the initial work of a promising researcher in their field." 
  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 "Jérôme Chappellaz" (in fr). CNRS. https://www.insu.cnrs.fr/fr/personne/jerome-chappellaz-2. "Ses travaux ont été récompensés en particulier par la médaille de bronze du CNRS en 1993, la médaille d'argent du CNRS en 2015, le prix Jaffé de l'académie des sciences en 2001, la médaille Shackleton de l'association européenne de géochimie en 2013, ou encore la médaille d'honneur Niels Bohr en 2014. (His work has been rewarded in particular with the CNRS bronze medal in 1993, the CNRS silver medal in 2015, the Jaffé prize from the Academy of Sciences in 2001, the Shackleton medal from the European Association of Geochemistry in 2013, or the Niels Bohr Medal of Honor in 2014.)" 
  20. ↑ Prix Jaffé. "Prix Jaffé" (in fr). French Academy of Sciences. https://www.academie-sciences.fr/archivage_site/activite/prix/laureat_jaffe.pdf. 
  21. ↑ "Paul W. Gast Lecture". Geochemical Society. https://www.geochemsoc.org/honors/special-lectures/gastlectureseries. "The Paul W. Gast Lecture Series honors the Geochemical Society's first Goldschmidt Medalist. The lecture is awarded to a mid-career scientist for outstanding contributions to geochemistry. The lecture is presented as a plenary at the Goldschmidt Conference and includes a certificate and an honorarium (1000 Euro)." 
  22. ↑ "Jérôme Chappellaz reçoit la médaille d'Honneur de l'Institut Niels Bohr (Jérôme Chappellaz receives medal of honor from Niels Bohr Institute)" (in fr). Embassy of France in Denmark. https://dk.ambafrance.org/Jerome-Chappellaz-recoit-la. "Cette année, le prix fut remis à Jérôme Chappellaz. Il fut en 1992 l’un des premiers chercheurs à avoir démontré une corrélation entre la concentration des gaz à effet de serres piégés dans les glaces en Antarctique et le climat de notre planète. (This year, the prize was awarded to Jérôme Chappellaz. In 1992, he was one of the first researchers to demonstrate a correlation between the concentration of greenhouse gases trapped in Antarctic ice and the climate of our planet.)" 
  23. ↑ "Jérôme Chappellaz receives the Niels Bohr Institute's Medal of Honour". University of Copenhagen. 26 November 2014. https://nbi.ku.dk/english/namely_names/2014/jrme-chappellaz-receives-the-niels-bohr-institutes-medal-of-honour/. "Jérôme Chappellaz was the leading researcher in 1992 when the research results from an ice core from Antarctica demonstrated that there was a correlation between the Earth’s climate and the amount of greenhouse gases in the Earth’s atmosphere." 
  24. ↑ "Edition spéciale du Journal officiel de la République française - Promotion et nomination dans l'ordre national de la Légion d'honneur et dans l'ordre national du Mérite". Legion d'Honneur. 1 January 2021. https://www.legiondhonneur.fr/sites/default/files/lh20210101.pdf. "Au grade de chevalier ...M. Chappellaz (Jérôme, Aimé), glaciologue, directeur de recherche au Centre national de la recherche scientifique, directeur de l’Institut polaire français Paul-Emile Victor ; 30 ans de services." 

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