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| Richard P. Turco | |
|---|---|
| Name | Richard P. Turco |
| Birth date | 1943 |
| Nationality | American |
| Fields | Atmospheric science; Climate science; Environmental chemistry |
| Workplaces | University of California, Los Angeles; National Center for Atmospheric Research; Jet Propulsion Laboratory |
| Alma mater | University of California, Los Angeles; California Institute of Technology |
| Known for | Research on stratospheric ozone, atmospheric aerosols, "nuclear winter" studies |
Richard P. Turco is an American atmospheric scientist known for research on stratospheric ozone depletion, atmospheric aerosols, and the climatic effects of particulate injections into the stratosphere. He held positions at University of California, Los Angeles, collaborated with institutions such as the National Center for Atmospheric Research and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and contributed to interdisciplinary assessments involving NASA, NOAA, and international panels.
Turco was born in the early 1940s and completed undergraduate studies at University of California, Los Angeles before pursuing graduate work at the California Institute of Technology. During his doctoral training he interacted with faculty associated with Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, and researchers linked to Howard University visiting seminars. His early academic network included ties to scientists from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard University, and the Scripps Institution of Oceanography who shaped research directions in atmospheric chemistry and solar-terrestrial interactions.
Turco's career encompassed appointments at University of California, Los Angeles and collaborations with National Center for Atmospheric Research and Jet Propulsion Laboratory, bringing together expertise from institutions such as NASA, NOAA, National Science Foundation, and international centers including European Space Agency and UK Met Office. He contributed to modeling efforts that linked processes studied by researchers at Princeton University, Stanford University, and Columbia University with observational programs run by NOAA, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and field campaigns coordinated with Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. His work intersected with climate modeling traditions from Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory, Los Alamos National Laboratory, and the Pokrovsky Institute while engaging with planetary science perspectives from California Institute of Technology and Jet Propulsion Laboratory teams.
Research topics pursued by Turco included stratospheric ozone chemistry related to findings by groups at University of Cambridge, University of Oslo, and University of Leeds; aerosol radiative forcing studies that connected to work at Imperial College London, University of Reading, and Max Planck Institute for Meteorology; and interdisciplinary consequences of particulate injections explored in scenarios resembling analyses from RAND Corporation, Stockholm Environment Institute, and International Panel on Climate Change reviewers. He collaborated with modelers influenced by groups at Yale University, University of Michigan, and University of Washington.
Turco was a lead author on influential studies addressing the climatic and chemical impacts of large injections of soot and dust into the stratosphere, which resonated with prior literature from Paul Crutzen, Mario Molina, and F. Sherwood Rowland on ozone chemistry. His papers examined radiative transfer and photochemical interactions in contexts related to historical investigations at Lamont–Doherty Earth Observatory, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and National Center for Atmospheric Research. Publications by Turco appeared alongside works from researchers at University of Chicago, University of California, Berkeley, University of Texas at Austin, and Cornell University and were cited in syntheses produced by Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change assessment chapters and technical reports by United Nations Environment Programme and World Meteorological Organization.
Notable contributions included mechanistic descriptions of aerosol microphysics that built on concepts developed at Carnegie Institution for Science, Argonne National Laboratory, and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, and model evaluations compared with observations from campaigns run by European Space Agency, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, and NOAA Earth System Research Laboratory. His collaborative publications engaged colleagues from Columbia University's Lamont, Brown University, Duke University, and international partners at Tokyo University and Peking University.
Turco received recognitions reflecting intersections with major scientific organizations such as American Geophysical Union, American Meteorological Society, and National Academy of Sciences-affiliated programs. His work was acknowledged in symposia sponsored by Royal Society, Max Planck Society, and panels convened by United Nations Environment Programme and World Health Organization advisors. He delivered invited lectures at venues including Smithsonian Institution, Royal Institution, and Academia Sinica.
At University of California, Los Angeles Turco taught courses drawing students from programs connected to California Institute of Technology, Stanford University, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology visitors. He supervised graduate students who later joined faculties at Princeton University, Harvard University, University of Colorado Boulder, and research centers such as National Center for Atmospheric Research and Scripps Institution of Oceanography. His mentorship network included collaborations with postdoctoral researchers moving to positions at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Los Alamos National Laboratory, and international institutions like ETH Zurich and University of Oxford.
Turco engaged with policy communities through briefings and testimony relevant to bodies including the United States Congress, Environmental Protection Agency, United Nations Environment Programme, and advisory panels associated with National Research Council. His scientific perspectives informed dialogues involving Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change authors, World Meteorological Organization conferences, and forums hosted by think tanks such as Brookings Institution and Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. He participated in public communication through lectures at Royal Society, interviews with outlets linked to BBC, National Public Radio, and contributions to collaborative reports with Union of Concerned Scientists.
Category:American atmospheric scientists Category:University of California, Los Angeles faculty