University of California, Berkeley Cornell University
Spouse
Margaret A. Tolbert
Awards
H. Julian Allen Award (1983, 1988) NASA Medal for Exceptional Scientific Achievement (1983, 1989) Arthur Flemming Award (1985) Leo Szilard Award for Physics in the Public Interest (1986) Robert L. Stearns Award (2009) Roger Revelle Medal (2011)
Scientific career
Fields
Aerosol science
atmospheric chemistry
atmospheric physics
cloud physics
planetary sciences
Institutions
NASA Ames Research Center University of Colorado Boulder
Thesis
Climatic change on the Earth and Mars(1975)
Doctoral advisor
Carl Sagan
Owen Brian Toon (born May 26, 1947 in Bethesda, Maryland)[1] is an American professor of atmospheric and oceanic sciences. He is a fellow at the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP) at the University of Colorado Boulder.[2] He received an A.B. in physics at the University of California, Berkeley in 1969 and a Ph.D. in physics at Cornell University in 1975 under Carl Sagan. His research interests are in cloud physics, atmospheric chemistry, and radiative transfer. He also works on comparing Earth and other planets such as Venus.
His research on the asteroid impact that killed the dinosaurs led to the discovery of nuclear winter due to the major decrease in temperature.[3] The effects of nuclear winter were re-examined in a 2006 presentation at the annual meeting of the American Geophysical Union in San Francisco, where Toon and colleagues found that even a regional nuclear war could prove deadly for a large number of people.[4] They calculated that as few as fifty detonations of Hiroshima-size bombs could kill as many as twenty million people, although it would not produce a nuclear winter.[5] The atmospheric effects of a regional nuclear war would last several years, and would be strongest at mid-latitudes, including the United States and Europe.[6]
He was elected a fellow of the American Meteorological Society in 1990, and a fellow of the American Geophysical Union in 1992.[2] He received the 2011 Roger Revelle Medal from the American Geophysical Union.
In 2022, Toon was among eight recipients of the 2022 Future of Life Award. The honor was bestowed upon Toon for "reducing the risk of nuclear war by developing and popularizing the science of nuclear winter."[7]
^ abOwen B. Toon. "Owen B. Toon Biography" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 September 2011. Retrieved 11 March 2009.
^Turco, R.P., O.B. Toon, T.P. Ackerman, J.B. Pollack, and C. Sagan (1983). "Nuclear Winter: Global Consequences of Multiple Nuclear Explosions". Science. 222 (4630): 1283–92. Bibcode:1983Sci...222.1283T. doi:10.1126/science.222.4630.1283. PMID 17773320. S2CID 45515251.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^Johnson, John (13 December 2006). "Global hell of limited nuclear conflict". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 11 March 2009. 'These results are quite surprising,' Dr Toon said. Regional nuclear conflicts 'can endanger entire populations' the way it was once thought only worldwide conflict could.
^Erickson, Jim (12 December 2006). "Even limited nuclear war would have global effects, CU prof says". Rocky Mountain News. Archived from the original on 29 July 2007. Retrieved 11 March 2009. 'The current combination of nuclear proliferation, political instability and urban demographics forms perhaps the greatest danger to the stability of society since the dawn of humanity,' Toon said Monday during a news briefing at the annual meeting of the American Geophysical Union in San Francisco.
^Richard A. Lovett (13 December 2006). "Small Nuclear War Would Devastate Global Climate, Scientists Warn". National Geographic News. Archived from the original on December 15, 2006. Retrieved 11 March 2009. 'Regional-scale nuclear war can cause casualties similar to those previously predicted for a strategic attack by the U.S.S.R on the U.S.,' Toon said.
^"Future Of Life Award". Future of Life Institute. Retrieved 2022-08-23.
Owen Brian Toon (born May 26, 1947 in Bethesda, Maryland) is an American professor of atmospheric and oceanic sciences. He is a fellow at the Laboratory...
Cars Toons is an American animated short series based on the Cars franchise. It features Lightning McQueen, Mater, and their friends in comedic antics...
popularized in mainstream culture during the 1980s, when Richard P. Turco, OwenToon, Thomas P. Ackerman, James B. Pollack and Carl Sagan collaborated and...
Tiny Toon Adventures is an American animated television series created by Tom Ruegger that was broadcast from September 14, 1990, to December 6, 1992....
A landmark 1983 study by the so-called TTAPS team (Richard P. Turco, OwenToon, Thomas P. Ackerman, James B. Pollack and Carl Sagan) was the first to...
original on February 20, 2012. Retrieved February 7, 2012. Turco, R. P.; Toon, O. B.; Ackerman, T. P.; Pollack, J. B.; Sagan, C. (January 12, 1990). "Climate...
Owen Cunningham Wilson (born November 18, 1968) is an American actor. He has frequently worked with filmmaker Wes Anderson, with whom he has shared writing...
stands firm on Owen pay-out". BBC Sport. 28 February 2007. Archived from the original on 7 October 2007. Retrieved 3 July 2009. "Toon 'warranted' says...
Tomkiewicz (1939–), American climate change professor at Brooklyn College OwenToon, American professor of Atmospheric and Ocean Sciences at University of...
Tiny Toon Adventures is an American animated television series created by Warner Bros. Animation and Amblin Entertainment. It aired for three seasons between...
Toon In with Me is an American live-action/animated anthology television series created by Neal Sabin for MeTV and MeTV Plus. A special preview episode...
Peter Toon (1939 – 25 April 2009) was a priest and theologian and an international advocate of traditional Anglicanism. Toon was born to Thomas Arthur...
atmosphere of Earth and the current atmosphere of Titan. Project investigator OwenToon reported, "As had been predicted in some theoretical studies we found...
19 April 2009. "Kai News". Kai Owen. Retrieved 3 January 2010. "IMDB Resumee". IMDb. Retrieved 2 April 2008. John Toon (2 October 2006). "Fun at the Funeral...
Owenism is the utopian socialist philosophy of 19th-century social reformer Robert Owen and his followers and successors, who are known as Owenites. Owenism...
feature films Cars, Cars 2, and Cars 3, as well as the animated series Cars Toons and Cars on the Road. He is also a playable character in each of the Cars...
release) is a 2002 animated adventure fantasy film produced by Disney MovieToons and Walt Disney Television Animation. A sequel to Walt Disney Feature Animation's...
Amblin Entertainment in association with Warner Bros. Animation, after Tiny Toon Adventures. It initially ran a total of 99 episodes, along with a feature-length...
Idris Elba Reprising Role". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved February 15, 2022. Owen, Luke (February 10, 2020). "The Sonic The Hedgehog Movie That Never Got Made"...
(Hans van Tongeren) and Hans (Maarten Spanjer), and their mechanic, Eef (Toon Agterberg), dream of fame, fortune and casual sex. Their hero is legendary...
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