Richard Alley facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Richard Alley
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Richard Alley in 2014, portrait via the Royal Society
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Richard Blane Alley
18 August 1957 |
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| Awards | ForMemRS 2014 BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award Heinz Award with special focus on the Environment (2011) Roger Revelle Medal (2007) AGU Fellow (2000) |
| Scientific career | |
| Institutions | Pennsylvania State University |
| Thesis | Transformations in polar firn (1987) |
| Doctoral advisor | Charles R. Bentley |
Richard Blane Alley (born August 18, 1957) is an American geologist and a professor at Pennsylvania State University. He has written over 240 scientific papers about how Earth's ice and snow (called the cryosphere) are connected to global climate change. He is known as a top researcher in his field.
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Studying Earth's Climate
Richard Alley studied at Ohio State University and then earned his PhD in 1987 from the University of Wisconsin–Madison.
Researching Ice Cores
In 1999, Richard Alley was asked to speak to important government leaders about climate change. This happened after his research on ice cores from Greenland showed something amazing. He discovered that the last Ice Age did not end slowly. Instead, it finished very suddenly and dramatically.
He spoke to the U.S. Senate in 2003, and to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2007 and 2010. He shared his scientific findings about Earth's changing climate.
Working with Climate Experts
Richard Alley was a main author for a big report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in 2007. This group is a joint effort by the United Nations (UN) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). He has been part of this important panel since 1992, helping to write earlier reports too.
He has also written articles for famous science magazines like Nature and Science. He led a group that studied "Abrupt Climate Change." In 2000, he wrote a book called The Two-Mile Time Machine: Ice Cores, Abrupt Climate Change, and Our Future. He often appears on TV shows and gives talks to explain climate change to everyone.
Understanding Ice Sheets
Richard Alley's recent work looks at ice sheets. He studies what makes them "calve," which is when large pieces of ice break off from the main ice sheet. This process is important for understanding how ice sheets shrink.
Awards and Special Honors
Richard Alley has received many awards for his important work.
Top Science Awards
- In 2005, he received the Seligman Crystal. This award recognized his huge contributions to understanding how stable the ice sheets and glaciers in Antarctica and Greenland are. It also honored his work on how moving ice shapes the land.
- Also in 2005, he was the first person to get the Louis Agassiz Medal. This award was for his amazing and ongoing work in glaciology (the study of ice). It also praised how well he explains important science to the public.
- In 2007, Richard Alley was part of the group of Penn State scientists who contributed to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. This group shared the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize with Al Gore.
- He was chosen to join the United States National Academy of Sciences in 2008. This is a very high honor for scientists in the U.S.
- In 2011, he received the 17th Annual Heinz Award, which focused on the environment.
- In 2014, he was given the first "Friend of the Planet" award by the National Center for Science Education.
- He was also elected a Foreign Member of the Royal Society in 2014. This means he is recognized as a top scientist by a very old and respected scientific group in the UK.
- He won the 2014 BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award for Climate Change. The judges said he did "pioneering research" into how ice works and what it means for sudden climate changes.
- In 2017, he received the Wollaston Medal, the highest award from the Geological Society of London. This award is for geologists who have made a big impact through their research.
- In 2018, he received the Roy Chapman Andrews Society Distinguished Explorer Award for his discoveries about rapid climate change.
- In January 2025, President Biden gave Richard Alley the National Medal of Science, one of the highest science honors in the United States.
Television Programs
Besides his research, Richard Alley has appeared on television to share his knowledge.
- In 2011, he hosted a special program on PBS called EARTH: The Operators’ Manual. This show aimed to explain Earth's environmental challenges and possible solutions in a clear, hopeful way. The series continued through 2012. He also wrote a book with the same title.
- He has also appeared in episodes of the History Channel series Mega Disasters.
