John Pyle has made major contributions to our understanding of the chemistry of the stratosphere and the troposphere, both by numerical modelling of the atmosphere and by interpretation of atmospheric measurements. In the 1970s, he was involved in the development of the first interactive two-dimensional model of stratospheric chemistry and transport. This enabled him to be the first person to demonstrate that ozone depletion by CFCs varies with latitude. He pioneered the analysis of satellite data for dynamical and chemical studies, for instance by testing chemical steady state relationships and elucidating the role of the semi-annual oscillation in controlling the abundance of trace species. He was a leader in the development of three-dimensional models incorporating chemical and transport properties. Subsequently, chemistry/climate interactions became a major research theme. Other research interests have included the budget of atmospheric methane and the possible environmental impact of a hydrogen economy.
He played a major role in building an EU stratospheric research programme in the 1990s, coordinating several major field campaigns. He has contributed to all the WMO/UNEP assessments on stratospheric ozone since the early 1980s and from 2008-2023 was one of the four international Co-Chairs on the Scientific Assessment Panel, responsible under the Montreal Protocol for these assessments.
Subject groups
- Earth and environmental sciences
Atmospheric chemistry
Awards
Davy Medal
For pioneering leadership in understanding the depletion of the global ozone layer by halocarbons, particularly coupling between chemistry, radiation, and dynamics, and the special vulnerability of Arctic ozone.
