Anne Ritger Douglass is atmospheric physicist known for her research on chlorinated compounds and the ozone layer.

Education and career

Douglass graduated with a B.A.in physics from Trinity, now

Trinity Washington University Trinity Washington University is a private Catholic university in Washington, D.C. Trinity is a comprehensive university with five schools; the undergraduate College of Arts & Sciences maintains its original mission as a liberal arts women's ...

, in 1971. She then earned a M.S. in physics from the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Tw ...

(1975), where she was the only woman in her cohort. She earned a Ph.D. in physics in 1980 from

Iowa State University Iowa State University of Science and Technology (Iowa State University, Iowa State, or ISU) is a public land-grant research university in Ames, Iowa. Founded in 1858 as the Iowa Agricultural College and Model Farm, Iowa State became one of the n ...

. In 1981, she joined the staff at

National Aeronautics and Space Administration The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeeding th ...

's Goddard Space Flight Center. In 2014, Douglass described science as her passion with a note that "You have to love what you do." She began a phased retirement from NASA in 2017.

Research

Douglass used satellite measurements from NASA's

Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite The Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS) was a NASA-operated orbital observatory whose mission was to study the Earth's atmosphere, particularly the protective ozone layer. The satellite was deployed from Space Shuttle ''Discovery'' durin ...

(UARS) platform to define the mode of production for reaction chlorine species, to globally map these ozone-depleting chlorine compounds, and to model differences in the formation of atmospheric chlorine reservoirs between the northern and southern hemispheres. Douglass is the co-lead for NASA Goddard Earth Observing System Chemistry Climate Model (GEOSCCM) which enables modeling of atmospheric temperatures and ozone hole. Douglass has modeled the annual cycle and transport of ozone in the atmosphere. Her model on the movement of

chlorofluorocarbon Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) are fully or partly halogenated hydrocarbons that contain carbon (C), hydrogen (H), chlorine (Cl), and fluorine (F), produced as volatile derivatives of methane, ethane, and prop ...

s (CFCs) in the atmosphere has implications for what would have happened to the ozone layer in the absence of international agreements to reduce atmospheric CFCs levels. Douglass was the co-lead of the validation program for NASA's Aura satellite which is designed to collect data on ozone, climate, and air quality. In 2010, Douglass took over the project scientist position. The ozone data collected by the Aura satellites plays a key role in ozone assessments which guides Douglass's participation in the

Montreal Protocol The Montreal Protocol is an international treaty designed to protect the ozone layer by phasing out the production of numerous substances that are responsible for ozone depletion Ozone depletion consists of two related events observed sinc ...

. In 2018, Douglass's research shows decreases in ozone depletion above Antarctica which indicates an improvement in the ozone hole that may fully heal by 2070.

Awards and honors

* Fellow,

American Meteorological Society The American Meteorological Society (AMS) is the premier scientific and professional organization in the United States promoting and disseminating information about the Atmospheric sciences, atmospheric, Oceanography, oceanic, and Hydrology, hydr ...

(1998) *Fellow,

American Geophysical Union The American Geophysical Union (AGU) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization of Earth, atmospheric, ocean, hydrologic, space, and planetary scientists and enthusiasts that according to their website includes 130,000 people (not members). AGU's act ...

(2007) *Exceptional Scientific Achievement Medal, NASA (2009) *Outstanding Leadership Medal, NASA (2012) *William Nordberg Memorial Award for Earth Science, Goddard Space Flight Center's highest award in the Earth Sciences (2013)

Personal life

Douglass has five children, enjoys yoga and tap dancing, and was a Girl Scout leader while her children were young. Douglass discusses the challenges of balancing a career and children in her contribution to ''Motherhood: The Elephant in the Laboratory.''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Douglass, Anne R. Fellows of the American Meteorological Society Fellows of the American Geophysical Union Atmospheric scientists Atmospheric chemists Trinity Washington University alumni University of Minnesota alumni Iowa State University alumni Year of birth missing (living people) Living people