Jean-Louis Le Mouël (born in 1938 in

Remungol Remungol (; br, Remengol) is a former Communes of France, commune in the Morbihan Departments of France, department of Brittany (administrative region), Brittany in north-western France. Inhabitants of Remungol are called in French ''Remungolais' ...

) is a French

geophysicist Geophysics () is a subject of natural science concerned with the physical processes and physical properties of the Earth and its surrounding space environment, and the use of quantitative methods for their analysis. The term ''geophysics'' som ...

, physicist emeritus at the

Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris The Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris - Université de Paris (IPGP, University of Paris; French for "Paris Institute of Earth Physics") is a French governmental, non-profit research and higher education establishment located in Paris, dedica ...

(IPGP), which he chaired, and member of the French Academy of sciences since 1988. He has published numerous articles in academic journals, in particular with

Vincent Courtillot Vincent E. Courtillot (born 6 March 1948) is an emeritus French geophysicist, prominent among the researchers who are critical of the hypothesis that impact events are a primary cause of mass extinction of life forms on the Earth. He is known for ...

. He is a recognized specialist in geomagnetism. His work in this field earned him the John Adam Fleming Medal in 1997. He is a member of the

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 ...

and the

Royal Astronomical Society (Whatever shines should be observed) , predecessor = , successor = , formation = , founder = , extinction = , merger = , merged = , type = NGO ...

, a former president of the

Geological Society of France Geology () is a branch of natural science concerned with Earth and other astronomical objects, the features or rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Eart ...

, and has received numerous scientific and non-scientific decorations. Officier of the

Légion d'Honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

, CNRS Silver Medal in 1984, he also received the Grand Prix from the

French Atomic Energy Commission The French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission or CEA ( French: Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives), is a French public government-funded research organisation in the areas of energy, defense and securit ...

in 1987 and the Petrus-Peregrinus Medal from the European Geosciences Union in 2004. He questions the importance of human influence on global warming. He declared in 2009: "''The climate has varied greatly over the centuries and years. Is the recent warming due solely to human activity and the production of greenhouse gases? In view of the available observations, man-made global warming is only a hypothesis, which should be considered and discussed as such. Similarly, the consequences that are drawn from it should be discussed calmly''". He therefore calls for a dispassionate scientific debate. For him, it is essentially solar activity that impacts the climate, as well as the Earth's magnetism. He has received criticism for his scepticism of global warming. In particular, the director of the

Hadley Centre The Met Office Hadley Centre — named in honour of George Hadley — is one of the United Kingdom's leading centres for the study of scientific issues associated with climate change. It is part of, and based at the headquarters of the Met Off ...

, a proponent of global warming, claimed that the data that had been used by Courtillot and Le Mouël in a 2007 study had been manipulated.

Chosen publications

* 1971, "Aeromagnetic Survey Of South-Western Europe Aeromagnetic Survey Of South-Western Europe", Earth and planetary science letters 12, with Eugène Le Borgne and Xavier Le Pichon * V. Courtillot, J. Ducruix, J.l. Le Mouel, "Sur une accélération récente de la variation séculaire du champ magnétique terrestre", C.R.Acad.Sci.Paris, D287, 1095-1098 (1978) * V. Courtillot, A. Galdeano, J.l. Le Mouel, "Propagation of an accreting plate boundary : discussion of a new aeromagnetic survey of the Republic of Djibouti", Earth Planet. Sci. Lett., 47, 144-160 (1980) * " Le globe ", Jean-Louis Le Mouël, Xavier Le Pichon, Claude Japart, in Université de tous les savoirs, T15, Odile Jacob, 05/2002 * 2007, "Are there connections between Earth's magnetic field and climate?", Earth Planet. Sci. Lett., 253, 328–339, with Vincent Courtillot

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Le Mouël, Jean-Louis 1938 births French geophysicists Members of the French Academy of Sciences Living people