Jean-Robert Petit studied

chemistry Chemistry is the science, scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a natural science that covers the Chemical element, elements that make up matter to the chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules and ions ...

and

physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which r ...

at the

University of Grenoble The Université Grenoble Alpes (UGA, French: meaning "''Grenoble Alps University''") is a public research university in Grenoble, France. Founded in 1339, it is the third largest university in France with about 60,000 students and over 3,000 resea ...

and received a PhD in 1984 in

paleoclimatology Paleoclimatology (British spelling, palaeoclimatology) is the study of climates for which direct measurements were not taken. As instrumental records only span a tiny part of Earth's history, the reconstruction of ancient climate is important to ...

on the study of the aeolian dust record from Antarctic

ice cores An ice core is a core sample that is typically removed from an ice sheet or a high mountain glacier. Since the ice forms from the incremental buildup of annual layers of snow, lower layers are older than upper ones, and an ice core contains ic ...

Academic works

In 1999 he was the lead author of a study published in

Nature Nature, in the broadest sense, is the physics, physical world or universe. "Nature" can refer to the phenomenon, phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general. The study of nature is a large, if not the only, part of science. ...

, "Climate and atmospheric history of the past 420,000 years from the

Vostok Vostok refers to east in Russian but may also refer to: Spaceflight * Vostok programme, Soviet human spaceflight project * Vostok (spacecraft), a type of spacecraft built by the Soviet Union * Vostok (rocket family), family of rockets derived from ...

ice core,

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest contine ...

." The paper presented the first long climate record from the ice. It provided a continuous record of temperature and atmospheric composition. The data extracted from this ice core had implications throughout the fields of

glaciology Glaciology (; ) is the scientific study of glaciers, or more generally ice and natural phenomena that involve ice. Glaciology is an interdisciplinary Earth science that integrates geophysics, geology, physical geography, geomorphology, climato ...

and

. One of the concluding remarks was that present day levels of

carbon dioxide Carbon dioxide (chemical formula ) is a chemical compound made up of molecules that each have one carbon atom covalently double bonded to two oxygen atoms. It is found in the gas state at room temperature. In the air, carbon dioxide is transpar ...

and

methane Methane ( , ) is a chemical compound with the chemical formula (one carbon atom bonded to four hydrogen atoms). It is a group-14 hydride, the simplest alkane, and the main constituent of natural gas. The relative abundance of methane on Eart ...

seem to have been unprecedented during the past 420,000 years. The paper has been cited 3953 times to date.

Ice cores

He was also a member of the

EPICA Epica or EPICA may refer to: * Epica (band), a Dutch symphonic metal band * ''Epica'' (Kamelot album), 2003 * ''Epica'' (Audiomachine album), 2012 * The European Project for Ice Coring in Antarctica (EPICA) * The Epica Awards (International Adver ...

project, a European team that drilled an ice core at

Dome C Dome C, also known as Dome Circe, Dome Charlie or Dome Concordia, located at Antarctica at an elevation of above sea level, is one of several summits or "domes" of the Antarctic Ice Sheet. Dome C is located on the Antarctic Plateau, inland fro ...

that provided, in 2004, a 740,000-year climate record.

References

Bibliography

* Jean-Robert Petit, ''Vostok, Le dernier secret de l'Antarctique'', éditions Paulsen, Paris, 2013

External links

An interview with:Dr. Jean-Robert Petit
French climatologists Paleoclimatologists Living people Year of birth missing (living people) {{France-scientist-stub

Academic works

Ice cores

See also

References

Bibliography

External links