Steven W. Running, (born 1950) Emeritus Regents Professor of Ecology, W.A. Franke College of Forestry & Conservation at the
University of Montana, and Director of the Numerical Terradynamics Simulation Group, developed the earth observing-oriented algorithms used by the
Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on board NASA’s satellites, Terra and Aqua. Running's MOD17 algorithms are used to provide accurate and continuous global monitoring of the terrestrial biosphere, specifically, generating near-real-time data sets for repeated monitoring of vegetation primary production on vegetated land at 1-km resolution at 8-day intervals. These datasets are unique in that they provide global data on primary productivity and span a decade.
A recognized expert in global ecosystem monitoring, Running was invited to serve on the board of the
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is an intergovernmental body of the United Nations. Its job is to advance scientific knowledge about climate change caused by human activities. The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) a ...
(IPCC). In 2007, the IPCC was awarded the
Nobel Peace Prize "for their efforts to build up and disseminate greater knowledge about
man-made climate change
In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to E ...
, and to lay the foundations for the measures that are needed to counteract such change".
Running made the following statement about winning the prize: "We've got to get past all the petty bickering and get to work. This is about a big transition for society over the next 50 years. The path we are on is unsustainable. What the Nobel committee is saying is that we've got to wake up. We've got to change the course of the whole world."
Steve Running is co-author of the 2007 book, ''Forest Ecosystems'', and has published over 300 scientific papers.
In 2012, Running suggested a tenth
planetary boundary, the annual net global
primary production of all
terrestrial plants, as an easily determinable measure integrating many variables that will give "a clear signal about the health of ecosystems".
Biomass should be tenth tipping point, researcher says
''SciDev.Net'', 27 March 2012.
References
External links
Dr. Steve Running: 5 Stages of Climate Grief University of Montana Lecture
{{DEFAULTSORT:Running, Steve
Living people
1950 births
American scientists