Anastasios Tsonis

Anastasios A. Tsonis
Born Elefsis, Greece
Fields Atmospheric science, mathematics
Institutions University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee
Education B.S., Aristotelian University (1976), Ph.D., McGill University (1982)
Thesis The evaluation of extrapolation schemes for the growth or decay of rain area and applications (1982)

Anastasios Tsonis is an American atmospheric scientist and distinguished professor at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee.

Education

Tsonis was born in the Greek city of Elefsis.[1] He received his BS from Aristotelian University in 1976 and his PhD from McGill University in 1982.[2]

Academic career

After receiving his PhD, Tsonis became a postdoctoral fellow at the Atmospheric Environmental Service in Canada from 1982–1985. He then joined the University of WisconsinMilwaukee, where he has remained ever since.[1]

Research

Tsonis's career began focusing on mathematical models of atmospheric processes, such as vertical wind speeds.[3][4]

More recently, Tsonis has become known for his research pertaining to global warming, especially natural influences on global temperatures. In 2009, Tsonis, with Kyle Swanson, published a paper reporting that natural climate shifts are superimposed on the warming trend observed during the 20th century. They concluded that "a break in the global mean temperature trend from the consistent warming over the 1976/77–2001/02 period may have occurred."[5] The authors also argued that "there are times when different types of natural variation in the climate synchronize, which shifts the climate to a new state",[6] and that this may explain the cessation of warming beginning in 2001 or 2002.[7] They contend that this shift changed the climate state from "warming" to "cooling".[8] Tsonis has argued that natural factors, especially ocean currents, may contribute more to climate change than human activity, and that the Earth is "now in a period of cooling that could last up to fifty years."[9] In 2013, he reiterated his view that this cooling trend was occurring, and might continue for the next 15 years.[10] That year, shortly after the IPCC Fifth Assessment Report was released, he also criticized the reliability of climate models, saying that they "don’t agree with each other – and they don’t agree with reality."[11]

References

  1. 1 2 About Page, uwm.edu
  2. "Anastasios Tsonis". University of Wisconsin Milwaukee Website. Retrieved 10 October 2014.
  3. Tsonis, Anastasios (June 1988). "The weather attractor over very short timescales". Nature. 333 (6173): 545–547. Bibcode:1988Natur.333..545T. doi:10.1038/333545a0.
  4. Irion, Robert (29 June 1988). "A Calculated Guess On Weather". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 10 October 2014.
  5. Swanson, Kyle L.; Tsonis, Anastasios A. (31 March 2009). "Has the climate recently shifted?". Geophysical Research Letters. 36 (6). Bibcode:2009GeoRL..36.6711S. doi:10.1029/2008GL037022.
  6. Solomon, Lawrence. "From chaos, coherence". National Post. Retrieved 16 October 2014.
  7. "Roundup: Climate science in 2009". The Guardian. 29 December 2009. Retrieved 10 October 2014.
  8. Swaffar, Gar (17 March 2009). "Climate Change - Who's Fault? Or No-Fault?". Digital Journal. Retrieved 10 October 2014.
  9. "UW-Milwaukee Professor Predicts 50 Years of Global Cooling". MacIver Institute. 13 January 2010. Retrieved 10 October 2014. Tsonis published a paper last March that found the world goes through periods of warming and cooling that tend to last thirty years. He says we are now in a period of cooling that could last up to fifty years.
  10. Dixon, Hayley (8 September 2013). "Global warming? No, actually we're cooling, claim scientists". The Telegraph. Retrieved 10 October 2014.
  11. Roberts, John (30 September 2013). "UN's massive new climate report adds little explanation for 'pause' in warming". Fox News. Retrieved 10 October 2014.
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