In Memory of Jim Scanlon, Citizen Ozone Scientist (1933-2005)

Forrest M. Mims III

This editorial originally appeared in The Citizen Scientist on 21 May 2004. It is reprinted here in memory of Jim Scanlon, an extraordinary citizen scientist, collaborator, colleague and friend.

Meet Jim Scanlon, an accomplished citizen scientist who knows more about the ups and downs of the ozone layer than many professional scientists.

Way back in the last century I was involved in a protracted discussion about the ozone layer and solar ultraviolet-B (UV-B) on an Internet environmental science discussion group. The participants were not directly involved in measuring the ozone layer and UV-B, and some were not very well informed about the issues. A major exception was a participant by the name of Jim Scanlon, for he was among the very few who stayed fully informed about the issues by actually reading scientific journals and attending scientific conferences.

I soon learned that Jim's experience went much further, for since 1990 he had been making annual trips to Patagonia at the tip of South America. His objective was to investigate the effects of increased UV-B that occur when the edge of the ozone hole periodically drifts past that desolate region.

This was 1995, and the Solar Light Company was preparing to introduce Microtops, a sophisticated, commercial version of an instrument I had designed to measure the ozone layer in 1989 for "The Amateur Scientist" column in Scientific American . In 1997, Solar Light loaned Jim a Microtops for his annual trek to the tip of South America to conduct his personal investigation of the effects of the ozone hole. This was a difficult assignment, for Microtops needs direct sunlight to measure the ozone layer, and cloud cover is often present over Patagonia.

Jim made measurements of the ozone layer when the ozone hole was present and when it was not. As NASA's TOMS (Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer) satellites clearly show, the amount of ozone just outside the ozone hole is often substantially higher than elsewhere on Earth. Inside the hole, ozone can plummet to much lower levels.

Jim shared his experiences through freelance newspaper articles and various Internet discussion groups. He also facilitated some of the researchers who study the ozone layer and UV-B. Jim speaks Spanish, and he has a way of making complicated topics simple. This and his Microtops earned him coverage in some South American newspapers.

Although I consider Jim Scanlon a friend and colleague, we have met only once. The occasion was a scientific conference on ultraviolet in San Diego in 2002. The meeting was sponsored by SPIE, the International Society for Optical Engineering. I was impressed how some of the scientists who organized the conference and presented papers listened carefully to what Jim had to say. They knew about Jim's considerable experience. As many of us have learned, the right kind of practical science experience can mean much more than a science degree.

Recently Jim and I have collaborated on a completely different kind of project. Last March I found black carbon particles in mountain snow in New Mexico. The Naval Research Laboratory's NAAPS smoke and aerosol forecast model shows that the carbon had come from smoke that originated from large scale agricultural fires in Southeast Asia.

My goal was to immediately travel to California to sample smoke-laden air arriving at the Pacific Coast. Finances and time prevented the trip. While corresponding with Jim about this, he volunteered to collect samples from Point Reyes north of San Francisco. This is an excellent site for such work, for the point projects well out into the Pacific away from artificial sources of carbon that might contaminate the samples.

I explained to Jim how to make a particle sampler by placing adhesive tape over one end of a tube and pointing the open end of the tube toward the prevailing wind coming off the Pacific. Jim went a step further and added a tripod mount to his sampler. He also made some nice photographs of his apparatus.

Jim collected numerous samples from Point Reyes and various other sites. He wrapped exposed tape around microscope slides, labeled them and sent them to me. I then examined them through a microscope.

Some of Jim's samples contain carbon particles on days when the NAAPS model forecast smoke from Southeast Asia arriving in his area. This is great news, for it means the very simple tape samplers he and I were using have practical value.

In a future issue of The Citizen Scientist Jim and I will describe these findings in more detail. Meanwhile, I wanted to introduce Jim to the citizen scientist community.

Jim Scanlon has demonstrated as much as any citizen scientist I know how how an outsider can learn much about a very specialized field by reading the scientific literature. But that's not enough for Jim Scanlon, for he actually travels to where the action is and makes sophisticated ozone and UV-B measurements using the latest technology.

Jim and I have talked about making a joint trip to South America to continue my studies of how smoke reduces ultraviolet during the burning season there. That's beyond our means just now, but I can't think of a better person to partner with for such a trip.