About me

I am an atmospheric scientist working in the Netherlands (and living 1 ft below sealevel), and I am particularly interested in science communication. My research interests are in atmospheric aerosols: their formation, their interaction with clouds, and their effects on climate. More recently, I have ventured into atmospheric transport modeling of greenhouse gases and other climate and mitigation related topics.

I hold an MSc in environmental sciences (air quality and communication) from Wageningen University (Netherlands) and a PhD in Atmospheric Chemistry (aerosol formation) from York University (Canada). The background picture on my blog is taken from the Jungfraujoch research station in the Swiss Alps, where I participated in several measurement campaigns focused on aerosol-cloud interactions.

On this blog, I will try to give a balanced view of the scientific knowledge on climate change. By “balanced” I mean weighing the evidence: Not all theories have equal merit, since they are not all backed up by equally strong evidence. Science is all about weighing the evidence. I will mostly discuss general climate related issues, occasionally highlighting details that interest me, e.g. related to aerosols or the communication of climate change.

The ‘debate’ about climate change, as portrayed in the popular media (“Is it real? Is it caused by humans?”), is entirely different from the scientific debate (which is about details; the big picture has emerged quite clearly from the past decades of research: Yes, it’s real. Yes, it’s predominantly caused by humans). This will be a recurring theme on my blog. I will try to add a voice, grounded in science, to the popular debate, to hopefully help narrowing this gap.

The views as expressed here are my own, and do not necessarily reflect those of my employer.

I dedicate this blog to my older brother, Joost.

Bart Verheggen