Berlin, September 22, 2012 – Tiny solid or liquid particles that occur in the atmosphere in mixtures with gases – known as aerosols – can, under certain circumstances, lower the temperature of the Earth and thus diminish climate change. The formation of these tiny particles in the atmosphere is vitally important from a climate perspective. Climate research owes this fundamental finding to Professor Markku Kulmala from the University of Helsinki. It was for this research that the Bayer Science & Education Foundation honored the 53-year-old Finn, one of the world's leading geoscientists, with the Bayer Climate Award 2012. This award worth EUR 50,000 is presented every two years. The award ceremony took place during the opening event of the Annual Assembly of the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina, the theme of which was “The Role of Science in Global Change,” in front of 300 scientists and guests in Berlin.

“The Leopoldina is devoted to the big global challenges of our time. Bayer and our foundation are also involved intensively with specific approaches to some of these challenges – such as health care, nutrition and climate change,” said Prof. Wolfgang Plischke, the member of the Bayer Board of Management responsible for Innovation, Technology and Sustainability, at the award ceremony. “To master these global tasks sustainably, we are looking in particular to support innovative solutions from research. This is the core of our mission 'Bayer – Science For A Better Life.'"

In his congratulatory address, Prof. Klaus von Klitzing, Director of the Max Planck Institute for Solids Research (Stuttgart), Nobel Prizewinner for Physics in 1985 and member of the judging panel for the award, praised prizewinner Kulmala's pioneering achievements as a researcher into aerosols. “Professor Kulmala's research work has focused attention on aerosols as a fundamental climate factor and thus brought fundamental research into climate change that one stage further.”

Prizewinner Kulmala himself said: “Receiving the Bayer Climate Award is a great honor for me. I very much appreciate the commitment Bayer is making. The company not only invests a great deal in its own research and development, it also supports external research through cooperation agreements and through its foundation.” He added: “We need this attitude from industry to ensure that sufficient attention is paid to the climate sciences beyond academia.”

Aerosols and the climate
Aerosols or aerosol particles are regarded as potential “climate coolers.” At high atmospheric humidity, water can condense on the particles to form water droplets, from which bright and long-lasting clouds can develop. The clouds can scatter sunlight back into space and thus counter global warming caused by greenhouse gases. However, there are simply still too many unknowns for an accurate quantitative analysis of the effect of aerosols in the atmosphere. For example, not all aerosol particles behave in the same way from a physical point of view. Salts reflect sunlight, while soot particles absorb it. At the same time, the effect of one type of particle varies depending on the location. In the troposphere, soot particles, for instance, bring about an increase in temperature through their absorption of light because they emit heat radiation.

The latest findings on natural organic aerosols have shown that there is a link between carbon sinks – i.e. reservoirs such as forests that absorb carbon temporarily or permanently – and aerosol formation. Further research is needed in this field, and scientists will be able to build on the important findings that have emerged from Professor Kulmala’s work.

Professor Kulmala's scientific work and commitment
The aerosol particles themselves are formed through the agglomeration of molecules. This process, also known as nucleation, has not yet been adequately researched and understood by scientists. Professor Kulmala works in the field of aerosol particle dynamics. His research results are helping us to better understand the process of nucleation.

Professor Kulmala showed using continuous comprehensive data obtained since 1996, for example, that the nucleation of aerosol particles is a global phenomenon and occurs constantly in the atmosphere. Until his results were published, this was thought to be a fairly rare occurrence. Kulmala's findings on the relationship between aerosols, clouds, climate and biosphere have provided an important basis for understanding the influence of air pollution on the process of climate change better. He uses a wide variety of scientific disciplines, combining results from theoretical and experimental physics, atmospheric chemistry, meteorology and biology. Several research groups throughout the world are currently occupied with the mechanisms researched by Kulmala. According to the "ISI Web of Knowledge" database (compiled by the Institute for Scientific Information (ISI) owned by the media group Thomson Reuters), Kulmala is currently the most cited geoscientist in the world.

For the award winner, who was appointed Professor of the Year 2012 by the Finnish Union of University Professors and holds an Honorary Doctorate from the Universities of Stockholm, Tartu and Budapest, it is especially important to establish scientific findings as a basis for political decisions. Kulmala strongly advocates this, including in his position as Chairman of the Climate Panel of the Finnish Environment Ministry.

Award history
Kulmala is the third winner of the Bayer Climate Award. Before him, it was won by energy efficiency expert Prof. em. Eberhard Jochem (2008) and marine researcher Prof. Peter Lemke (2010). It is awarded every two years by the Bayer Science & Education Foundation. When it was established in 2008, the Bayer Climate Award was the first international science prize donated by a company for basic research in climate sciences.

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