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Marcia Baker

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Marcia Bourgin Baker
Born
Marcia Bourgin

1938
Alma materUniversity of Washington
Scientific career
ThesisIon transport through nerve membranes (1971)

Marcia Baker is a retired professor known for her research on cloud physics which informs global climate models and defines the processes leading to the formation of lightning from clouds.

Education and career

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Baker graduated in 1955 from Urbana High School in Illinois.[1][2] She earned a scholarship on the basis of "scholastic achievement and promise of effective participation and leadership" to attend Cornell University from which she earned a B.S. in 1959.[3] She earned an M.S. from Stanford University in 1960[3] and a Ph.D. in physics in 1971 from the University of Washington.[4] She remained at the University of Washington following her Ph.D., initially as a research associate.[3] She was promoted to professor of geophysics and atmospheric sciences in 1988. She retired in 2004[5]

Research

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Baker's research on cloud physics informs climate change models.[6] Her early research examined how atmospheric particles absorb energy[7] and the formation of droplets within cumulus clouds.[8] Her modeling of turbulent mixing within clouds[9][10] and the connections between cloud thickness and precipitation[11][12] play a role in modeling of global climate. She has also used a combination of modeling and satellite observations to establish the processes that lead to the formation of lightning.[13][14]

Selected publications

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  • Baker, Marcia B.; Charlson, Robert J. (1990). "Bistability of CCN concentrations and thermodynamics in the cloud-topped boundary layer". Nature. 345 (6271): 142–145. Bibcode:1990Natur.345..142B. doi:10.1038/345142a0. ISSN 0028-0836. S2CID 34623897.
  • Pincus, Robert; Baker, Marcia B. (1994). "Effect of precipitation on the albedo susceptibility of clouds in the marine boundary layer". Nature. 372 (6503): 250–252. Bibcode:1994Natur.372..250P. doi:10.1038/372250a0. ISSN 0028-0836. S2CID 4356466.
  • Baker, M. B. (16 May 1997). "Cloud Microphysics and Climate". Science. 276 (5315): 1072–1078. doi:10.1126/science.276.5315.1072.
  • Roe, Gerard H.; Baker, Marcia B. (2007-10-26). "Why Is Climate Sensitivity So Unpredictable?". Science. 318 (5850): 629–632. Bibcode:2007Sci...318..629R. doi:10.1126/science.1144735. ISSN 0036-8075. PMID 17962560. S2CID 7325301.
  • Baker, Marcia B.; Peter, Thomas (2008). "Small-scale cloud processes and climate". Nature. 451 (7176): 299–300. Bibcode:2008Natur.451..299B. doi:10.1038/nature06594. ISSN 0028-0836. PMID 18202649.

Awards and honors

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References

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  1. ^ "Uni Graduating Classes 1951-1960 | University of Illinois Laboratory High School". www.uni.illinois.edu. Retrieved 2021-08-20.
  2. ^ "Urbana High Girl Gets Scholarship". idnc.library.illinois.edu. June 27, 1955. Retrieved 2021-08-20.
  3. ^ a b c d Chen, Deliang (March 2004). "International evaluation of meteorology". {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  4. ^ Baker, Marcia Bourgin (1971). Ion transport through nerve membranes (Thesis). OCLC 19767248.
  5. ^ a b "Atmospheric Circulation - newsletter of the University of Washington Atmospheric Sciences Department" (PDF). Fall 2005.
  6. ^ "Like It Or Not, Uncertainty And Climate Change Go Hand-in-hand". ScienceDaily. October 27, 2007. Retrieved 2021-08-20.
  7. ^ Baker, M.B. (1976-01-01). "Energy absorption by volatile atmospheric aerosol particles". Atmospheric Environment. 10 (3): 241–248. doi:10.1016/0004-6981(76)90097-4. ISSN 0004-6981.
  8. ^ Baker, M. B.; Latham, J. (1979-08-01). "The Evolution of Droplet Spectra and the Rate of Production of Embryonic Raindrops in Small Cumulus Clouds". Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences. 36 (8): 1612–1615. Bibcode:1979JAtS...36.1612B. doi:10.1175/1520-0469(1979)036<1612:TEODSA>2.0.CO;2. ISSN 0022-4928.
  9. ^ Baker, M. B.; Breidenthal, R. E.; Choularton, T. W.; Latham, J. (1984-01-15). "The Effects of Turbulent Mixing in Clouds". Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences. 41 (2): 299–304. Bibcode:1984JAtS...41..299B. doi:10.1175/1520-0469(1984)041<0299:TEOTMI>2.0.CO;2. ISSN 0022-4928.
  10. ^ Baker, M. B.; Dash, J. G. (1994). "Mechanism of charge transfer between colliding ice particles in thunderstorms". Journal of Geophysical Research. 99 (D5): 10621. Bibcode:1994JGR....9910621B. doi:10.1029/93JD01633. ISSN 0148-0227.
  11. ^ Pincus, Robert; Baker, Marcia B. (1994). "Effect of precipitation on the albedo susceptibility of clouds in the marine boundary layer". Nature. 372 (6503): 250–252. Bibcode:1994Natur.372..250P. doi:10.1038/372250a0. ISSN 0028-0836. S2CID 4356466.
  12. ^ Baker, M. B. (16 May 1997). "Cloud Microphysics and Climate". Science. 276 (5315): 1072–1078. doi:10.1126/science.276.5315.1072.
  13. ^ Baker, M.B; Blyth, A.M; Christian, H.J; Latham, J; Miller, K.L; Gadian, A.M (July 1999). "Relationships between lightning activity and various thundercloud parameters: satellite and modelling studies". Atmospheric Research. 51 (3–4): 221–236. Bibcode:1999AtmRe..51..221B. doi:10.1016/S0169-8095(99)00009-5.
  14. ^ Baker, Marcia B.; Christian, Hugh J.; Latham, John (October 1995). "A computational study of the relationships linking lightning frequency and other thundercloud parameters". Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society. 121 (527): 1525–1548. doi:10.1256/smsqj.52702.
  15. ^ "Baker". Honors Program.
  16. ^ "List of Fellows". American Meteorological Society. Retrieved 2021-08-20.