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Dr. Brian Toon of the Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences at CU Boulder was recently interviewed about his work in modeling the effects of a potential nuclear war on human society and our environment. Dr. Toon was one of the key speakers at the 2014 CAS Symposium: "Catastrophic Asia," and his talk was among those published in the most recent issue of The Journal of Asian Studies earlier this summer. Dr. Toon is perhaps most famous for being one of the first researchers to formulate a theory of "nuclear winter," the idea that resulting smoke from nuclear explosions could potentially cause the rapid cooling of the Earth's atmosphere and deplete the ozone, devastating crops and endangering all of humanity, including nations and peoples not actively participating in the hypothetical conflict. In a collaborative effort with Professor Alan Robock of Rutgers University, Dr. Toon is using technology and climate models to predict the effects of a potential nuclear winter. 

Jim Scott of CU Boulder Today recently interviewed Dr. Toon about his current research and its importance:

" 'I find it surprising and frustrating that the potential catastrophic effects of a nuclear war have fallen off the radar of many people following the nuclear winter discussions that began in the early 1980s,' said Toon. 'One of our goals for this study is inform people how dangerous these weapons are by providing a solid scientific analysis of the issues.'

The team is using supercomputers and sophisticated climate models developed by the  in Boulder to calculate the amount of fire fuels in major cities and how much smoke might be produced by nuclear blasts. The researchers also are using agricultural and world food trade models to assess the impact on crops from a potential nuclear war and the possibility of widespread famine.

'Calculations show there is enough food on the planet to feed people for about 60 days, and an average city has about enough food to feed residents for just seven days,' said Toon, also a professor in the atmospheric and oceanic sciences department (ATOC). 'The functioning of our society is based in large part on our ability to transport food, fuel and other goods—activities that would be severely affected by a nuclear war.' "

Dr. Toon's research is vital to helping us develop our understanding of the material consequences of nuclear war and, hopefully, in deterring the recent move in the U.S. toward nuclear escalation. 

For the full article, please see the original posting at CU Boulder Today .