AZADEH TABAZADEH
Atmospheric Science, NASA Ames Research Center
Popular Science magazine -- Nearly a decade ago, Azadeh Tabazadeh helped demolish
the claim that human activity wasn't destroying the ozone layer. Critics and commentators
insisted that natural events, including volcanic eruptions, were the cause?not coolants
from air conditioners and refrigerators. Tabazadeh showed that volcanic chlorine
washes to Earth in rainfall before reaching the stratospheric ozone. Chlorofluorocarbons,
on the other hand, don't dissolve in water and float up undisturbed, reducing the
ozone layer's capacity to filter ultraviolet rays. Her work helped pave the way for
a landmark 1996 ban on CFC manufacturing.
Tabazadeh, 37, has always challenged authority. Growing up in Iran, she feared sanctions
against women would keep her from pursuing science. At 17, her parents agreed to
let her escape. "I guess they knew I was too stubborn and could cause trouble,"
she recalls. Guided by smugglers, she climbed the mountains into Pakistan and on
to an uncertain future >>> Here
Sent by Mehran Azhar
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