Meteorology and Ozone Monitoring
Long-term meteorological and ozone observations and data help determine the causes of climate change in the polar regions.
Jonathan Shanklin
E Fellow
Jonathan Shanklin joined the British Antarctic Survey in Cambridge in 1976, after graduating from Cambridge University with a BA in Natural Sciences and a PGCE in teaching physics. He retired at the end of March 2012 as head of its Meteorology and Ozone Monitoring Unit and is now an emeritus fellow at BAS. He continues his work in monitoring the Antarctic ozone hole and monitoring climate data for the GCOS Lead Centre for Antarctica. During his time with BAS he made 19 visits to the Antarctic, either to install new equipment, calibrate existing equipment or to make tours of inspection. He was an author of the paper that announced the discovery of what is now known as the Antarctic ozone hole, and the team were jointly awarded the Institute of Physics Charles Chree medal in 2000. He was invested with the Polar Medal by Her Majesty in 2005. He was a chair of the WMO Group on Antarctic Meteorology. At BAS and its parent organisation the NERC, he was the Trades Union vice-chair for Health & Safety.
His other interests are wide ranging: for sports he plays cricket in the summer and ice hockey in the winter, the latter albeit only occasionally these days. He is tower captain at St Benet’s church in Cambridge, which involves leading the bell-ringers in the English style of bell-ringing. He is a Council Member of and Field Meetings Secretary for the Botanical Society of Britain & Ireland and is their botanical co-recorder for the old county of Cambridgeshire. As well as botany he has a particular interest in liverworts. He is a vice-president of the Cambridge Natural History Society. He is Director of the Comet Section of the two leading national UK amateur astronomical societies and has discovered six SOHO comets.
Research interests
Reminiscences of Halley’s Comet. D W Hughes, C Birkett, H Couper, S F Green, B Harpur, M J Hendrie, J D Shanklin, C Stott, M K Wallis, I P Williams & J C Zarnecki. Vistas in Astronomy, 32, Sep 88, pp 163-180.
The UK Contribution to Observations of Comet Halley. I P Williams, S F Green, P J Andrews, S W H Cowley, M J Hendrie, D W Hughes, A D Johnstone, J A M McDonnell, J D Shanklin, M K Wallis & J C Zarnecki. Quarterly Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society, 30, No 1, Mar 89, pp 3-32.
MERLIN observations of the Wolf-Rayet star AS431 (WR147) – a double radio source. J P Moran, R J Davis, M F Bode, A R Taylor, R E Spencer, A N Argue, M J Irwin & J D Shanklin Nature, 340, No 6233, Aug 89, pp 449-450.
Aluminium hydroxide polymorphs in a waste deposit from Faraday Base, Argentine Islands. K A Rodgers, M R Gregory, S F Courtney & J D Shanklin. N.Jb.Miner.Mh., H.3, Mar 92, pp 127-133.
The BAA comet section. J D Shanklin. Int. Comet Q., 16, No 4, Oct 94, pp149-151.
Estimation of DC. J D Shanklin. Int. Comet Q., 17, No 3, Jul 95, pp85-87.
Comet analyses. J D Shanklin. J. Brit. Astron. Assoc., 105, No 6, Dec 95, pp 291-294
Comet Levy 1990 c. J D Shanklin. J. Brit. Astron. Assoc., 105, No 6, Dec 95, pp 295-300
Comet Shoemaker-Levy 1991 a1. J D Shanklin. J. Brit. Astron. Assoc., 106, No 1, Feb 96, pp 19-21.
The comets of 1990. J D Shanklin. J. Brit. Astron. Assoc., 106, No 2, Apr 96, pp 86-91
The comets of 1991. J D Shanklin. J. Brit. Astron. Assoc., 107, No 4, Aug 97, pp 186-191
Voyages South. J D Shanklin. J. Brit. Astron. Assoc., 107 (6), 307 (1997)
The comets of 1992. J D Shanklin. J. Brit. Astron. Assoc., 108, No 2, Apr 98, pp 90-98
The comets of 1993. J D Shanklin. J. Brit. Astron. Assoc., 108, No 6, Dec 98, pp 305-316
The comets of 1994. J D Shanklin. J. Brit. Astron. Assoc., 109, No 4, Aug 99, pp 191-209
The comets of 1995. J D Shanklin. J. Brit. Astron. Assoc., 110, No 6, Dec 00, pp 311-322
The comets of 1996. J D Shanklin. J. Brit. Astron. Assoc., 111, No 5, Oct 01, pp 247-260
The comets of 1997. J D Shanklin. J. Brit. Astron. Assoc., 112, No 3, Jun 02, pp 130-150
The comets of 1998. J D Shanklin. J. Brit. Astron. Assoc., 112, No 6, Dec 02, pp 325-348
Astronomical diaries from the time of the Great War. J D Shanklin. J. Brit. Astron. Assoc., 113, No 5, Oct 03, pp 262-265
The comets of 1999. J D Shanklin. J. Brit. Astron. Assoc., 119, No 6, Dec 09, pp 317-339
The comets of 2000. J D Shanklin. J. Brit. Astron. Assoc., 120, No 4, Oct 10, pp 223-239
67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko). J D Shanklin. J. Brit. Astron. Assoc., 123, No 3, Jun 13, pp 163-164
The comets of 2001 (Part 1). J D Shanklin. J. Brit. Astron. Assoc., 123, No 6, Dec 13, pp 338-352
The comets of 2001 (Part 2). J D Shanklin. J. Brit. Astron. Assoc., 124, No 1, Feb 14, pp 29-35
The comets of 2002 (Part 1). J D Shanklin. J. Brit. Astron. Assoc., 124, No 5, Oct 14, pp 254-266
The comets of 2002 (Part 2). J D Shanklin. J. Brit. Astron. Assoc., 124, No 6, Dec 14, pp 322-335
The brighter comets of 2003. J D Shanklin. J. Brit. Astron. Assoc., 125, No 1, Feb 15, pp 38-46
The brighter comets of 2004. J D Shanklin. J. Brit. Astron. Assoc., 125, No 2, Apr 15, pp 105-115
Publications from NERC Open Research Archive
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SCIENCE ON THE ICE: 20th visit to Antarctica
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World Ozone Day: 30th anniversary of Montreal Protocol
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NEWS STORY: World Ozone Day 2015
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NEWS STORY: World Ozone Day
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NEWS STORY: Signs of ozone recovery
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International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer (Ozone Day) – 16 September
Read more of: International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer (Ozone Day) – 16 SeptemberNew documentary examines the status of the Ozone Hole on the anniversary of the Montreal Protocol – a global agreement banning ozone depleting substances It’s over 25 years since British […]
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Ozone Holes North and South
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PRESS RELEASE: Ozone hole anniversary
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International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer
Read more of: International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone LayerIn May 1985 in the journal Nature British Antarctic Survey scientists reported their discovery of an ‘ozone hole’ over Antarctica. The United Nations Environmental Programme proclaims 16 September the International […]
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20th Anniversary of ozone hole discovery: International Ozone Day
Read more of: 20th Anniversary of ozone hole discovery: International Ozone DayFriday (16 September) is International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer. This year scientists at British Antarctic Survey (BAS) commemorate their discovery of the Antarctic ‘ozone hole’ 20 […]
I was a member of the team that discovered the Antarctic ozone hole.
The Antarctic ozone hole was discovered in 1985 by BAS Scientists, from left: Joe Farman, Brian Gardiner and Jon Shanklin with a Dobson ozone spectrophotometer, used to determine stratospheric ozone concentrations.