This report details the personal perspective of Kevin Trenberth on the main science-related developments during his career, which began from experiences in pre-satellite days in New Zealand in 1966 until he retired in 2020. It is a narrative and memoir, not so much about his scientific papers, bu... Show moreThis report details the personal perspective of Kevin Trenberth on the main science-related developments during his career, which began from experiences in pre-satellite days in New Zealand in 1966 until he retired in 2020. It is a narrative and memoir, not so much about his scientific papers, but rather the behind-the-scene events that played a role. After beginning his career in the New Zealand Meteorological Service, with a side venture to obtain his doctorate at MIT, Kevin moved to the United States for 42 years. He spent most of that time employed at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), and was extensively involved in global aspects of climate science, especially through the World Climate Research Programme and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, as well as U.S. national programs. The memoir details his evolution from a meteorologist in New Zealand to that of a true climate scientist and goes on to describe a number of major scientific issues and several controversies, such as Climategate, that arose for one reason or another, and how these were overcome. Kevin was fortunate to be at the forefront of many major developments in climate science including El Niño, reanalysis, climate change, and attribution. Ironically, given his leadership role in ascribing extreme weather events to human influences, Kevin personally experienced more than his share of extremes. The changes in the whole way in which climate science was linked to extremes in public reporting led to his recent research foci on water and energy, and implications of Earth’s Energy Imbalance. The importance of interactions with the international community of scientists is emphasized along with the growing need to publicize the results of research to the general public but perhaps not through social media. Somewhat in spite of his introverted nature, Kevin became a main go-to-guy for media comments on new publications at NCAR prior to social media, and this sometimes got him into controversies, especially with climate change deniers. Show less
