Intrigued by an atmospheric mystery bringing down aircraft, a small group of scientists at NCAR embarked on a series of field studies from the late 1970s through the 1980s.

Atmosphere and society intertwined in new ways during the 1980s, as a host of threats from acid rain to microbursts came into focus. With extensive ties to universities and expertise in both weather and climate, NCAR and UCAR were natural venues for addressing these issues.

The 1970s brought the United States a string of fierce winters and a spate of speculation on a cooling climate. Many atmospheric scientists had a different worry: they knew that carbon dioxide in the air had been increasing for decades and that global temperatures should rise before long.

When scientists around the world began planning the most ambitious weather observing study in history, NCAR was a natural partner.

Rarely before the 1980s did a scientific issue jump from the corridors of research to the halls of international diplomacy in less than a decade. Such was the case when a profound threat to the Antarctic’s protective layer of stratospheric ozone became apparent.