Mario Molina

Mario Molina (1943–2020) was a Mexican-American chemist whose research showed how chlorofluorocarbons deplete stratospheric ozone. He shared the 1995 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

Chlorofluorocarbon–ozone depletion theory: The theory that ultraviolet light releases chlorine from chlorofluorocarbons, enabling catalytic destruction of stratospheric ozone. Molina and F. Sherwood Rowland proposed this mechanism in 1974.
F. Sherwood Rowland: An American chemist who shared the 1995 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for explaining chlorofluorocarbon-driven ozone depletion. Rowland and Molina jointly developed and published the ozone-depletion theory.
Mario J. Molina Center: A Mexican nonprofit organization that advances scientific research and public policy on air quality and climate change. Molina founded the center to apply science to environmental problems in Mexico.
Montreal Protocol: A 1987 international treaty that phases out production and consumption of ozone-depleting substances. Molina’s research helped establish the scientific case for controlling chlorofluorocarbons.
Ozone depletion skepticism: Doubt or opposition concerning the evidence that human-made chemicals cause stratospheric ozone depletion. Molina’s findings faced challenges from industries and critics before atmospheric measurements strengthened the case.
Chlorofluorocarbons: Synthetic compounds once widely used as refrigerants, aerosol propellants, and foam-blowing agents. Molina identified these long-lived compounds as sources of ozone-destroying chlorine.
Paul Crutzen: A Dutch atmospheric chemist who showed that nitrogen oxides participate in catalytic destruction of stratospheric ozone. His earlier work on atmospheric catalytic cycles helped establish the scientific context for Molina’s research.
National Autonomous University of Mexico: A public research university in Mexico City and Mexico’s largest university. Molina studied chemical engineering there before completing graduate training in Germany and the United States.
Ozone Monitoring Instrument: A satellite instrument that measures atmospheric ozone and other trace gases using reflected ultraviolet and visible light. Satellite observations provide evidence for tracking the ozone changes that Molina’s theory predicted.
Ozone depletion and climate change: Distinct environmental problems involving, respectively, stratospheric ozone loss and changes in Earth’s energy balance. Molina’s work concerned ozone depletion, a problem often confused with climate change.

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