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Physicist John Tyndall is often credited w discovering the greenhouse effect, which he wrote about in 1859.

But female scientist Eunice Foote published a paper - 3yrs earlier - demonstrating how atmospheric water vapor & CO2 affected solar heating. She theorized that heat trapping gases in Earth’s atmosphere warm its #climate.

Tyndall was widely read. And Foote, being a woman, wasn't even permitted to present her own work.
https://www.climate.gov/news-features/features/happy-200th-birthday-eunice-foote-hidden-climate-science-pioneer #history #science #ClimateChange #HistoryRemix
This entry was edited (1 year ago)
in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum

* It's worth noting Tyndall wrote that this field of study was completely unexplored, claiming he was 1st to publish anything on the subject.

There are varying accounts of whether Foote was permitted to present her work in 1956. What we know is 1) a man did it for her & 2) many thought women were incapable of contributing in science.

Also, Foote's background is fascinating & deserves further reading. She was an advocate for women's rights & involved in many historical events in US history. /2
This entry was edited (1 year ago)
in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum

I am always citing Foote's work when talking about (history of) climate change (research) #climatecrisis
in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum

Without knowing more about Tyndall, and because Foote's work was suppressed and denigrated, he may have truly looked and not found her. Scientific standards of physics were not quite as high then as they are today. *sigh* I wish I could say the same for the "social sciences."
in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum

Joseph Fourier wrote about heat transport through the atmosphere even earlier than both. With a bit of good will one could claim that he described the greenhouse effect, though not referring to any atmospheric gases.
in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum

Nice summary of the history here: Jackson, Roland. 2020. Eunice Foote, John Tyndall and a question of priority. Notes and Records: The Royal Society Journal of the History of Science 74: 105-118. doi: 10.1098/rsnr.2018.0066. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsnr.2018.0066
in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum

Interesting... History could have a lot of Foote's buried in itself.. Only a fraction of a fraction lucky enough like Tyndell were recognised.
in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum

I can feel things are starting to change lately... But there's still so much road ahead... especially in the scientific community!
I have daughters and all I wish for them is to be considered independently of their appearance or sexual orientation. We're in 2023, it's time we move forward, people!
in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum

http://blackflyzone.blogspot.com/2023/02/the-king-of-r-jacquees.html
in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum

Yet the latest geological studies of deep ice now show that a CO2 increase historically follows temperature rises and not the other way around
in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum

Not Tyndall and not Foote. 35 years earlier there was Joseph Fourier.

The article you link to conveniently doesn't mention Fourier.

J. Fourier
Remarques générales sur les températures du globe terrestre et des espaces planétaires
Ann. Chim. Phys.
(1824)

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0160932799012107

https://www.climate-policy-watcher.org/global-climate-2/fourier-joseph-17681830.html
in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum

I'm convinced that this is the case in every important event/deed/discovery. We need to find and lift up all the names, in addition to Eunice Foote:

Virginia Hall, WWII spy
Rosalind Franklin, DNA
Dorothy Horstmann, polio vaccine
Hedy Lamarr, wireless communications (radio guidance)
Alice Ball, leprosy cure
Vera Rubin, discoverer of Dark Matter
Dr. Grace Murray Hopper, first computer programming language
Jocelyn Bell Burnell, discoverer of Pulsars (neuron stars)
Lise Meitner, nuclear fission
Dr. Chieng-Shiung Wu, Manhattan project, overthrew a previously accepted law of physics
Anna Arnold Hedgeman, organized March on Washington
Katherine Johnson, guidance and navigation calculations for NASA
Nettie Stevens, discoverer of gene-determined biological sex
in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum

so many women who contributed so much to humanity have been ignored and diminished .. glad folks are putting more of these women’s work out for all to learn about … thanks
in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum

Eunice Foote Wikipedia article is rather lengthy
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eunice_Newton_Foote

Especially on International Day of Women and Girls in Science, I encourage regular folks to consider contributing content to Wikipedia articles, maybe even start a new one for a notable but overlooked woman in science.

For future reference, this site has info about Wikipedia edit-a-thons
https://500womenscientists.org/wikipedia-editathon

Happy #IDoWaGiS! ✌️
in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum

..some will still try do so if they can get away taking someone else's credit...
in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum

I have long wondered about this! How does it fit in with Joseph Fourier's paper from the early 1830s??
in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum

she is the person I mention if I want to express how long we’ve had knowledge of the impact of co2
in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum

every time I see handwringing about STEM pipeline and how women "just aren't interested in science or they'd have been there by now" I get infuriated all over again. Just because you didn't see us doesn't mean we weren't there.
in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum

She sounds remarkable.

Thank you so much for posting about her.
in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum

I propose this kind of thing be called “manclaiming”.

Also see Rosalind Franklin (DNA) and Jocelyn Bell Burrell (pulsars).
in reply to Deanna Gilbert

@deannag Yes!

https://mastodon.social/@Sheril/109528549109082379
in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum

Please Sheril, accept my thanks for bringing me that knowledge.
in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum

Every intelligent woman that is repressed is a loss for everyone.
in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum

the book Remarkable Creatures shows a similar thing happening in the field of archaeology and fossils
in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum

Some things have changed for the better. These days Eunice Foote would be a leader in most places. Possibly even here in the US of A.
in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum

thanks for educating me. Updated my arcticle on 'the Galileo of climate change' so it doesn't start with Tyndall (although I'm sure I'm still missing a lot of great women climate scientist in the overview).
https://krispijnbeek.nl/2019/10/09/wil-de-galileo-van-de-klimaatwetenschap-opstaan/
in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum

As is often the way in science, the work of Foote and Tyndall was built on earlier work by Fourier (1820s) and Saussure (1770s). Saussure discovered the greenhouse effect, though he didn't call it that.
in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum

the WOMAN whose xray crystallography MADE DNA discovery possible got nary a mention when Crick and Watson got all their awards either‼️
in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum

You said, “In 1856, scientist Eunice Foote published a paper demonstrating how atmospheric water vapor & CO2 affected solar heating. She theorized that heat trapping gases in Earth’s atmosphere warm its #climate. “ This is very interesting! Can you cite the reference please? I would like to send copies if it to my friends who say there is no evidence that increasing CO2 heats the planet. Thanks! #climate #solarpower #distributedenergy #sustainableag #permaculturegarden
in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum

women's work is routinely devalued in science and elsewhere in His-story.

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