Career
He continues to be the lead investigator on this project Running"s MOD17 algorithms are used to provide accurate and continuous global monitoring of the terrestrial biosphere, specifically, generating near-real-time data sets for repeated monitoring of vegetation primary production on vegetated land at 1-km resolution at 8-day intervals. These datasets are unique in that they provide global data on primary productivity and span a decade.
A recognized expert in global ecosystem monitoring, Running was invited to serve on the board of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
Running made the following statement about winning the prize: "We"ve got to get past all the petty bickering and get to work. This is about a big transition for society over the next 50 years.
The path we are on is unsustainable. What the Nobel committee is saying is that we"ve got to wake up.
We"ve got to change the course of the whole world."
Steve Running is co-author of the 2007 book, Forest Ecosystems, and has published over 240 scientific papers.
In 2012, Running suggested a tenth planetary boundary, the annual Netto global primary production of all terrestrial plants, as an easily determinable measure integrating many variables that will give "a clear signal about the health of ecosystems".
