Douglas J Nichols, 1941 to 2010

February 19, 1942 – January 21, 2010

Doug Nichols, Ph. D., paleontologist and Berthoud resident, passed away unexpectedly on Jan. 21, 2010, at the age of 67. Born in Jamaica, Long Island, N.Y., he was the son of Kenneth C. and Beatrice O. Nichols. Doug lived in Long Island, N.Y. and New Jersey while growing up.

Since settling in Berthoud in 2005, Doug enthusiastically embraced life here in Berthoud. He made so many friends in the short time he lived here and thoroughly enjoyed the relaxing rhythm of small-town living. Most days, after his usual routine of working several hours on his current scientific endeavor, he could be seen strolling through town with his wife and two dogs. Always one to take civic responsibility seriously, he quickly became involved in community activities and also had great fun writing a science column, “Our Natural World,” for the Berthoud Recorder. As a geologist who grew up in the east where most geologic features are blanketed by plant life, Doug was awed by the Rockies and the exposed rock formations of the west. It was a geologist’s dream and he felt so fortunate to make Colorado his home. Doug was a kind and intelligent man with a passion for living. His keen curiosity and joie de vivre were apparent to all who knew him.

Doug was a well-loved and highly-respected international figure in the geological and paleontological communities. He received his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from New York University. After receiving his Ph.D. from Pennsylvania State University, he taught at Arizona State and SUNY Geneseo. He moved to Denver to work as a geologist for Chevron Oil and then joined the US Geological Survey in 1978. He retired from the USGS in 2006 and actively continued his career, serving as scientist emeritus for the USGS, research associate for the Denver Museum of Nature & Science and senior editor of an international scientific journal (Cretaceous Research). Doug had broad interests and conducted research in North America, China, Russia, Mongolia, Japan and Egypt. He was the author or co-author of more than 140 articles in scientific journals. In 2008, he published a book with Cambridge University Press (Plants and the K-T Boundary). An accomplished researcher and lecturer, he continued to share knowledge all his life. He maintained his interest in education and served as advisor and mentor for numerous graduate students around the world.

His gentleness, patience and humor will be much missed. He is survived by his wife of 45 years, Jan, (Weisbrodt) Nichols; son Ken and daughter-in-law, Jeruesha of Berthoud; daughter Joyce Nichols Metzger and granddaughter Samantha Metzger of Arvada; daughter Amber Nichols Kelly and son-in-law, Bruce of Firestone; and sister, Faith Nichols Delaney and husband Peter of West Milford, NJ.

Donations in Doug’s memory can be made to your local pet shelter or to the Paleontology Program at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science: Development Department, Attn: Paleontology Program, DMNS, 2001 Colorado Blvd., Denver, CO 80205. A gathering to remember Doug and celebrate his life will be held at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science on Feb. 19 from 6-9 pm.

Mark Twain may have said it first, “Everyone talks about the weather, but nobody does anything about it.” In Colorado, folks say, “If you don’t like the weather, just wait five minutes,” but variations of that phrase are spoken all over the country. Weather affects our lives every day (some days more than others!). As I write this late in February, we are experiencing an unseasonably warm and dry winter, although by the time you read this, we may have had major snowfall. If so, consider us fortunate, because this winter has been entirely too dry, and our yards, gardens, and trees undoubtedly have suffered. Maybe this milder, drier winter weather is because our climate is changing.

The difference between weather and climate is time. Weather is atmospheric conditions occurring over short periods of time (days or weeks), and climate is atmospheric conditions operating over much longer periods (decades or centuries). We all know that forecasting the weather with accuracy is difficult. This is because atmospheric conditions are incredibly complex.

So what about atmospheric scientists who claim our climate is changing, that our planet is undergoing global warming, and that global climate change will have drastic effects all over the world? Are those predictions correct? In contrast to rapidly changing daily weather conditions, long-term changes in climate can be reliably observed and trends documented. The polar ice caps definitely are melting and the sea level is measurably rising. The only real debate is whether these conditions are caused by human activity or by natural geological cycles.

The evidence is clear: burning of fossil fuels (coal, oil) is putting vast amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere at a rate unprecedented even on the scale of geological time. We may not be able to do anything about the weather, but as citizens of the world, we can make an effort to reduce negative effects on our climate by reducing our “carbon footprint” (the amount of carbon dioxide we produce through energy use in our homes and in personal transport). There is vastly more to be said about this, but this month the topic is weather, not climate.

Everyday aspects of weather are temperature and precipitation. Some of the more dramatic effects of weather can be seen in an interactive exhibit at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science, which will be on display through May 3. These dramatic effects include hurricanes and tornadoes and although hurricanes are not a problem here in Berthoud (other than increased rainfall from waning storm systems that occasionally drift up from the Gulf of Mexico), we are quite aware of the devastating effects of the recent tornado in Windsor.

The museum’s newest exhibit, “Nature Unleashed,” features these two weather-related disasters, as well as information on earthquakes, volcanoes, tsunamis, and floods. Six winners of the essay contest about weather recently sponsored by the Berthoud Recorder for our middle and high school students will visit “Nature Unleashed.” For more information on the exhibit, go to http://dmns.org/natureunleashed/.

Doug Nichols was a Scientist Emeritus with the U.S. Geological Survey and a Research Associate with the Denver Museum of Nature & Science. He was a resident of Berthoud. We mourn Doug’s untimely passing in Jan. 2010.