2024 News & Events

The highest honor award granted by the Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere, the Department of Commerce Bronze Medal, recognizes federal employees for superior performance and is awarded to individuals, groups (or teams), and organizations.

Carsten Warneke and Jessica Gilman receive a NOAA Bronze Medal for scientific/engineering achievement "for exceptional service to communities affected by the Marshall Fire in providing timely air quality information to support recovery efforts." They are recognized with Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES) affiliates Chelsea Stockwell and Matthew Coggon (now CSL federal staff), Jeff Peischl, Kristen Zuraski, and Ken Aikin.

The team is honored for extraordinary effort in response to the Colorado Marshall Fire disaster. The fire destroyed over 1000 homes and led to significant air quality concerns that could have hindered fire recovery efforts. With 24-hour notice, the team conducted multiple drives throughout the burn area with a mobile laboratory (van) equipped with state-of-the-art air chemistry measurements for volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and other pollutants, to assess levels and spatial distributions of potential air toxics released from still-smoldering debris. Results were communicated immediately to authorities and the public to alleviate concern about air quality risk and enable ongoing recovery efforts.

In the immediate aftermath of the fire, there were significant concerns related to air quality impacts of the still-smoldering debris that required timely response to facilitate ongoing recovery efforts, support first responders and inform residents. NOAA CSL responded to a request from local authorities (Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE), Boulder County Public Health Department (BCPH)) to provide air monitoring in the burn area. NOAA CSL was the only institution in the community with the capacity to respond with the required measurements and in the required time frame.

The team measured amounts and spatial distributions of major pollutants, such as benzene (chemical formula C₆H₆, an air toxic emitted from urban and fire sources) and acetonitrile (chemical formula CH₃CN, a tracer compound specific to fire sources), to CDPHE and BCPH within 24 hours of the last drive in January 2022. The data showed no immediate air quality concern remaining in the burn area at that time, nearly two weeks after the event. The data provided confidence to local authorities and residents for safe operations in the burn area and were the basis for a press release 10 days later stating that there was no ongoing air quality threat.

The accomplishment demonstrated NOAA CSL's capacity for rapid wildfire response, which may serve the agency's mission during future wildland urban interface (WUI) fires. The data are the only comprehensive chemical fingerprint of a WUI fire and will inform understanding of the composition and specific hazards associated with these fires.

These esteemed award recipients will be honored at the NOAA Awards Ceremony on October 24 held at NOAA Headquarters in Silver Spring, Maryland, and recognized at NOAA OAR Awards Ceremony on December 18 held at NOAA Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR) Headquarters in Silver Spring, Maryland. CIRES award recipients will be recognized at the CIRES Rendezvous held on the University of Colorado Boulder campus in May 2025.