A UA professor is part of an international climate change committee that was awarded the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize on Friday.

The 2007 prize, awarded by the Norwegian Nobel Committee, was split evenly between Al Gore and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, or IPCC.

The award was given to Gore and the IPCC “”for their efforts to build up and disseminate greater knowledge about man-made climate change, and to lay the foundations for the measures that are needed to counteract such change,”” according to the Norwegian Nobel Committee.

Jonathan Overpeck, the director of the UA’s Institute for the Study of Planet Earth and a professor of Geosciences and Atmospheric Sciences, was one of 33 lead authors worldwide on a report about climate change issued earlier this year.

The report, titled “”Climate Change 2007: The Physical Science Basis,”” details the effects that mankind has had on the climate.

The report stated with “”very high confidence”” that human activity since 1750 has led to global warming. “”Very high

confidence”” indicates that the authors are 90 percent certain of this statement.

Overpeck was a lead author on chapter six of the report, which examines paleoclimates, or climates from earlier geologic times.

The World Meteorological Association and the United Nations established the IPCC in 1988 to examine data from around the world and determine the causes, effects and methods of mitigation of man-made climate change.

Gore is best known recently for his role in the 2006 documentary “”An Inconvenient Truth,”” and his advocacy for mitigating climate change.

“”He is probably the single individual who has done most to create greater worldwide understanding of the measures that need to be adopted,”” according to the Norwegian Nobel Committee’s news release.