Paul Crutzen, who shared Nobel for ozone work, dies aged 87

Dutch Professor Paul J Crutzen, left, receiving the Nobel Prize for chemistry from Swedish King Carl XVI Gustaf at the Concert Hall in Stockholm, Sweden, in 1995 (Eric Roxfelt/AP)

Dutch scientist Paul J Crutzen, who won the Nobel Prize for chemistry for his work understanding the ozone hole and is credited with coining the term Anthropocene to describe the geological era shaped by mankind, has died.

The Max Planck Institute for Chemistry in Mainz, Germany, where Mr Crutzen was the director of atmospheric chemistry from 1980 until his retirement in 2000, confirmed that he died on Thursday at the age of 87.