james fleming sts program, colby college jfleming@colby american geophysical union
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"On the Possibilities of Climate Control" in 1962: Harry Wexler on Geoengineering and Ozone Destruction. James Fleming STS Program, Colby College [email protected] American Geophysical Union Dec. 14, 2007 Text at http://www.colby.edu/sts/agu2007wexler.doc. - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
"On the Possibilities of Climate Control" in 1962: Harry Wexler on Geoengineering and Ozone Destruction
James FlemingSTS Program, Colby College
American Geophysical UnionDec. 14, 2007
Text at http://www.colby.edu/sts/agu2007wexler.doc
Wexler and C.G. Rossby, Woods Hole, 1956
Air mass and frontal analysis
Radiosonde and ground tracking station
RADAR
Atmospheric Nuclear Testing
Bumper V-2 and WAC Corporal, 24 July 1950
Wexler (L) with Von Neumann, Charney and others, 1954
TIROS 1 cloud images 1960
Wexler on skis in Little America, 1 Feb 1957
Wexler in the Oval Office
Wexler and V.A. Bugaev in Geneva, 19 Mar 1962
On the possibilities of climate control, 1962
Damage to Stratospheric Ozone
Inadvertent1. Increased pollution from rocket exhaust.2. Near-space experiments could go awry, e.g. unknown
risks of Operation Argus (1958), Project West Ford (1961), and Project Highwater (1962).
Purposeful1. In 1934 S. Chapman proposed making a temporary
“hole in the ozone layer” for the benefit of astronomers.
2. Possible military interest in waging geophysical warfare by attacking the ozone layer over a rival nation.
Wexler 1962: prevent all O3 from forming
(Wexler Papers 14)
Br2 --> 2 Br in sunlight destroys O3 --> O2 + BrO
Stratospheric cooling of 80 oCManabe and Möller (left), Wexler (right)
Wexler’s “Rosetta Stone” note linking Chapman, Wulf, rocket fuel, and ozone destroying reactions triggered by chorine and bromine catalysts.
[Climate control] can best be classified as
“interesting hypothetical exercises” until
the consequences of tampering with large
scale atmospheric events can be assessed in
advance. Most such schemes that have been
advanced would require colossal engineering
feats and contain the inherent risk of
irremediable harm to our planet or side
effects counterbalancing the possible short-
term benefits -- Harry Wexler 1962