Callendar, Guy Stewart
Published: August 23, 2008, 2:47 pm
Updated: May 7, 2012, 11:27 am
This article has been reviewed by the following Topic Editor:
Tom Lawrence
Guy Stewart Callendar.
Guy Stewart Callendar (1897-1964), a British steam engineer, was the first scientist to study climate change in a rigorous and systematic way and the first to empirically connect rising carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations in the atmosphere with the increase in the Earth’s temperature. In 1938, Callendar published a paper titled The Artificial Production of Carbon Dioxide and its Influence on Temperature, the first of many articles on the subject. He noted a significant upward trend in temperatures for the first four decades of the 20th century and a continuously rising concentration of atmospheric CO2 since post-industrial times. He linked these trends to the combustion of fossil fuels, describing it as an enhanced "greenhouse effect" where infrared radiation is both absorbed and emitted by the extra CO2, causing warming at the Earth's surface. For decades, scientists ignored, criticized, or downplayed Callendar’s work, yet research in the 1990s proved his early work to be surprisingly accurate considering the level of data monitoring available in the early 1900's.
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Citation
Cutler J. Cleveland (Lead Author);Tom Lawrence (Topic Editor) "Callendar, Guy Stewart". In: Encyclopedia of Earth. Eds. Cutler J. Cleveland (Washington, D.C.: Environmental Information Coalition, National Council for Science and the Environment). [First published in the Encyclopedia of Earth August 23, 2008; Last revised Date May 7, 2012; Retrieved May 19, 2013 <http://www.eoearth.org/article/Callendar,_Guy_Stewart>
The Author
Cutler J. Cleveland is Professor of Earth and Environment at Boston University, where he also is on the faculty of the Center for Energy and Environmental Studies. Professor Cleveland is Editor-in-Chief of the Encyclopedia of Energy (Elsevier, 2004), winner of an American Library Association award, the Dictionary of Energy (Elsevier, 2005), Handbook of Energy (Elsevier, forthcoming), and is the Founding Editor-in-Chief of the Encyclopedia of Earth. He is the recipient of the Adelma ... (Full Bio)
Guy Stewart Callendar.
Guy Stewart Callendar (1897-1964), a British steam engineer, was the first scientist to study climate change in a rigorous and systematic way and the first to empirically connect rising carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations in the atmosphere with the increase in the Earth’s temperature. In 1938, Callendar published a paper titled The Artificial Production of Carbon Dioxide and its Influence on Temperature, the first of many articles on the subject. He noted a significant upward trend in temperatures for the first four decades of the 20th century and a continuously rising concentration of atmospheric CO2 since post-industrial times. He linked these trends to the combustion of fossil fuels, describing it as an enhanced "greenhouse effect" where infrared radiation is both absorbed and emitted by the extra CO2, causing warming at the Earth's surface. For decades, scientists ignored, criticized, or downplayed Callendar’s work, yet research in the 1990s proved his early work to be surprisingly accurate considering the level of data monitoring available in the early 1900's.
Further Reading
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