Charles David Keeling

Charles David Keeling
Charles David Keeling
Citizenship American
Nationality American
Fields atmosphere
Institutions Mauna Loa Observatory Scripps Institution of Oceanography
Alma mater University of Illinois
Known for Keeling Curve

Charles David Keeling (April 20, 1928 – June 20, 2005) was an American scientist whose recording of carbon dioxide at the Mauna Loa Observatory[1] first alerted the world to the possibility of anthropogenic contribution to the "greenhouse effect" and global warming. The Keeling Curve measures the progressive buildup of carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, in the atmosphere.

Contents

Early life and early career

Keeling was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania. He graduated with a degree in chemistry from the University of Illinois in 1948 and earned a PhD in chemistry from Northwestern University in 1954. He was a postdoctoral fellow in geochemistry at the California Institute of Technology until he joined Scripps Institution of Oceanography in 1956, and was appointed professor of oceanography there in 1968.

At Caltech he developed the first instrument to measure carbon dioxide in atmospheric samples.[2] Keeling camped at Big Sur where he used his new device to measure the level of carbon dioxide and found that it had risen since the 19th century.

Work with Scripps Institution of Oceanography, 1958–2005

Atmospheric CO2 concentrations measured at Mauna Loa Observatory: The Keeling Curve.

Roger Revelle, the Director of Scripps Institution of Oceanography, based at La Jolla, California, persuaded Dr. Keeling to continue his work there. Revelle was also one of the founders of the International Geophysical Year (IGY) in 1957–58 and Keeling received IGY funding to establish a base on Mauna Loa in Hawaii, two miles (3,000 m) above sea level.

Dr. Keeling started collecting carbon dioxide samples at the base in 1958.[1][3] By 1960, he had established that there are strong seasonal variations in carbon dioxide levels with peak levels reached in the late northern hemisphere winter. A reduction in carbon dioxide followed during spring and early summer each year as plant growth increased in the land-rich northern hemisphere. In 1961, Keeling produced data showing that carbon dioxide levels were rising steadily in what became known as the "Keeling Curve".

In the early 1960s, the National Science Foundation stopped supporting his research, calling the outcome "routine". Despite this lack of interest, the Foundation used Keeling's research in its warning in 1963 of a greenhouse effect. A 1965 report from President Johnson's Science Advisory Committee similarly warned of the dangers of the greenhouse effect.

The data collection started by Dr. Keeling and continued at Mauna Loa is the longest continuous record of atmospheric carbon dioxide in the world and is considered a reliable indicator of the global trend in the mid-level troposphere. Dr Keeling's research shows that the atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide has grown from 315 parts per million (ppm) in 1958 to 380 (ppm) in 2005 with increases correlated to fossil fuel emissions. There has also been an increase in seasonal variation in samples from the late 20th century and early 21st century.

Honoraria

Second Half Century Award of the American Meteorological Society, 1981

Maurice Ewing Medal of the American Geophysical Union, 1991

Blue Planet Prize from the Science Council of Japan and the Asahi Foundation, 1993

At a White House ceremony held in July 1997, Dr. Keeling was presented with a "special achievement award" from Vice President Al Gore. Dr. Keeling was honored "for 40 years of outstanding scientific research associated with monitoring of atmospheric carbon dioxide in connection with Mauna Loa Observatory".

In 2002 President of the United States George W. Bush presented Dr Keeling with the National Medal of Science, the highest US award for scientific research lifetime achievement.

Dr Keeling received the Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement in 2005.

The Keeling Curve is "engraved in bronze on a building at Mauna Loa and carved into a wall at the National Academy of Sciences in Washington." It was also a chart on the wall in a classroom at Harvard University where Dr. Revelle had moved to teach in the 1960s and where among others student Al Gore would see and "marvel" at it. In 2006, Gore would feature the graph in the book and movie An Inconvenient Truth and for that work with climate change go on to win, with the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize.[2]

Personal

Keeling was an enthusiastic outdoorsman who made many hiking and camping trips to the Western mountains, particularly the Cascade Mountains of Washington state. He was an active member of the Wilderness Society for much of his life.[4]

Keeling married Louise Barthold in 1955. They had five children, one of whom (Ralph Keeling) followed in his father's footsteps and is currently a climate scientist at Scripps Institution of Oceanography whose recent work has detected the corresponding decrease in atmospheric oxygen associated with the rise in carbon dioxide. Charles Keeling was also an accomplished classical pianist who almost chose a career in music. Keeling was a founding director of the University of California, San Diego Madrigal Singers. He also wrote the Del Mar General Plan.[5]

He died of a heart attack in 2005, aged 77.

Memberships/fellowships

Keeling was a Guggenheim fellow at the Meteorological Institute, University of Stockholm (1961–62); a guest professor at the Second Physical Institute of the University of Heidelberg (1969–70) and the Physical Institute of the University of Bern (1979–80).

He was a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the American Geophysical Union, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and a member of the National Academy of Sciences.

He was a member of the commission on global pollution of the International Association of Meteorology, and scientific director of the Central CO2 Calibration Laboratory of the World Meteorological Organisation.

References

  1. ^ a b Rose Kahele. "Behind the Inconvenient Truth". Hana Hou! vol. 10, No. 5, October/November 2007. http://www.hanahou.com/pages/Magazine.asp?Action=DrawArticle&ArticleID=616&MagazineID=39. 
  2. ^ a b Justin Gillis (December 21, 2010). "A Scientist, His Work and a Climate Reckoning". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/22/science/earth/22carbon.html. Retrieved December 22, 2010. 
  3. ^ "The Quest: Energy, Security, and the Remaking of the Modern World". us.Penguingroup.com. 2011-09-20. http://danielyergin.com/climate-and-carbon. Retrieved 2011-11-01. 
  4. ^ Paul M. Keeling, The Path to Mauna Loa, Wilderness magazine, 2008
  5. ^ http://scilib.ucsd.edu/sio/lists/Keeling%202006-12.pdf

External links


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно решить контрольную?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Charles David Keeling — (* 20. April 1928 in Scranton im US Bundesstaat Pennsylvania; † 20. Juni 2005 in Hamilton im US Bundesstaat Montana) war ein US amerikanischer Klimaforscher. Er war als Professor für Chemie an der Scripps Institution of Oceanography in La Jolla… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Charles David Keeling — Pour les articles homonymes, voir Keeling. Charles David Keeling Naissance 20 avril 1928 Scranton (Pennsylvanie) Décès 20 juin 2005 ( …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Keeling, Charles David — ▪ 2006       American scientist (b. April 20, 1928, Scranton, Pa. d. June 20, 2005, Hamilton, Mont.), presented the first evidence that carbon dioxide produced by automobiles and factories was negatively affecting the Earth s climate. In 1958 he… …   Universalium

  • Charles Keeling — Charles David Keeling (* 20. April 1928 in Scranton im US Bundesstaat Pennsylvania; † 20. Juni 2005 in Hamilton im US Bundesstaat Montana) war ein US amerikanischer Klimaforscher. Er war als Professor für Chemie am Scripps Institut für… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Keeling — ist der Familienname folgender Personen: Charles David Keeling (1928–2005), US amerikanischer Klimaforscher William Keeling (16.–17. Jahrhundert), britischer Schiffskapitän im Dienst der britischen Ostindien Kompanie Siehe auch: Keeling Inseln,… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • David Archer (scientist) — David Archer is a computational ocean chemist,[1] and has been a Professor at the Department of The Geophysical Sciences at the University of Chicago since 1993.[2] He has published research on the carbon cycle of the ocean and the sea floor. He… …   Wikipedia

  • Keeling-Kurve — Die Keeling Kurve mit den Messwerten des atmosphärischen Gehalts an Kohlendioxid in der Atmosphäre. Die Keeling Kurve ist die graphische Darstellung des mittleren globalen Konzentrationsverlaufs des Spurengases Kohlendioxid (CO2) in der… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Keeling Curve — The Keeling Curve is a graph showing the variation in concentration of atmospheric carbon dioxide since 1958. It is based on continuous measurements taken at the Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii under the supervision of Charles David Keeling.… …   Wikipedia

  • Keeling — Cette page d’homonymie répertorie les différents sujets et articles partageant un même nom. Keeling peut faire référence à : Keeling, l ancien nom des Îles Cocos North Keeling, un atoll corallien Charles David Keeling (1928 2005),… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Charles Wheatstone — Wheatstone, drawn by Samuel Laurence in 1868 Born 6 …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”