Dr. James E. Hansen

Columbia University
750 Armstrong Hall
2880 Broadway
New York, NY 10025 USA
Phone: (212) 678-5500

{ CV | Communications | Files & Links of Interest | Research Interests | Education | Scholarly Publications | Magazine and Newspaper Articles }

Curriculum Vitae

Download CV (40 kB PDF)

Communications:

Dr. Hansen periodically posts commentary on his recent papers and presentations and on other topics of interest to an e-mail list. To be added to the list distribution, please e-mail hansencu@gmail.com with "ADD" as the subject of your message.

Some recent posts (all in PDF) to the mailing list included:

July 3, 2008: Dear Prime Minister Fukuda: A letter to leader of Japan before the G8 meeting
June 23, 2008: Global Warming -- Tipping Points: Today's presentation at the National Press Club, and briefing to the House Select Committee on Energy Independence & Global Warming. Related slides are available in PDF (2.9 MB) or PowerPoint (7.1 MB).
June 4, 2008: Carbon Tax and 100% Dividend -- No Alligator Shoes!
May 29, 2008: Dear Governor Greenwash: Governors' actions fall short
May 29, 2008: Letters to Governors Kaine and Pawlenty: Includes Kaine's response
Apr. 14, 2008: Governor Gibbons and Three Coal Plants: A conversation with the Nevada governor
Apr. 10, 2008: Yankee Ticket Prices and Fossil Fuels
Apr. 1, 2008: Dear Prime Minister Rudd: A Letter to the Australian Prime Minister

Older postings are also available.

Files & Links of Interest:

July 2008: Climate Threat to the Planet: Implications for Energy Policy: Slides for presentation given July 4 at United Nations University in Tokyo. Also available as PowerPoint (5.3 MB).

June 2008: Audio of appearance on NPR's Diane Rehm Show on June 23 is available from WAMU radio. See links to Real Audio and Windows Media format audio to right of program listing.

June 2008: Global Warming Twenty Years Later: Tipping Points Near (70 kB PDF): Briefing before the Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming, U.S. House of Representat ives, and also presented at the National Press Club on June 23. Related slides are available in PDF (2.9 MB) or PowerPoint (7.1 MB).

April 2008: Tipping point: Perspective of a climatologist (530 kB PDF). Introductory chapter to the book State of the Wild 2008-2009 from the Wildlife Conservation Society.

April 2008: Target CO₂: Where should humanity aim?, and Target CO₂: Supporting material. Draft of submitted paper. (Note: Revised in May 2008; supercedes versions circulated in March and April.)

February 2008: Climate Tipping Points: The Threat to the Planet (5.6 MB PDF). Slides for presentation given Feb. 19 at Illinois Wesleyan University, Bloomington, Ill. Also available as PowerPoint (8 MB).

January 2008: Global Warming: The Perfect Storm (80 kB PDF). Slides for presentation given Jan. 29 to the Royal College of Physicians. Also available as PowerPoint (140 kB).

October 2007: Iowa Coal Case (1.7 MB PDF). Testimony submitted to the Iowa Utilities Board. (Note: File updated on Nov. 5.)

October 2007: The Threat to the Planet: Dark & Bright Sides of Global Warming (4.4 MB PDF). Slides for presentation given Oct. 3 at Heating Up the Energy Debate conference at Gustavus Adolphus Colege, St. Peter, Minn. Also available as PowerPoint (14.5 MB).

September 2007: Vermont Decision (270 kB PDF). A copy of the judge's verdict in Green Mountain Chrysler v. Crombie (see May 2007 below). See also reports in Bloomberg News and The New York Times.

August 2007: Re-Energize Iowa: An Opportunity to Lead the Nation in Stewardship of the Earth and Creation (160 kB PDF). Short talk given at ReEnergize IA rally in Des Moines on Aug. 5. See also related article in the Des Moines Register.

June 2007: How Can We Avert Dangerous Climate Change? (450 kB PDF). Paper posted to arXiv.org, based on testimony Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming, U.S. House of Representatives, 26 April 2007, with some revisions and additions.

May 2007: Case for Vermont (4.8 MB PDF). Slides for testimony given May 3 at United States District Court, District of Vermont in regard to Case No. 2:05-CV-302 and 2:05-CV-304, Green Mountain Chrysler v. Crombie. Also available as PowerPoint (10.1 MB). This updates some charts from the written declaration (2.6 MB PDF) originally posted Sep. 2006. Note that the earlier file also includes short explanations for figures.

May 2007: Global Warming: The Threat to the Planet (4.0 MB PDF). Slides for Leo Szilard Lecture given Apr. 17 at the American Physical Society in Jacksonville. Also available as PowerPoint (8.9 MB).

Apr. 2007: Dangerous Human-Made Interference with Climate (370 kB PDF). Submitted text accompanying oral testimony given Apr. 26 at hearings on "Dangerous Climate Change" of the Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming of the U.S. House of Representatives.

Mar. 2007: Political Interference with Government Climate Change Science (85 kB PDF). Submitted text accompanying oral testimony given Mar. 19 at hearings on "Political Interference with Science: Global Warming", Part II" of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform of the U.S. House of Representatives.

Feb. 2007: Global Warming: Connecting the Dots from Causes to Solutions (2 MB PDF). Slides for a presentation given Feb. 26 at National Press Club and American University. Also available as PowerPoint (5 MB).

Dec. 2006: Communicating Dangers and Opportunities in Global Warming (1.1 MB PDF). Text and accompanying slides for a presentation given Dec. 14, 2006, at the American Geophysical Union, San Francisco. Slides separately available in PowerPoint (4.8 MB).

Nov. 2006: The Threat to the Planet: How Can We Avoid Dangerous Human-Made Climate Change? (1.1 MB PDF). Remarks of Nov. 21 on acceptance of WWF Duke of Edinburgh Conservation Medal at St. James Palace, London. Accompanying slides separately available in PowerPoint (3.8 MB).

Oct. 2006: Swiftboating, Stealth Budgeting, and Unitary Executives (700 kB PDF). Article published in Nov./Dec. 2006 issue of World Watch magazine.

Sep. 2006: The Threat to the Planet (540 KB PDF). A book and movie review published in July 13 issue of New York Review of Books. Also available are two follow-up letters to the editor and Dr. Hansen's responses (110 kB PDF).

June 2006: The Case for Action by the State of California to Mitigate Climate Change (2.9 MB PDF). Expert report submitted to the United States District Court, Eastern District of California — Fresno in regard to Case No. 1:04-CV-06663 REC LJO, Automobile Manufacturers v. California Air Resources Board.

Apr. 2006: Global Warming: Is There Still Time to Avoid Disastrous Human-Made Climate Change? (5.6 MB PDF). Discussion at National Academy of Sciences, April 23, 2006.

Mar. 2006: Statement of Political Inclinations (50 kB PDF). Response to journalist and public inquiries.

Feb. 2006: Can We Still Avoid Dangerous Human-Made Climate Change? A Presentation at the New School's Social Research Conference (3.6 MB PDF). Text and accompanying slides for a presentation given Feb. 10, 2006, at the New School University's Social Research Conference, New York.

Dec. 2005: Is There Still Time to Avoid "Dangerous Anthropogenic Interference" with Global Climate? A Tribute to Charles David Keeling (5.5 MB PDF). Text and accompanying slides for a presentation given Dec. 6, 2005, at the American Geophysical Union, San Francisco. Slides separately available as PowerPoint (18 MB).

Nov. 2005: On the Road to Climate Stability: The Parable of the Secretary (480 kB PDF). Draft of unsubmitted paper by Hansen et al. (Note: This replaces the longer "On the Road to Climate Stability: A-Team Report on Prospects for Halting the Growth of CO₂ Emissions" posted a year ago.)

Nov. 2005: Global Temperatures in 2005 (620 kB PDF). Comments posted Nov. 3 regarding a recent Washington Post article. (Updated Nov. 7.)

Sep. 2005: Michael Crichton's "Scientific Method" (100 kB PDF). Comments posted Sep. 27.

Apr. 2005: Earth's Energy Out of Balance: The Smoking Gun for Global Warming (160 kB PDF). Explanatory discussion for the paper "Earth's energy imbalance: Confirmation and implications" by Hansen et al., published in Science and available from the GISS website.

Mar. 2005: A Slippery Slope: How Much Global Warming Constitutes "Dangerous Anthropogenic Interferenced"? An Editorial Essay (250 kB PDF). Article published 2005 in Climatic Change, 68, 269-279.

Oct. 2004: Dangerous Anthropogenic Interference: A Discussion of Humanity's Faustian Climate Bargain and the Payments Coming Due (4.3 MB PDF). Presentation given at the Distinguished Public Lecture Series at the Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Iowa, on Oct. 26, 2004.

Research Interests:

As a college student in Iowa, I was attracted to science and research by James Van Allen's space science program in the physics and astronomy department. Since then, it only took me a decade or so to realize that the most exciting planetary research involves trying to understand the climate change on Earth that will result from anthropogenic changes of the atmospheric composition.

One of my research interests is radiative transfer in planetary atmospheres, especially interpreting remote sounding of the Earth's atmosphere and surface from satellites. Such data, appropriately analyzed, may provide one of our most effective ways to monitor and study global change on the Earth. The hardest part is trying to influence the nature of the measurements obtained, so that the key information can be obtained.

I am also interested in the development and application of global numerical models for the purpose of understanding current climate trends and projecting humans' potential impacts on climate. The scientific excitement in comparing theory with data, and developing some understanding of global changes that are occurring, is what makes all the other stuff worth it.

Education:

B.A. (Physics and Mathematics), 1963, University of Iowa
M.S. (Astronomy), 1965, University of Iowa
Ph.D. (Physics), 1967, University of Iowa

Recent Scholarly Publications:

2007

Hansen, J.E., 2007: Scientific reticence and sea level rise. Environ. Res. Lett., 2, 024002, doi:10.1088/1748-9326/2/2/024002.

Hansen, J., Mki. Sato, P. Kharecha, G. Russell, D.W. Lea, and M. Siddall, 2007: Climate change and trace gases. Phil. Trans. Royal. Soc. A, 365, 1925-1954, doi:10.1098/rsta.2007.2052.

Hansen, J., Mki. Sato, R. Ruedy, P. Kharecha, A. Lacis, R.L. Miller, L. Nazarenko, K. Lo, G.A. Schmidt, G. Russell, I. Aleinov, S. Bauer, E. Baum, B. Cairns, V. Canuto, M. Chandler, Y. Cheng, A. Cohen, A. Del Genio, G. Faluvegi, E. Fleming, A. Friend, T. Hall, C. Jackman, J. Jonas, M. Kelley, N.Y. Kiang, D. Koch, G. Labow, J. Lerner, S. Menon, T. Novakov, V. Oinas, Ja. Perlwitz, Ju. Perlwitz, D. Rind, A. Romanou, R. Schmunk, D. Shindell, P. Stone, S. Sun, D. Streets, N. Tausnev, D. Thresher, N. Unger, M. Yao, and S. Zhang, 2007: Climate simulations for 1880-2003 with GISS ModelE. Clim. Dynam., 29, 661-696, doi:10.1007/s00382-007-0255-8.Mishchenko, M.I., B. Cairns, G. Kopp, C.F. Schueler, B.A. Fafaul, J.E. Hansen, R.J. Hooker, T. Itchkawich, H.B. Maring, and L.D. Travis, 2007: Precise and accurate monitoring of terrestrial aerosols and total solar irradiance: Introducing the Glory mission. Bull. Amer. Meteorol. Soc., 88, 677-691, doi:10.1175/BAMS-88-5-677.

Nazarenko, L., N. Tausnev, and J. Hansen, 2007: The North Atlantic thermohaline circulation simulated by the GISS climate model during 1970-99. Atmos.-Ocean, 45, 81-92, doi:10.3137/ao.450202.

Novakov, T., S. Menon, T.W. Kirchstetter, D. Koch, and J.E. Hansen, 2007: Reply to comment by R. L. Tanner and D. J. Eatough on "Aerosol organic carbon to black carbon ratios: Analysis of published data and implications for climate forcing". J. Geophys. Res., 112, D02203, doi:10.1029/2006JD007941.

Rahmstorf, S., A. Cazenave, J.A. Church, J.E. Hansen, R.F. Keeling, D.E. Parker, and R.C.J. Somerville, 2007: Recent climate observations compared to projections. Science, 316, 709, doi:10.1126/science.1136843.

2006

Hansen, J., Mki. Sato, R. Ruedy, K. Lo, D.W. Lea, and M. Medina-Elizade 2006. Global temperature change. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 103, 14288-14293, doi:10.1073/pnas.0606291103.

Nazarenko, L., N. Tausnev, and J. Hansen 2006. Sea-ice and North Atlantic climate response to CO2-induced warming and cooling conditions. J. Glaciol. 52, 433-439.

Santer, B.D., T.M.L. Wigley, P.J. Gleckler, C. Bonfils, M.F. Wehner, K. AchutaRao, T.P. Barnett, J.S. Boyle, W. Brüggemann, M. Fiorino, N. Gillett, J.E. Hansen, P.D. Jones, S.A. Klein, G.A. Meehl, S.C.B. Raper, R.W. Reynolds, K.E. Taylor, and W.M. Washington 2006. Forced and unforced ocean temperature changes in Atlantic and Pacific tropical cyclogenesis regions. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 103, 13905-13910, doi:10.1073/pnas.0602861103.

Schmidt, G.A., R. Ruedy, J.E. Hansen, I. Aleinov, N. Bell, M. Bauer, S. Bauer, B. Cairns, V. Canuto, Y. Cheng, A. Del Genio, G. Faluvegi, A.D. Friend, T.M. Hall, Y. Hu, M. Kelley, N.Y. Kiang, D. Koch, A.A. Lacis, J. Lerner, K.K. Lo, R.L. Miller, L. Nazarenko, V. Oinas, Ja. Perlwitz, Ju. Perlwitz, D. Rind, A. Romanou, G.L. Russell, Mki. Sato, D.T. Shindell, P.H. Stone, S. Sun, N. Tausnev, D. Thresher, and M.-S. Yao 2006. Present day atmospheric simulations using GISS ModelE: Comparison to in-situ, satellite and reanalysis data. J. Climate 19, 153-192, doi:10.1175/JCLI3612.1.

Shindell, D., G. Faluvegi, A. Lacis, J. Hansen, R. Ruedy, and E. Aguilar 2006. Role of tropospheric ozone increases in 20th century climate change. J. Geophys. Res. 111, D08302, doi:10.1029/2005JD006348.

Shindell, D.T., G. Faluvegi, R.L. Miller, G.A. Schmidt, J.E. Hansen, and S. Sun 2006. Solar and anthropogenic forcing of tropical hydrology. Geophys. Res. Lett. 33, L24706, doi:10.1029/2006GL027468.

2005

Hansen, J.E. 2005. A slippery slope: How much global warming constitutes "dangerous anthropogenic interferenced"? An editorial essay. Clim. Change 68, 269-279, doi:10.1007/s10584-005-4135-0.

Hansen, J., L. Nazarenko, R. Ruedy, Mki. Sato, J. Willis, A. Del Genio, D. Koch, A. Lacis, K. Lo, S. Menon, T. Tovakov, Ju. Perlwitz, G. Russell, G.A. Schmidt, and N. Tausnev 2005. Earth's energy imbalance: Confirmation and implications. Science 308, 1431-1435, doi:10.1126/science.1110252.

Hansen, J., Mki. Sato, R. Ruedy, L. Nazarenko, A. Lacis, G.A. Schmidt, G. Russell, I. Aleinov, M. Bauer, S. Bauer, N. Bell, B. Cairns, V. Canuto, M. Chandler, Y. Cheng, A. Del Genio, G. Faluvegi, E. Fleming, A. Friend, T. Hall, C. Jackman, M. Kelley, N. Kiang, D. Koch, J. Lean, J. Lerner, K. Lo, S. Menon, R. Miller, P. Minnis, T. Novakov, V. Oinas, Ja. Perlwitz, Ju. Perlwitz, D. Rind, A. Romanou, D. Shindell, P. Stone, S. Sun, N. Tausnev, D. Thresher, B. Wielicki, T. Wong, M. Yao, and S. Zhang 2005. Efficacy of climate forcings. J. Geophys. Res. 110, D18104, doi:10.1029/2005JD005776.

Koch, D., and J. Hansen 2005. Distant origins of Arctic black carbon: A Goddard Institute for Space Studies ModelE experiment. J. Geophys. Res. 110, D04204, doi:10.1029/2004JD005296.

Novakov, T., S. Menon, T.W. Kirchstetter, D. Koch, and J.E. Hansen 2005. Aerosol organic carbon to black carbon ratios: Analysis of published data and implications for climate forcing. J. Geophys. Res. 110, D21205, doi:10.1029/2005JD005977.

Santer, B.D., T.M.L. Wigley, C. Mears, F.J. Wentz, S.A. Klein, D.J. Seidel, K.E. Taylor, P.W. Thorne, M.F. Wehner, P.J. Gleckler, J.S. Boyle, W.D. Collins, K.W. Dixon, C. Doutriaux, M. Free, Q. Fu, J.E. Hansen, G.S. Jones, R. Ruedy, T.R. Karl, J.R. Lanzante, G.A. Meehl, V. Ramaswamy, G. Russell, and G.A. Schmidt 2005. Amplification of surface temperature trends and variability in the tropical atmosphere. Science 309, 1551-1556, doi:10.1126/science.1114867.

2004

Hansen, J., T. Bond, B. Cairns, H. Gaeggler, B. Liepert, T. Novakov, and B. Schichtel 2004. Carbonaceous aerosols in the industrial era. Eos Trans. Amer. Geophys. Union 85, no. 25, 241, 245.

Hansen, J., and L. Nazarenko 2004. Soot climate forcing via snow and ice albedos. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 101, 423-428, doi:10.1073/pnas.2237157100.

Hansen, J., and Mki. Sato 2004. Greenhouse gas growth rates. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 101, 16109-16114, doi:10.1073/pnas.0406982101.

Mishchenko, M.I., B. Cairns, J.E. Hansen, L.D. Travis, R. Burg, Y.J. Kaufman, J.V. Martins, and E.P. Shettle 2004. Monitoring of aerosol forcing of climate from space: Analysis of measurement requirements. J. Quant. Spectrosc. Radiat. Transfer 88, 149-161, doi:10.1016/j.jqsrt.2004.03.030.

Novakov, T., and J.E. Hansen 2004. Black carbon emissions in the United Kingdom during the past four decades: An empirical analysis. Atmos. Environ., 4155-4163, doi:10.1016/j.atmosenv.2004.04.031.

2003

Novakov, T., V. Ramanathan, J.E. Hansen, T.W. Kirchstetter, Mki. Sato, J.E. Sinton, and J.A. Satahye 2003. Large historical changes of fossil-fuel black carbon aerosols. Geophys. Res. Lett. 30, no. 6, 1324, doi:10.1029/2002GL016345.

Santer, B.D., R. Sausen, T.M.L. Wigley, J.S. Boyle, K. AchutaRao, C. Doutriaux, J.E. Hansen, G.A. Meehl, E. Roeckner, R. Ruedy, G. Schmidt, and K.E. Taylor 2003. Behavior of tropopause height and atmospheric temperature in models, reanalyses, and observations: Decadal changes. J. Geophys. Res. 108, no. D1, 4002, doi:10.1029/2002JD002258.

Sato, Mki., J. Hansen, D. Koch, A. Lacis, R. Ruedy, O. Dubovik, B. Holben, M. Chin, and T. Novakov 2003. Global atmospheric black carbon inferred from AERONET. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 100, 6319-6324, doi:10.1073/pnas.0731897100.

Sun, S., and J.E. Hansen 2003. Climate simulations for 1951-2050 with a coupled atmosphere-ocean model. J. Climate 16, 2807-2826, doi:10.1175/1520-0442(2003)016<2807:CSFWAC>2.0.CO;2.

(See Dr. Hansen's bibliography webpage at the NASA GISS website for older publications.)

Recent Magazine and Newspaper Articles:

2008. The wrong choice for Massachusetts. The Boston Globe, Jan. 2.

2007. Climate catastrophe. New Scientist, 195, no. 2614 (July 28), 30-34.

2007. Why we can't wait. The Nation, May. 7.

2007. Special interests are the one big obstacle. The Times of London, Mar. 12.

2006. Swiftboating, stealth budgeting, and unitary executives. World Watch, Nov./Dec. 2006.

2006. The threat to the planet. New York Review of Books 52, no. 12 (July 13), 12-16.

2004. Defusing the global warming time bomb. Scientific American 290, no. 3, 68-77.

This page last updated Thursday, 03-Jul-2008 17:29:55 EDT