"On the Possibilities of Climate Control" in 1962: Harry Wexler on Geoengineering and Ozone Destruction

James FlemingSTS Program, Colby College

jfleming@colby.edu

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