Andrew Dessler

Andrew Dessler PhD is a professor at Texas A&M University in the Department of Atmospheric Sciences. He has produced theories of the role of water vapor [Sherwood, S.C., and A.E. Dessler. 2000. On the control of stratospheric humidity. Geophysical Research Letters 27:2513-2516] ] which provide a scientific counter-argument to conventional global warming theory; his research subject areas are climate systems research and climate change policy. He has a BA degree from Rice University and a PhD degree from Harvard University.

Dessler spent the year 2000 as a senior policy analyst in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. While there, he became aware of that policymakers and the general public often lack an understanding of how science works and how to interpret the conflicting claims in policy debates. Dessler’s focus is on understanding the Earth’s climate; he has also produced original research on stratospheric chemistry.

He has served as an Associate Editor for the "Journal of Geophysical Research", and editor for the American Geophysical Union. As further evidence of his standing among scientific peers, Dessler was selected as keynote speaker at a technical conference of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. [ [http://www.epa.gov/electricpower-sf6/pdf/nov06/Final_SpeakerBios.pdf U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Fourth International Conference on Sulfur Hexafluoride and the Environment] ]

Principal policy work

Dessler's principal policy monograph, "The Science and Politics of Global Climate Change: a Guide to the Debate", conveys the complexity of the current global climate change. [ [http://www.cambridge.org/us/catalogue/catalogue.asp?isbn=0521539412&ss=exc Andrew E. Dessler and Edward A. Parson, "The Science and Politics of Global Climate Change: a Guide to the Debate" ISBN-13: 9780521539418] ] His work gives competing views a balanced treatment and uses scientific reasoning to test the merits of alternative theories of the status of global warming and climate change. His book details the significance of earth surface temperature change versus troposphere change. In addition he provides insights to the geological time scale of global warming.

Danny Yee characterises the Dessler work as solid and emphasizes the balance and scientific basis of Dessler's work; Yee says that "every general library should have a copy". [ [http://dannyreviews.com/h/Global_Climate_Change.html Danny Lee review of "The Science and Politics of Global Climate Change: a Guide to the Debate"] ]

Research

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) featured [ [http://www.nasa.gov/missions/earth/f_vapor.html Will Runaway Water Warm the World?] ] research by Dessler and Minchwaner questioning the degree of global warming, given the pair's discovery of a new theory of the trend in planetary atmospheric water vapor using NASA's Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite. The University of Maryland [ [http://www.newsdesk.umd.edu/facts/mm/03_04/mar.cfm Satellite Finds Warming 'Relative' to Humidity] ] noted the same study that the role of water vapor trends provide a tangible scientific premise that global warming may be overestimated. [ [http://www.futurepundit.com/archives/002002.html Randall Parker, March 18, 2004, "Climate Researchers Find Less Water Evaporation As Earth Warms"] ]

Line notes

Publications

*Dessler, A.E., and E.A. Parson. 2006. The Science and Politics of Global Climate Change: A guide to the debate. Cambridge University Press.
*Wong, S., and A.E. Dessler. 2005. Suppression of Deep Convection over the Tropical North Atlantic by the Saharan Air Layer. Geophysical Research Letters 32, L09808, DOI: 10.1029/2004GL022295.
*Dessler, A.E., and S.C. Sherwood. 2004. The effect of convection on the summertime extratropical lower stratosphere. Journal of Geophysical Research 109(D23), D23301, DOI: 10.1029/2004JD005209.
*Minschwaner, K., and A.E. Dessler. 2004. Water vapor feedback in the tropical upper troposphere: Model results and observations. Journal of Climate 17:1272-1282.
*Sherwood, S.C., and A.E. Dessler. 2001. A model for transport across the tropical tropopause. Journal of Atmospheric Science 58:765-779.
*Sherwood, S.C., and A.E. Dessler. 2000. On the control of stratospheric humidity. Geophysical Research Letters 27:2513-2516.
*Dessler, A.E. 2000. The Chemistry and Physics of Stratospheric Ozone. Academic Press.

External links

* Faculty page [http://atmo.tamu.edu/profile/ADessler]
* Complete list of publications [http://atmo.tamu.edu/profile/sub/239]