Climate related papers of Guy Stewart Callendar (1898-1964)

Guy Stewart Callendar (1898-1964) is well-known to followers of climate science. As an introdution to his work, well worth a read is the paper “On increasing global temperatures: 75 years after Callendar” by Ed Hawkins and Phil Jones (2013). I have created a list of Callendar’s papers relating to climate (including abstracts and links to journal pages and full texts where available):

Callendar, G. S. (1938), An attempt to frame a working hypothesis on the cause of the glacial periods on an atmospheric basis, Journal of Geology 64: 223-40.

Callendar, G. S. (1938), The artificial production of carbon dioxide and its influence on temperature. Q.J.R. Meteorol. Soc., 64: 223–240. doi: 10.1002/qj.49706427503. [abstract, full text]
“By fuel combustion man has added about 150,000 million tons of carbon dioxide to the air during the past half century. The author estimates from the best available data that approximately three quarters of this has remained in the atmosphere.

The radiation absorption coefficients of carbon dioxide and water vapour are used to show the effect of carbon dioxide on “sky radiation.” From this the increase in mean temperature, due to the artificial production of carbon dioxide, is estimated to be at the rate of 0.003°C. per year at the present time.

The temperature observations a t zoo meteorological stations are used to show that world temperatures have actually increased at an average rate of 0.005°C. per year during the past half century.”

Callendar, G. S. (1939), The Composition of the Atmosphere through the Ages, Meteorological Magazine, 74, 33–39.

Callendar, G. S. (1940), Variations of the amount of carbon dioxide in different air currents. Q.J.R. Meteorol. Soc., 66: 395–400. doi: 10.1002/qj.49706628705. [abstract]
“The first measurements to determine the composition of the atmosphere were made at least 180 years ago, but chemists worked more than a century before they obtained really accurate values for the amount of carbon dioxide in the air.

In the following: a brief review is given of the present state of knowledge concerning the variations of atmospheric carbon dioxide, together with some observations which appear to show that the amount of this gas in the air has increased of late years.”

Callendar, G. S. (1941), Infra-red absorption by carbon dioxide, with special reference to atmospheric radiation. Q.J.R. Meteorol. Soc., 67: 263–275. doi: 10.1002/qj.49706729105. [abstract]
“Recent additions to our knowledge of the structure of the water vapour spectrum (Elsasser 1940), and the atmospheric transmission of infra-red radiation (Adel 1939), have tended to emphasise the importance of atmospheric radiation as a fundamental factor in meteorological processes.

Normally the greater part of this radiation comes from the large quantities of water vapour present in the air, but there are certain important regions of the atmosphere where the amount of water vapour is extremely small and where a large part of the radiation comes from the carbon dioxide always present.

It is probable that measurements of carbon dioxide absorption and radiation have been more numerous and extensive than for most other gases, but these observational data are scattered through the scientific literature of many decades and in several languages; also they are usually presented in a form which cannot be applied to atmospheric conditions and which requires much coordination and simplification before it can be used for the calculation of energy exchanges. In the following pages these measurements are reviewed and the different sets of observations are compared with the aid of a simple function which will give the absorption by any quantity of CO₂ in the different wave bands.”

Callendar, G. S. (1942), Air temperature and the growth of glaciers. Q.J.R. Meteorol. Soc., 68: 57–60. doi: 10.1002/qj.49706829307. [abstract] (only first page preview available)

G B B M Sutherland and G S Callendar (1942), The infra-red spectra of atmospheric gases other than water vapour, Rep. Prog. Phys. 9 18 doi:10.1088/0034-4885/9/1/304. [abstract] (no abstract available)

Callendar, G. S. (1944), Variations of winter temperature during eight centuries. Q.J.R. Meteorol. Soc., 70: 221–224. doi: 10.1002/qj.49607030510. [abstract] (only first page preview available)

Callendar, G. S. (1944), Glacial fluctuations. Q.J.R. Meteorol. Soc., 70: 231–232. doi: 10.1002/qj.49707030515. [abstract] (no abstract available)

Callendar, G. S. (1947), The Climate of Netherlands. Q.J.R. Meteorol. Soc..

Callendar, G. S. (1948), Atmospheric Radiation. Q.J.R. Meteorol. Soc., 74: 81–82. doi: 10.1002/qj.49707431914. [abstract] (no abstract available)

Callendar, G. S. (1949), Can Carbon Dioxide Influence Climate?. Weather, 4: 310–314. doi: 10.1002/j.1477-8696.1949.tb00952.x. [abstract] (only first page preview available)

Callendar, G. S. (1950), Note on the relation between the height of the firn line and the dimensions of a glacier. Journal of Glaciology, 1, 8, 459-461. [full text]

Callendar, G. S. (1951), The effect of the altitude of the firn area on a glacier’s response to temperature variations. Journal of Glaciology, 1, 10, 573-576. [abstract] (no abstract available)

Callendar, G. S. (1952), Air temperature and solar radiation. Journal of Glaciology, 2, 11, 69. [abstract] (no abstract available)

Callendar, G. S. (1952), The Greenwich temperature record. Q.J.R. Meteorol. Soc., 78: 265–266. doi: 10.1002/qj.49707833614. [abstract] (no abstract available)

Callendar, G. S. (1955), A close parallel between temperature fluctuations in east Canada and Britain. Q.J.R. Meteorol. Soc., 81: 98–99. doi: 10.1002/qj.49708134714. [abstract] (no abstract available)

Callendar, G. S. (1957), The Effect of Fuel Combustion on the Amount of Carbon Dioxide in the Atmosphere. Tellus, 9: 421–422. doi: 10.1111/j.2153-3490.1957.tb01899.x. [abstract, full text]

Callendar, G. S. (1958), On the present climatic fluctuation, Meteorol. Mag. 87: 204-07.

Callendar, G. S. (1958), On the Amount of Carbon Dioxide in the Atmosphere. Tellus, 10: 243–248. doi: 10.1111/j.2153-3490.1958.tb02009.x. [abstract, full text]
“Of late years there has been much interest in the effect of human activities on the natural circulation of carbon. This demands a knowledge of the amount of CO2 in atmosphere both now and in the immediate past. Here the average amount obtained by 30 of the most extensive series of observations between 1866 and 1956 is presented, and the reliability of the 19th century measurements discussed. A base value of 290 p.p.m. is proposed for the year 1900. Since then the observations show a rising trend which is similar in amount to the addition from fuel combustion. This result is not in accordance with recent radio carbon data, but the reasons for the discrepancy are obscure, and it is concluded that much further observational data is required to clarify this problem. Some old values, showing a remarkable fall of CO2 in high southern latitudes, are assembled for comparison with the anticipated new measurements, to be taken in this zone during the Geophysical Year.”

Callendar, G. S. (1961), Temperature fluctuations and trends over the earth. Q.J.R. Meteorol. Soc., 87: 1–12. doi: 10.1002/qj.49708737102. [abstract]
“The annual temperature deviations at over 400 meteorological stations are combined on a regional basis to give the integrated fluctuations over large areas and zones. These are shown in graphical form, and it is concluded that a solar or atmospheric dust hypothesis is necessary to explain the world-wide fluctuations of a few years duration. An important change in the relationships of the zonal fluctuations has occurred since 1920. The overall temperature trends found from the data are considered in relation to the homogeneity of recording, and also to the evidence of glacial recession in different zones. It is concluded that the rising trend, shown by the instruments during recent decades, is significant from the Arctic to about 45°S lat., but quite small in most regions below 35°N. and not yet apparent in some. It is thought that the regional and zonal distribution of recent climatic trends is incompatible with the hypothesis of increased solar heating as the cause. On the other hand, the major features of this distribution are not incompatible with the hypothesis of increased carbon dioxide radiation, if the rate of atmospheric mixing between the hemispheres is a matter of decades rather than years.”

Landsberg, H. E., Mitchell, J. M. and Callendar, G. S. (1961), Temperature fluctuations and trends over the earth. Q.J.R. Meteorol. Soc., 87: 435–437. doi: 10.1002/qj.49708737316. [abstract] (no abstract available – this might be a comment from Landsberg & Mitchell and a reply from Callendar relating to his previous paper)