Home

Research

Teaching

Publications

Air Capture

Greatest Hits

Preprints

CO2 Capture and Storage

Co-authored Reports

Geoengineering

Other Energy and Climate Policy

Atmospheric Science

Physics

Students Theses

Miscellaneous

People

Geoengineering

I have been thinking about geoengineering since the early 1990s, when I wrote one of the first comparative assessments in the journal literature (#9), work that grew into a more systematic look at the technology and its historical roots that appeared in Annual Review of Energy and the Environment (#26) and in shorter form in Nature (#37). My current work on geoengineering includes:

  • Assessments. Member of the working group for UK Royal Society's 2009 report (#118), the first by a national science academy devoted to geoengineering. In 2010 I testified before comittees of the US Congress (testimony) and the UK Parliament. I presented at US National Academy meetings in 2000 and 2009 (see presentation), served on the drafting committee for the American Meterological Society's statement (see AMS) and was co-author of the geoengineering sub-chapter (4.7) of the mitigation volume of the Third IPCC Report.

  • Public engagement. My 2007 TED talk has been widely viewed, see also a 2009 debate at the Royal Geographical Society and an op-ed in the New York Times.

  • Meetings on science and governance. I co-organized a meeting a Harvard in November 2007 that brought together leaders in the geosciences with experts on public policy and governance (See articles in Science and the New York Times). In 2009 I co-organized a meeting in Lisbon that engaged European science and foreign policy experts to consider research and governance of geoengineering (see IRGC).

  • Research. I am working on the economics of decisions about geoengineering and abatement under uncertainty (#117), on engineered aerosols (#96), and on methods of delivering materials to the stratosphere. I also work on direct capture of CO2 from air (see Air Capture).

  • Research Funding and Management. My work has been funded by the US NSF and Canada’s NSERC as well as by a grant from Bill Gates managed as FICER.

Selected Publications on Geoengineering

R1. Aurora Flight Sciences report on Geoengineering Cost Analysis (PDF).
Note: This report was commissioned by the University of Calgary as a contract to Aurora. The project was managed by Jay Apt at Carnegie Mellon and David Keith. The report benefited from reviews and input by various experts in aerospace and atmospheric science. Jay Apt managed Aurora’s response to review.

132. K. Caldeira and D. W. Keith. (2010). The Need for Climate Engineering Research. Issues in Science and Technology. 27: 57-62. (PDF)

131. Juan Moreno-Cruz, Katharine Ricke and David W. Keith. (2011). A simple model to account for regional inequalities in the effectiveness of solar radiation management. Climatic Change. (PDF) [Please request password from Hollie Roberts (robertsh(at)ucalgary.ca)]

117. Juan B Moreno-Cruz and David W Keith. (under review). Climate Policy under Uncertainty: A Case for Geoengineering. Climatic Change. (PDF) [Please request password from Hollie Roberts (robertsh(at)ucalgary.ca)]

127. Jeffrey R. Pierce, Debra K. Weisenstein, Patricia Heckendorn, Thomas Peter and David W. Keith. (in press). Efficient formation of stratospheric aerosol for geoengineering by emission of condensible vapor from aircraft. Geophysical Research Letters. (PDF) [Please request password from Hollie Roberts (robertsh(at)ucalgary.ca)]

96. D. W. Keith. Photophoretic levitation of engineered aerosols for geoengineering. (2010). Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. (PNAS link)

125. David W. Keith, Edward Parsons and M. Granger Morgan. (2010). Research on global sun block needed now. Nature, 463: 426-427. (PDF)

89. David W. Keith. Engineering the Planet. (2010). Climate Change Science and Policy. S. Schneider and M. Mastrandrea eds. (PDF)

96. D. W. Keith (2010). Photophoretic levitation of aerosols for geoengineering. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. (PDF)

118. John Shepherd, Ken Caldeira, Joanna Haigh, David Keith, Brian Launder, Georgina Mace, Gordon MacKerron, John Pyle, Steve Rayner, Catherine Redgwell, Peter Cox and Andrew Watson (2009). Geoengineering the climate - Science, governance and uncertainty. The Royal Society. (PDF)

119. J. J. Blackstock, D. S. Battisti, K. Caldeira, D. M. Eardley, J. I. Katz, D. W. Keith, A. A. N. Patrinos, D. P. Schrag, R. H. Socolow and S. E. Koonin (2009). Climate Engineering Responses to Climate Emergencies, Novim. (PDF)

75. Stephens, J. C. and D. W. Keith (2008). Assessing Geochemical Carbon Management. Climatic Change. (PDF)

50. David W. Keith (2002). Geoengineering - die technologische Gestaltung des Planeten Erde. Klima. Das Experiment mit dem Planeten Erde. W. Hauser ed., Deutsche Museum, Munich, Germany, p. 352-369. (PDF)

44. David W. Keith (2002). Geoengineering. Encyclopedia of Global Change. A. S. Goudie ed, Oxford University Press, New York, NY, p. 495-502. (PDF)

41. David W. Keith (2001). Geoengineering and carbon management: Is there a meaningful distinction? Greenhouse Gas Control Technologies: Proceedings of the 5th International Conference. D. Williams, B. Durie, P. McMullan, C. Paulson and A. Smith eds., CSIRO Publishing, Collingwood, Australia, p. 1192-1197. (PDF)

37. D. W. Keith (2001). Geoengineering. Nature, 409: 420. (PDF)

26. David W. Keith (2000). Geoengineering the Climate: History and Prospect. Annual Review of Energy and the Environment, 25: 245-284. (PDF)

28. David W. Keith (2000). The Earth is Not Yet an Artifact. IEEE Technology and Society Magazine, 19: 25-28. (PDF)

16. David W. Keith (1998). Geoengineering Climate. Elements of Change 1998. S. J. Hassol and J. Katzenberger eds., Aspen Global Change Institute, Aspen Colorado, p. 83-88. (PDF)

9. David W. Keith and Hadi Dowlatabadi (1992). A Serious Look at Geoengineering. Eos, Transactions American Geophysical Union, 73: 289-293. (PDF)