Chris Landsea

Credentials  

• Ph.D., Atmospheric Science, Colorado State University (1994).
• Master's, Atmospheric Science, Colorado State University (1991).
• Bachelor's Degree, Atmospheric Sciences, University of California, (1987). 

Source: [1]

Background

Christopher Landsea is the Science and Operations Officer [1] at the National Hurricane Center, a part of the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) of the U.S. Department of Commerce.

Documents released by the Government Oversight Committee [2] [2] and later by the Government Accountability Project [3] [3] suggest that Landsea was sought by republicans [4] as a scientist to speak to the media on the connection between hurricanes and global warming, because of Landsea's belief that this connection to be minimal. [4]

Stance on Climate Change

". . . we certainly see substantial warming in the ocean and atmosphere over the last several decades on the order of a degree Fahrenheit, and I have no doubt a portion of that, at least, is due to greenhouse warming. The question is whether we're seeing any real increases in the hurricane activity" [5]

Key Quotes

". . .the evidence is quite strong and supported by the most recent credible studies that any impact in the future from global warming upon hurricane will likely be quite small" [6]

Key Deeds

December, 2005

Landsea co-published a study (PDF [5]) arguing that rising greenhouse gas levels would not influence hurricane intensity in the Atlantic basin. [7]

His co-authors included climate change skeptics Patrick Michaels [6] and Chip Knappenberger [7]. 

January, 2005

Landsea withdrew from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) [8], claiming that the group had become politicized and ignored his concerns. His resignation letter was released on Prometheus, a blog run by Roger Pielke Jr. [8]

Affiliations

• Roger Pielke Jr [9]. — Co-published numerous papers [10].

• NOAA — Science and Operations Officer, Technical Support Branch

Publications

See an archived list (as of 2008) of Landsea's publications here [10]. A complete list of publications as of 2011 is available at NOAA [11].

• P.J. Michaels, P. C. Knappenberger and C. W. Landsea, 2005: Comments on "Impacts of CO2-Induced Warming on Simulated Hurricane Intensity and Precipitation: Sensitivity to the Choice of Climate Model and Convective Scheme". J. of Climate, 18, 5179-5182. (PDF [5])

Resources

1. "Christopher Landsea [12]," biography at NOAA (Archived April 10, 2008).

2. "Rep. Waxman Releases Internal Commerce Department E-Mails on Climate Change [2]," Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, September 19, 2006. Archived November 3, 2009.

3. Tarek Maassarani. "Redacting the Science of Climate Change: An Investigative and Synthesis Report" (PDF [3]), Government Accountability Project.

4. Paul D. Thacker. "Climate-controlled White House [13]," Salon, September 19, 2006.

5. "Hurricane Science," [14]PBS, Oct 18, 2005.

6. "Chris Landsea Leaves IPCC [8]," Prometheus, January 17, 2005.

7. "Comments on 'Impacts of CO2-Induced Warming on Simulated Hurricane Intensity and Precipitation: Sensitivity to the Choice of Climate Model and Convective Scheme'" (PDF [5]), Notes and Correspondence, December 1, 2005.

8. "Chris Landsea Leaves IPCC [15]," Colorado University Center for Science and Technology Policy Research, January 17, 2005.

9. "Chris Landsea [16]," SourceWatch profile.

10. "Christopher Landsea [12]," biography at NOAA (Archived April 10, 2008).

11. Henry A. Waxman, "Rep. Waxman Releases Internal Commerce Department E-Mails on Climate Change," September 19, 2006 (Archived [2]).

12. "Publications of Christopher W. Landsea, [11]" NOAA.

13. Staff Directory Search, NOAA [17]. Accessed September 30, 2011.