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Global Climate Change Digest
A Guide to Information on Greenhouse Gases and Ozone Depletion
Published July 1988 through June 1999

FROM VOLUME 2, NUMBER 3, MARCH 1989

PROFESSIONAL PUBLICATIONS...
EFFECTS OF NUCLEAR WAR

Item #d89mar41

"Nuclear Winter: Science and Politics," B. Martin (Dept. Sci., Univ. Wollongong, Wollongong NSW 2500, Australia), Sci. & Public Policy, 15(5), 321-334, Oct. 1988.

Explains that the nuclear winter controversy is an interaction between science and politics; political interests have influenced the degree of scientific attention and research approach, while scientific results have been used to intervene in political debates. Gives specific examples of disagreement among researchers and provides an extensive reference list on the topic.

Item #d89mar42

"Two-Dimensional Simulations of Possible Mesoscale Effects of Nuclear War Fires, F. Giorgi (NCAR, POB 3000, Boulder CO 80307), J. Geophys. Res., 94(D1), Jan. 20, 1989.

"1. Model Description," 1127-1144. Describes simulations of possible mesoscale effects of smoke injections from nuclear war fires obtained by coupling a two-dimensional mesoscale meteorological model to an aerosol model. Describes development of models and gives an example of model performance via a simulation of the development of circulations similar to sea breezes, induced by contrasts in soil moisture available for evapotranspiration.

"2. Model Results," 1145-1164. Simulations are carried out for different fire types (city center, suburban and forest fires), aerosol loadings, particle properties and atmospheric conditions. Analyzes three effects which develop on spatial scales of 10-500 km and time scales of 1-2 days and can be important for assessments of environmental impacts of nuclear war: smoke-induced formation of clouds and precipitation and efficiency of smoke removal; smoke vertical transport; and surface cooling induced by the smoke absorption. Discusses how results can be used in the design of injection scenarios for general circulation model simulations.

Item #d89mar43

"Enhancement of Surface Cooling Due to Forest Fire Smoke," A. Robock (Dept. Meteor., Univ. Maryland, College Pk. MD 20742), Science, 242(4880), 911-913, Nov. 11, 1988.

Smoke emitted from forest fires in northern California in September 1987 was trapped in a valley by an inversion for 3 weeks. The smoke strengthened the inversion by preventing surface warming by solar radiation, which enhanced the smoke trapping and the surface cooling in a positive feedback loop. These results may have implications for nuclear winter.