Global energy demand is expected to double by 2050. Meeting this demand without emitting carbon to the atmosphere will require extraordinary expansion of carbon-free sources of energy. My research takes a systems approach to this challenge, assessing future scenarios of energy and emissions in order to quantify the climatic implications of different paths and mitigation efforts.

Recent Publications:

Davis, S.J., Cao, L., Caldeira, K., and Hoffert, M.I. (2013) Rethinking wedges. Environmental Research Letters v. 8, doi:10.1088/1748-9326/8/1/011001
Davis, S.J., Caldeira, K., and Matthews, H.D. (2010) Future CO2 emissions and climate change from existing energy infrastructure. Science v. 329, p. 1330-1335.
Burney, J.A., Davis, S.J., and Lobell, D.B. (2010) Greenhouse gas mitigation by agricultural intensification. PNAS v. 107, p. 12052-12057.

The energy, goods and services consumed in one country often entail carbon emissions in another country, which may in turn require fossil fuels to be extracted in yet another country. Yet national inventories of carbon dioxide emissions generally include only those emissions produced within the borders of that nation. Using global economic data, my colleagues and I have created and are using models to provide detailed accounts of carbon dioxide emissions at three points in the supply chain: (1) extraction (where natural fossil fuel resources are mined or pumped), (2) production (where fossil fuels are burned to produce energy), and (3) consumption (where the goods and services made with fossil energy are ultimately consumed). These accounts shed light on who is benefitting from carbon emissions across the globe, and how.

Recent Publications:

Davis, S.J., Peters, G.P., and Caldeira, K. (2011) The Supply Chain of CO2 Emissions. PNAS, v. 108, no. 45, p. 18554-18559.
Caldeira, K. and Davis, S.J. (2011) Accounting for carbon dioxide emissions: A matter of time. PNAS, v. 108, p. 8533-8534.
Davis, S.J. and Caldeira, K. (2010) Consumption-based accounting of CO2 emissions. PNAS, v. 107, no. 12, p. 5687-5693.

Isotopic and geochemical analyses of rocks deposited in ancient lake basins reflect changes in topography, climate and hydrology over millions of years. My doctoral research was focused on creating these records from the Green River lake system of western North America (a series of vast and and at times connected lakes in Wyoming, Colorado and Utak). More recently, I'm using the ages of detrital zircons in river sediments to identify the evolving drainage patterns of continental-scale.

Recent Publications:

Davis, S.J., Dickinson, W.R., Gehrels, G.E., Spencer, J.E., Lawton, T.F. and Carroll, A.R. (2010) The Paleogene California River: Evidence of Mojave-Uinta Paleodrainage from U-Pb Ages of Detrital Zircons. Geology, v. 38, p. 931-934
Davis, S.J., Mix, H., Wiegand, B.A., Carroll, A., and Chamberlain, C.P. (2009) Synorogenic evolution of large-scale drainage patterns: Isotope paleohydrology of sequential Laramide basins. American Journal of Science, v. 309, No. 7, p. 549-602.