Tag Archives: global warming

Climate Change, Climatology

NASA says global warming will increase severe storms

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Extremely high clouds, known as deep convective clouds, are typically associated with severe storms and rainfall. In this AIRS image of Hurricane Katrina, taken August 28, 2005, the day before Katrina made landfall in Louisiana, the eye of the storm was surrounded by a "super cluster" of 528 deep convective clouds (depicted in dark blue). The temperatures of the tops of such clouds are colder than 210 degrees Kelvin (-82 degrees Fahrenheit). Image credit: NASA/JPL
Extremely high clouds, known as deep convective clouds, are typically associated with severe storms and rainfall. In this AIRS image of Hurricane Katrina, taken August 28, 2005, the day before Katrina made landfall in Louisiana, the eye of the storm was surrounded by a "super cluster" of 528 deep convective clouds (depicted in dark blue). The temperatures of the tops of such clouds are colder than 210 degrees Kelvin (-82 degrees Fahrenheit). Image credit: NASA/JPL

Scientists are NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, CA recently released the results of a study that determined that global warming is causing an increase in high clouds and a corresponding increase in severe storms and rainfall.  This is not unlike previous warnings issued by some scientists, in particular those warnings of an increase in hurricane intensity and frequency in the Atlantic.  Thus far those previous warnings have not bore out.  Will this one? 

Here are the details on the new study:

From:  NASA / JPL
December 19, 2008

PASADENA, Calif. — The frequency of extremely high clouds in Earth’s tropics — the type associated with severe storms and rainfall — is increasing as a result of global warming, according to a study by scientists at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.

In a presentation today to the fall meeting of the American Geophysical Union in San Francisco, JPL Senior Research Scientist Hartmut Aumann outlined the results of a study based on five years of data from the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) instrument on NASA’s Aqua spacecraft. The AIRS data were used to observe certain types of tropical clouds linked with severe storms, torrential rain and hail. The instrument typically detects about 6,000 of these clouds each day. Aumann and his team found a strong correlation between the frequency of these clouds and seasonal variations in the average sea surface temperature of the tropical oceans.

For every degree Centigrade (1.8 degrees Fahrenheit) increase in average ocean surface temperature, the team observed a 45-percent increase in the frequency of the very high clouds. At the present rate of global warming of 0.13 degrees Celsius (0.23 degrees Fahrenheit) per decade, the team inferred the frequency of these storms can be expected to increase by six percent per decade.

Climate modelers have long speculated that the frequency and intensity of severe storms may or may not increase with global warming. Aumann said results of the study will help improve their models.

“Clouds and rain have been the weakest link in climate prediction,” said Aumann. “The interaction between the daytime warming of the sea surface under clear-sky conditions and increases in the formation of low clouds, high clouds and, ultimately, rain is very complicated. The high clouds in our observations—typically at altitudes of 20 kilometers (12 miles) and higher—present the greatest difficulties for current climate models, which aren’t able to resolve cloud structures smaller than about 250 kilometers (155 miles) in size.”

Aumann said the results of his study, published recently in Geophysical Research Letters, are consistent with another NASA-funded study by Frank Wentz and colleagues in 2005. That study found an increase in the global rain rate of 1.5 percent per decade over 18 years, a value that is about five times higher than the value estimated by climate models that were used in the 2007 report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

JPL manages the AIRS project for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, Washington. For more information on AIRS, visit http://airs.jpl.nasa.gov/ .

JPL is managed for NASA by the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena.

Climate Change

CNN meteorologist calls manmade global warming theory ‘arrogant’

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It would seem that the debate on global warming and manmade climate change isn't over yet.
It would seem that the debate on global warming and manmade climate change isn't over yet.

CNN weather anchor Chad Myers appeared on Lou Dobbs Tonight earlier this week and he had had some pretty stark comments on manmade global warming.  Calling the theory ‘arrogant’ and declaring that the data on which it is based short-sighted and faulty, Myers adds his voice to a growing chorus of dissenting opinions on the impact man has on the climate and is on the heels of last week’s news of 650 international scientists announcing their disagreement with the manmade global warming claims of the United Nations.

To think we could affect weather all that much is pretty arrogant.

– Chad Myers, CNN Meteorologist

Myers continued:

“Mother Nature is so big. The world is so big. The oceans are so big. I think we’re going to die from a lack of fresh water or die from ocean acidification before we die from global warming, for sure. But this is like you said, in your career; my career has been 22 years long. That’s a good career in TV. But in talking about climate, it is like having a car for three days and saying this is a great car. Yes, it was for three days, but maybe in day five, six and seven it won’t be so good. That’s what we’re doing here. We have a hundred years worth of data, not millions of years that the world has been around.”

This was a pretty interesting exchange.  Check out the video below.  You can also find a transcript here.

This article was also posted to the Denver Weather Examiner site. Get more local news and information on Examiner.com.  Denver Weather Examiner
Climate Change

NOAA says October hottest on record – Oops – Maybe not

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In this GISS image, incorrect data shows much of Russia under a heat wave in October.
In this GISS image, incorrect data shows much of Russia under a heat wave in October.

Scientists at NOAA and NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) announced last week that October global temperatures were the hottest on record.  Naturally this caused quite a bit of hubbub and had the global warming alarmists in quite an uproar.  As we wrote about previously, the year has been cooler than normal in North America but this new data showed that Asia experienced record high temperatures last month.  Word of the “hottest October on record” quickly spread of course. 

In a bit of an embarrassment for NOAA and GISS, their claims were short lived when two blogger meteorologists went through the data and found a number of anomalies.  They discovered at least 10 Russian stations that oddly enough reported the exact same temperatures as September.  Well, since October is almost always cooler than September in the northern hemisphere they did some checking and found that GISS had used the incorrect data and it influenced the calculations significantly. 

Al Gore's infamous "hockey stick" graph that was used in An Inconvenient Truth was quickly debunked, as were many other "facts" used in the movie.
Al Gore's infamous "hockey stick" graph that was used in An Inconvenient Truth was quickly debunked as were a number of other "facts" used in the movie.

This isn’t the first time “anomalies” with data used to measure the earth’s temperature have been discovered and have caused incorrect calculations.  In other curious happenings, measuring stations have “disappeared” from data only to reappear later, stations have been found to be sitting next to heaters and gas wells and more.  Then of course there was Al Gore’s infamous “hockey stick” graph which was debunked soon after he began showing it.  Perhaps in the most grievous error just last year, NOAA had to revise their published figures for U.S. surface temperatures, to show that the hottest decade of the 20th century was not the 1990s, as they had claimed, but the 1930s.

When GISS and NOAA recalculated October’s temperatures it dropped the month to the 2nd warmest on record and that is significant.  However, these types of problems serve only to fuel doubt in the minds of climate change skeptics and highlight the need for more careful analysis and a level-headed approach to studying the subject – from both sides of the discussion. 

For more information:  NOAA – National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Climate Change

Al Gore advocates emergency rescue of human civilization

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Al Gore advocates 'emergency rescue of human civilization.'
Al Gore advocates 'emergency rescue of human civilization.'

In an editorial in the New York Times last week, Al Gore made his case with a plan to, “begin an emergency rescue of human civilization from the imminent and rapidly growing threat posed by the climate crisis.”

Framing his argument with today’s economic uncertaintly, he advocates an extensive jobs program centered around environmental related works.  According to Gore, his plan would put millions to work while helping to ensure our ‘survival’ against the spectre of manmade climate change. 

“Our children and grandchildren need you to hear and recognize the truth of our situation, before it is too late.”
– Al Gore, November 9, 2008

Mr. Gore advocates a number of solutions and alternative fuel sources.  Interestingly enough, nuclear power is not included in his proposals despite the fact that it is one of the most powerful and environmentally sound solutions available. 

Climatology, National Weather

Global warming? Not this year in the U.S.

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Global warming? Not this year in the U.S. Thus far most of the United States is experiencing cooler temperatures in 2008.
Global warming? Not this year in the U.S. Thus far most of the United States is experiencing cooler temperatures in 2008.

According to the National Climatic Data Center (NCDC), much of the United States is experiencing below normal temperatures thus far in 2008.  In all, through the end of October, over 80% of the continental United States is experiencing normal or below normal temperatures.

This news comes on the heels of some other interesting “cool weather” recently.  The Swiss lowlands received the most snow for October since 1931 and areas of Florida broke 150 year record temperature lows.  Perhaps in a somewhat ironic event, London experienced its first October snow since 1922 on the same day the House of Commons was debating Global Warming.  🙂

Certainly we cannot draw any real conclusions about manmade climate change or global warming from these isolated incidents but they do have to make you wonder.