1998 was Colder than 1934...in 2002? (GISS Data Falsehood Before the Recent Scandal? FR EXCLUSIVE)

What did you conclude? Who changed the data, and did they do it correctly?

I was pinging you to this thread because others have noticed changes in the various temperature records too and have realized that 1998 is not the hottest year in the latest temperature records although it used to be before some significant data massaging occurred. See the posts above.

I can't tell if the changes to the temperature record were appropriate or made correctly without looking at them in detail. I think the agencies that post the temperature data owe it to the public to explain the changes that have been made to the data in terms the public can understand. Simply having a footnote saying the data have been homogenized does nothing but create skepticism and hurts their reputation.

The people who post temperature tables on the web would help their own credibility if they provided links to papers that describe in detail how and why the various changes were made along with many specific examples. Alternatively, some among them may have the ability to explain things clearly to the informed lay public or lay scientists without resorting to incomprehensible jargon.

There are some interesting posts and links about the data changes and manipulation on the following thread [Link]. The discussion on the climateaudit link you brought to my attention [http://www.climateaudit.org/?p=1142] was informative as well.

I got that: 1998 doesn’t stand as the hottest year for the US, although it does still remains first or second as the hottest year globally, since the 1880s.

I agree we could use more plain talk about who adjusted the data and why they adjusted it, with varying levels of detail for varying levels of scientific skill and experience. This applies to the whole topic.

Thanks for the FR thread tip! http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1879260/posts.

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.