Posted on 08/11/2007 1:27:55 PM PDT by Ernest_at_the_Beach
Roger Pielke (right) claims NCDC removed weather station data to dodge public scrutiny. (Source: University of Colorado)
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The theory of global warming began to explain one simple set of factsm-- surface temperature monitoring stations have shown a roughly one degree rise over the past century. But just where does these temperature readings come from? Most are reported by volunteer stations, usually no more than a thermometer inside a small wooden hut or below a roof overhang. In the US, 1,221 such stations exist, all administered by the National Climatic Data Center, a branch of the NOAA.
Two months ago, I reported on an effort to validate this network. A volunteer group headed by meteorologist Anthony Watts had found serious problems. Not only did sites fail to meet the NCDC's requirements, but encroaching development had put many in ridiculously unsuitable locations -- on hot black asphalt, next to trash burn barrels, beside heat exhaust vents, even attached to hot chimneys and above outdoor grills.
Soon thereafter, a Seattle radio station interviewed the head of the NCDC, Dr. Thomas Peterson, informed him of the effort and quizzed him about the problems. Three days later, the NCDC removed all website access to station site locations, citing "privacy concerns." Without this data (which had been public for years), the validation effort was blocked. No more stations could be located.
Scientists were quick to respond. Climatologist Roger Pielke from the University of Colorado called the act a "coverup" and said it was designed to prevent public scrutiny. More shockingly, he revealed that researchers had been for years pressuring the government to validate the network themselves, and that the NCDC had begun to do j so, but cancelled the project and refused to make the data public, presumably to avoid this sort of scandal. Joined by Watts and others, Pielke called upon the government to recant.
The resulting furor forced the NCDC to again made site locations public. But so far, they've failed to address to root of the problem, which is the wholly unsatisfactory locations of many of their recording sites, loations which make the resulting data unreliable, and compromise a dataset upon which much of US energy and environmental policy is based.
Inconvenient Truths
Convenient Omissions
On that subject, from this link...
Blogger Finds Y2K Bug in NASA Climate Data
...These graphs were created by NASA's Reto Ruedy and James Hansen (who shot to fame when he accused the administration of trying to censor his views on climate change). Hansen refused to provide McKintyre with the algorithm used to generate graph data, so McKintyre reverse-engineered it. The result appeared to be a Y2K bug in the handling of the raw data.
The bold is mine, BTW.
These guys ought to be hauled up on the Hill.
You take a reading at a airport where jets are heating the surroundings with hot exhaust and paved runways are soaking up rays and you are bound to get erroneous readings. Airports are the worst locations for gathering scientific temperature data.
That Hansen has some chutzpah, eh?
For the life of me I can't figure out why the government would go to such an extreme -- and ham-handed one at that -- over something like this. Al Gore and the GW crowd I could understand. But the federal government? Doesn't it have other, slightly more important things to deal with at this point?
thxs, for the report. :)
Because the nanny state knows best and the facts interfere with their agenda. So to Heck with the facts.
Scouts Out! Cavalry Ho!
From one of the links from MM :
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Weather Station photo:
Detroit Lakes, MN surveyed by Don Kostuch - Don has single handedly done almost the entire state of Minnesota!
I think he may have a secret Swiss Bank Account!
Am I seeing this correctly? The temperature gauge next to exhaust from an outdoor AC unit? It would have hot air blowing all over it.
Talk about a pic being worth a thousand words.
for others....Neptune is warming up as well as the earth....
Lawrence Solomon's "The Deniers" (a series of articles on the view of scientists who have been labelled "Global Warming Deniers"):
Other References:
See The link for the full story...
And I think that caused the discovery of the Y2K problem....
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