I think the "centerline" deals with finding a temp at the beginning and one at the end.. that is then used to establish a "linear" progression, i.e., a straight line temp rise or fall..
Then the graphed temps are overlayed, using the centerline as some sort of median point of reference.. ( median as opposed to average.. )
MBH98 I think was the "bristlecone pine" data..
While they had 350 other series of tree ring data, for a set period of time, MBH98 did not.. so, Mann "made up" data for that series.. over a time period for which data did not exist..
In doing so, Mann ruined the calculations used to derive his data, corrupting all resultant conclusions..
In essence, "discussion" criticized Mann for faking data..
It then criticized those that accepted said data at face value, without doing any peer review, or attempting to check out the facts..
Thanks, but I’m still not sure I understand. There was a missing date range for brislecone pine data so Mann statistically made it up rather than use data from 350 non-brislecone pine trees? Presumably because they didn’t support the desired results?