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Reconciling Observations of Global Temperature Change (2000) / Chapter Skim
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3 Findings
Pages 21-23

The Chapter Skim interface presents what we've algorithmically identified as the most significant single chunk of text within every page in the chapter.
Select key terms on the right to highlight them within pages of the chapter.


From page 21...
... For the time period from 1979 to 1998, it is estimated that on average, over the globe, surface temperature has increased by 0.25 to 0.4 °C and lower to mid-tropospheric temperature has increased by 0.0 to 0.2 oc.9 9 The range of these trend estimates is determined by applying different trend algorithms to the different versions of the surface and tropospheric data sets. Further discussion of the uncertainties inherent in these estimates is provided in chapters ~9.
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From page 22...
... The factors contributing to this uncertainty are: the uncertainty inherent in temperature trends determined over relatively short time periods; the complexity of the algorithms for processing the satellite data, and the limited validation that has been performed on them thus far; · the possibility of biases remaining in the data sets that have not yet been recognized and corrected; · the uneven and, in some places, sparse spatial coverage of radiosonde observations and, to a lesser extent, surface observations; and the inherent difficulties in correcting for changes in instrumentation and in the siting of radiosonde and surface stations.
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From page 23...
... Surface temperature and lower to mid-tropospheric temperature are different entities, which should not be expected to vary in precisely the same manner in response to human-induced and natural climate forcings during a particular 20-year period of record. Hence, the pane} concludes that at least part of the observed disparity between the 20-year changes in surface and mid-tropospheric temperature is probably real, but the measurement, modeling, and sampling uncertainties alluded to above make it difficult to precisely attribute the disparity to any particular sources.
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Key Terms

  • temperature trends
  • climate forcings
  • temperature changes
  • natural climate
  • satellite data

  • observed changes
  • changing distribution
  • sampling uncertainties
  • uncertainties alluded
  • fundamental discrepancy

  • trends determined
  • atmospheric temperature
  • average warming
  • substantially larger
  • climate models

  • current estimates
  • radiosonde observations
  • particular sources
  • account radiative
  • increasing concentrations

  • models indicate
  • observed temperature
  • spatial coverage
  • global surface
  • spatial pattern

  • recent experiments
  • ozone depletion
  • solar variability
  • observed atmospheric
  • warmed substantially


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