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Global Climate Change Digest
A Guide to Information on Greenhouse Gases and Ozone Depletion
Published July 1988 through June 1999

FROM VOLUME 6, NUMBER 4, APRIL 1993

PROFESSIONAL PUBLICATIONS...
TEMPERATURE TRENDS: ATMOSPHERE

Item #d93apr29

"The Recent Warming in Eastern Minnesota Shown by Ground Temperatures," D.G. Baker (Soil Sci. Dept., Univ. Minnesota, St. Paul MN 55108), D.L. Ruschy, Geophys. Res. Lett., 20(5), 371-374, Mar. 5, 1993.

Thermocouples buried at several levels record temperature trends without the high-frequency fluctuations present in air temperatures. For the period 1963-1990, temperature at the 12.8 meter depth showed a trend of 0.041·C per year, consistent with air temperature trends at two nearby locations.

Item #d93apr30

"Comments on `Effects of Recent Thermometer Changes in the Cooperative Station Network,'" M. Chenoweth (Dept. Geog., Univ. Reading, Reading RG6 2AY, UK), Bull. Amer. Meteor. Soc., 74(3), 447, Mar. 1993.

Item #d93apr31

"Recent Maximum Temperature Anomalies at Albany, New York: Fact or Fiction?" R.W. Kessler (General Sci. Corp., Laurel, Md.), L.F. Bosart, R.S. Gaza, ibid., 74(2), 215-226, Feb. 1993.

Analyzes a suspected daily maximum temperature (DMT) bias introduced by the replacement of a National Weather Service mercury-in-glass thermometer in 1985. Results show that reported DMT at Albany has increased by about 0.5·C relative to surrounding locations since the new sensor was introduced, and that aspiration in the sensor housing is a major cause of the difference.

Item #d93apr32

"A Comparison between Patterns of Temperature Trends and Sulfate Aerosol Pollution," M. Engardt (Dept. Meteor., Stockholm Univ., S-106 91, Stockholm, Swed.), H. Rodhe, Geophys. Res. Lett., 20(2), 117-120, Jan. 22, 1993.

Global temperature records over the past century were compared to estimated atmospheric loading of anthropogenic aerosol sulfate, to investigate a possible cooling by aerosols. Results are consistent with theoretical calculations which indicate that anthropogenic sulfate aerosols cause substantial cooling, although the statistical significance of this conclusion is low.

Item #d93apr33

"On the Trends of Temperature and Daily Range in China," Z.W. Yan (Inst. Atmos. Phys., Acad. Sinica, Beijing 100080, PRC), M.L. Zhang, Chin. Sci. Bull., 38(1), 54-58, Jan. 1993.

Item #d93apr34

"Long-Term and Recent Anomalous Temperature Changes in Australia," R.C. Balling Jr. (Off. Clim., Arizona State Univ., Tempe AZ 85282), S.B. Idso, W.S. Hughes, Geophys. Res. Lett., 19(23), 2317-2320, Dec. 2, 1992.

Annual mean, maximum and minimum temperatures from a rural network show a general cooling over the period 1911-1978, with a steady decrease in diurnal temperature range even though all three temperatures rose sharply in the late 1970s. This discontinuity is similar to those found in the Northern Hemisphere record; whether it is related to the buildup of greenhouse gases is unknown.

Item #d93apr35

Two items from Theor. Appl. Clim., 45(4), 1992:

"The Work Intensity Function in the Detection of Greenhouse-Induced Global Temperature Trends," A.H. Gordon (Inst. Atmos. Marine Sci., Flinders Univ., GPO Box 2100, Adelaide 5001, Australia), 235-240. Defines statistical parameters based on histogram distributions and applies the concept to global surface temperatures. Results suggest that the observed record is drawn from a normal population, and that the identification of greenhouse-gas-induced warming is complicated by occasional outlying temperature values.

"Climatic Change in Britain. Is SO2 More Significant Than CO₂?" R.C. Balling Jr. (Off. Clim., Arizona State Univ., Tempe AZ 85287), S.B. Idso, 251-256. Analysis of British mean annual temperature and precipitation and mean diurnal temperature range over the period 1929-1988 indicates several trends, such as a shift from warming to cooling in the 1950s and a strong decline in diurnal temperature range. Results suggest that SO2 rather than CO₂ has been the major anthropogenic climate influence there over the past four decades.

Item #d93apr36

"Weather Categorization in Climate Change Research--Preliminary Results," I. Nemesova (Inst. Phys. Atmos., Bocni 2-1401, CS-14131 Prague 4, Czech.), A. Klimperova et al., Studia Geophys. Geodaetica, 36(4), 370-375, 1992.

Presents results of weather regime characterization using principal component analysis and clustering procedures, leading to the conclusion that clustering techniques applied to long-term instrumental data can provide a basis for attempting to detect gradual temperature changes.

Item #d93apr37

"Analysis of Temperature Series in Europe in Relation to the Detection of the Enhanced Greenhouse Effect," A.J. Coops (Inst. Marine & Atmos. Res., Univ. Utrecht, Princetonpl. 5, Postbus 80000, 3508 TA Utrecht, Neth.), ibid., 46(2-3), 89-98, 1992.

Develops an analysis technique based on the assumption that climate undergoes abrupt changes by natural means, as a generalization of an existing method for dividing a series into two parts. Results of application to data from 13 European stations are consistent with other reported analyses showing no clear evidence that increasing levels of greenhouse gases are affecting climate there.

Item #d93apr38

"Analysis of Mean Temperature Variations at the 1000/5000 hPa Layer over Europe, 1945-88," T.J. Makrogiannis (Dept. Meteor., Univ. Thessaloniki, GR-54006 Thessaloniki, Greece), H.S. Sahsamanoglou, Theor. Appl. Clim., 45(3), 193-200, 1992.

Most of the area is characterized by positive trends. During the summer of the last subperiod, 1970-1988, positive thickness trends predominated, showing that the warmth of the 1980s was not just a surface phenomenon.

Item #d93apr39

"Singular Spectrum Analysis--A Toolkit for Short, Noisy, Chaotic Signals," R. Vautard (Meteor. Dynam. Lab.-CNRS, F-75231 Paris 05, France), P. Yiou, M. Ghil, Physica D, 58(1-4), 95-126, Sep. 15, 1992.

Extends an analysis method based on experience with applications to geophysical time series, and applies it to a 130-year record of global surface air temperatures as a severe test of noise reduction and prediction.