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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 7, NUMBER 3, MARCH 1994

PROFESSIONAL PUBLICATIONS...

• TREND ANALYSIS: PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL PROPERTIES

Item #d94mar39

"Trends in Global Marine Cloudiness and Anthropogenic Sulfur," F. Parungo (ARL, ERL, NOAA, 325 Broadway, Boulder CO 80303), J.F. Boatman et al., J. Clim., 7(3), 434-440, Mar. 1994.

Statistical analysis of marine cloud data shows a positive trend in total oceanic cloud between 1930 and 1981, with a greater increase in the Northern Hemisphere (5.8%) than in the Southern Hemisphere (2.9%). The characteristics of the trends are in accord with those of anthropogenic SO2 emissions; a hypothesis of their influence on cloud amounts is proposed.

Item #d94mar40

"Variability and Trends of Total Precipitation and Snowfall over the United States and Canada," P.Y. Groisman, D.R. Easterling (Natl. Clim. Data Ctr., 37 Battery Pk. Ave., Asheville NC 28801), J. Clim., 7(1), 184-205, Jan. 1994.

Annual precipitation increased in southern Canada by 13% and in the U.S. by 4% during the last century, and increased in northern Canada by 20% during the last four decades. ENSO is usually associated with increased precipitation in the U.S.

Item #d94mar41

"Hydrologic Drought in the Contiguous United States, 1900-1989: Spatial Patterns and Multiple Comparison of Means," P.T. Soulé (Dept. Geog. & Planning, Appalachian State Univ., Boone NC 28608), Geophys. Res. Lett., 20(21), 2367-2370, Nov. 5, 1993.

A transition from wetter to drier climate occurred between the early and middle parts of this century from the northcentral Rocky Mountains to the northern Great Plains. Difficulties in determining trends are discussed.

Item #d94mar42

"Beijing Cloudiness Since 1875," W.-C. Wang (Atmos. Sci. Res. Ctr., State Univ. New York, Albany NY 12205), Q.-Y. Zhang et al., J. Clim., 6(10), 1921-1927, Oct. 1993. Studied the relationship to other climate parameters for 1951-1990, and reconstructed values for 1875-1950. On a century time scale, there was no clear trend in cloudiness.

Item #d94mar43

"Detection of Trend or Change in Annual Flow of Australian Rivers," F.H.S. Chiew (Ctr. Environ. Appl. Hydrol., Univ. Melbourne, Victoria, Australia), T.A. McMahon, Intl. J. Climatol., 13(6), 643-653, Sep.-Oct. 1993.

There is no evidence that the greenhouse effect is currently affecting streamflows, but analysis of historical records indicates that significant trends may be detected in the future if predicted scenarios are realized.

Item #d94mar44

"Global Snow Cover Monitoring: An Update," D.A. Robinson (Dept. Geog., Rutgers Univ., New Brunswick NJ 08903), K.F. Dewey, R.R. Heim Jr., Bull. Amer. Meteor. Soc., 74(9), 1689-1696, Sep. 1993.

Updates the status of global snow cover monitoring, concentrating on the NOAA satellite observational record. Snow cover may be a useful index for monitoring climate change, because global models predict it will decrease due to enhanced warming in regions of ephemeral snow cover.

Item #d94mar45

"On the Occurrence of Deep Cyclones over Europe and the North Atlantic in the Period 1930-1991," H. Schinke (Meteor. Inst., Humboldt Univ., Müggelseedamm 256/58, 12587 Berlin, Ger.), Beitr. Phys. Atmos., 66(3), 223-237, Aug. 1993.

The number of deep cyclones increased, especially during periods of higher "mean central pressure".

Item #d94mar46

"Circulation Features Associated with the Winter Rainfall Decrease in Southwestern Australia," R.J. Allan (Div. Atmos. Res., CSIRO, Melbourne, Australia), M.R. Haylock, J. Clim., 6(7), 1356-1367, July 1993.

Mean sea level pressures derived in the study do not resemble those predicted by general circulation models for CO2 doubling.

Item #d94mar47

"Recent Variability in the Southern Oscillation: Isotopic Results from a Tarawa Atoll Coral," J.E. Cole (Lamont-Doherty Earth Observ., Palisades NY 10964), R.G. Fairbanks, G.T. Shen, Science, 260(5115), 1790-1793, June 18, 1993.

Variation in a 96-year O2 isotope record from coral corresponds to annual and monthly observed changes in the strength of the Southern Oscillation.

Item #d94mar48

"Recent Variations of Sea Ice and Air Temperature in High Latitudes," W.L. Chapman (Dept. Atmos. Sci., Univ. Illinois, Urbana IL 61801), J.E. Walsh, Bull. Amer. Meteor. Soc., 74(1), 33-47, Jan. 1993.

A gridded sea-ice database shows no significant trend of coverage in the Arctic during winter or in the Antarctic during any season. Seasonal and geographical changes are consistent with recent experiments using coupled atmosphere-ocean models.

Item #d94mar49

"An Analysis of Decade- and Century-Scale Climatic Jumps in History," Y. Zhongwei (Inst. Atmos. Phys., Chinese Acad. Sci., Beijing 100080, China), W. Xiaochun, L. Zhaoyuan, Chin. J. Atmos. Sci., 17(4), 359-367, 1993.

Used flood and drought information from historical documents to reveal wet-to-dry and dry-to-wet jumps during the last 2000 years.

Item #d94mar50

"High Latitude Environments and Environmental Change," L. Kullman (Dept. Phys. Geog., Umeå Univ., S-901 87 Umeå, Swed.), Prog. Phys. Geog., 16(4), 478-488, Dec. 1992.

Reviews records from the late 1980s and finds no evidence that climate or ecosystems are currently affected by enhanced greenhouse warming. Stresses the need for long-term, unbiased monitoring and analyses.

Item #d94mar51

"Ionospheric Trends in Midlatitudes as a Possible Indicator of the Atmospheric Greenhouse Effect," J. Bremer (Inst. Atmos. Phys., Schlossstr. 4-6/0-2565 Kuehlungsborn, Ger.), J. Atmos. Terr. Phys., 54(11-12), 1505-1511, Nov.-Dec. 1992.

Found the first experimental decrease in peak height of the ionospheric F2 layer that had been predicted for increasing greenhouse effect by a model.

Item #d94mar52

Two items from Tellus, 44B(4), Sep. 1992:

"Long-Term Measurements of Light Alkanes and Acetylene in the Antarctic Troposphere," J. Rudolph (Inst. Atmos. Chem., Forschungs. Jülich, POB 1913, D-5170 Jülich, Ger.), A. Khedim et al., 252-261. Measurements indicate that average mixing ratios in austral winter increased slightly during the last few years, possibly due to the increase of biomass burning in the Southern Hemisphere.

"Time-Trends in the Pattern of Ocean-Atmosphere Exchange in an Ice Core from the Weddell Sea Sector of Antarctica," D.A. Peel (Brit. Antarctic Surv., High Cross, Madingley Rd., Cambridge CB3 0ET, UK), R. Mulvaney, 430-442. Ice core analysis suggests a weakening of the ice cover during the past century, although satellite evidence reveals no significant change since 1973.

Item #d94mar53

"United States Drought Trends of the Past Century," S.B. Idso (U.S. Water Conserv. Lab., 4331 E. Broadway, Phoenix AZ 85040), R.C. Balling Jr., Agric. & For. Meteor., 60(3-4), 279-284, Aug. 31, 1992.

Drought conditions have been alleviated over the past third of a century, possibly due to increased anthropogenic SO2 emissions before 1954-1955.