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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 11, NUMBER 3, MARCH 1998

PROFESSIONAL PUBLICATIONS...
TREND ANALYSIS: Trends in Climate System Properties

Item #d98mar43

"Decline in Global Solar Radiation with Increased Horizontal Visibility in Germany Between 1964 and 1990," B.G. Liepert (Lamont-Doherty Earth Observ., Rte. 9W, Palisades NY 10964; e-mail: liepert@ldeo.columbia.edu), G.J. Kukla,J. Clim., 10(9), 2391-2401, Sep. 1997.

Global solar radiation at all sky conditions throughout much of the diurnal insolation cycle declined at all stations except one. Results are believed to be reasonably representative of rural, industrial and urban environments of Europe.

Item #d98mar44

Two related papers in Nature, 389(6646), Sep. 4, 1997:

"Abrupt Mid-Twentieth-Century Decline in Antarctic Sea-Ice Extent from Whaling Records," W.K. de al Mare (Australian Antarctic Div., Dept. Environ., Channel Hwy., Kingston, Tasmania 7050, Australia; e-mail: bill_de@antdiv.gov.au), 57-60. A decline in the extent of Antarctic sea ice is a commonly predicted effect of a warming climate, but evidence based on available data has been inconclusive. This paper reports an overlooked data source, whaling records collected from 1931 to 1987, which indicates a decline of 25% in the area covered by sea ice between the mid 1950s and the early 1970s. This abrupt change poses a challenge to model simulations of recent climate change, and could imply changes in Antarctic deep-water formation and in biological productivity, both important processes affecting atmospheric CO₂ concentrations.

"Icy Message from the Antarctic," E. Murphy (Marine Life Sci. Div., British Antarctic Survey, NERC, Madingly Rd., Cambridge CB3 0ET, UK), J. King, 20-21. Comments on the previous paper, and how it highlights concern over mechanisms involved in generating variation and potentially rapid change in the Southern Ocean, an example of the "unpleasant surprises in the greenhouse" heralded by Broecker (1987).

Item #d98mar45

"Recent Changes in Solar Irradiance in Antarctica," G. Stanhill (Inst. Soils & Water, Agricultural Res. Organization, Bet Dagan 50-250, Israel; e-mail: vwgerald@volcani.agri.gov.il, S. Cohen,J. Clim., 10(8), 2078-2086, Aug. 1997.

Analysis of global irradiance reaching the surface in Antarctica at 12 pyranometer stations shows a downward trend of 0.28 W m-2 per year.

Item #d98mar46

"Recent Increase in H2O2 Concentration at Summit, Greenland," M. Anklin (Observatorium Davos, Dorfstr. 33, CH-7260 Davos Dorf, Switz.; e-mail: martin@pmodwrc.ch), R.C. Bales,J. Geophys. Res., 102(D15), 19,099-19,104, Aug. 20, 1997.

Data from two shallow cores confirm a previously found 50% increase over the 200 years preceding 1988. They also show a further increase since 1988, leading to an overall increase of 60% over the last 150 years.