Measuring Global Temperatures

Analysis and Interpretation

By: Ian Strangeways

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Hardcover | 12 November 2009

At a Glance

Hardcover
252 Pages

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25.2 x 17.7 x 1.7

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Temperature is probably the most influential of all climatic variables. Our only direct, quantitative knowledge of global temperatures comes from instruments operated over the last 150 or so years. Yet as crucial and as central as these data are to our understanding of the climate, they are largely taken for granted, even by many of those using them. Measuring Global Temperatures will fill this gap by explaining how global temperatures are measured, how the data are analysed, what the potential errors are, and what needs to be done to improve temperature measurement in the future. The book is of great interest to all meteorologists, climatologists, and hydrologists, and especially those concerned with climate change and global warming. It is written in accessible language with little mathematics, and so will appeal to students and amateur meteorologists with a strong interest in weather and climate.

Industry Reviews

'I can thoroughly recommend this book to the scientific community and to the layman with concern for climate and what may or may not be happening to it.' John Rodda, The Newsletter of the British Hydrological Society
'... an excellent account of the problems and difficulties encountered in measuring global mean temperature, an important climate variable which has become perhaps the most intensely discussed parameter in the present global warming & climate change debate ... a very readable account ...' Canadian Meteorological and Oceanographic Society Bulletin
'... a valuable reference on measuring surface temperatures ...' Eos

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Preface	p. xi
Acknowledgements	p. xiii
List of acronyms	p. xv
The balance of energy	p. 1
Solar radiation	p. 1
Infrared radiation and the greenhouse effect	p. 7
Measuring the radiation	p. 10
Changes in solar activity and climate change	p. 14
References	p. 17
Thermometry	p. 18
Air thermometers	p. 18
Liquid-in-glass thermometers	p. 20
Fixed points and scales	p. 23
'Centigrade' scales	p. 27
The absolute, or thermodynamic, temperature scale	p. 29
The International Practical Temperature Scale	p. 30
Modern thermometers	p. 31
Electrical thermometers	p. 36
Satellite measurements of surface temperature	p. 39
References	p. 39
Screens, stand sand shelters	p. 40
The need for thermometer protection	p. 40
The evolution of screens	p. 40
References	p. 52
Measuring land surface air temperature	p. 54
The origin of data	p. 54
The instruments	p. 55
Met enclosures	p. 60
References	p. 68
Measuring sea surface and marine air temperature	p. 70
A brief history of measurements at sea	p. 70
Air versus sea temperatures	p. 71
Definition of 'sea surface temperature'	p. 72
Ships as instrument platforms	p. 73
Measuring air temperature on ships	p. 75
Measuring sea surface temperature (SST) from ships	p. 76
Buoys as instrument platforms	p. 82
References	p. 89
Measuring sea temperature profiles	p. 92
The bathythermograph	p. 92
Argo: a drifting profiler float	p. 93
References	p. 100
Global instrument networks	p. 102
First station compilations	p. 102
World Weather Records (WWR)	p. 103
The Climatic Research Unit (CRU) network	p. 103
The Global Historical Climatology Network (GHCN)	p. 104
The Global Climate Observing System (GCOS)	p. 104
The adequacy of the GCOS network	p. 109
Using Google Earth to assess GCOS site conditions	p. 111
Disseminating the data	p. 112
References	p. 113
From point measurements to global averages	p. 115
Data from the land	p. 115
Data from the oceans	p. l29
Combining sea and land datasets	p. 131
References	p. 134
Changes in air and sea temperatures	p. 137
The datasets	p. 137
Causes of temperature change	p. 139
Hemispheric and global temperature changes since 1850	p. 150
Central England Temperature since 1659	p. 171
Changes in maximum and minimum temperatures	p. 176
References	p. 185
Temperature profiles through the atmosphere	p. 187
Early measurements	p. 187
Radiosondes	p. 188
Sounders	p. 195
Temperature profiles from sonde data	p. 198
References	p. 204
Future climate measurements	p. 206
The Global Climate Observing System	p. 206
A new instrument network	p. 207
Design of the new stations	p. 208
Data telemetry	p. 211
Site locations	p. 211
Cost and management	p. 212
Concluding remarks	p. 212
References	p. 212
The gas laws	p. 213
Relative humidity and dew point	p. 214
The electromagnetic spectrum	p. 216
Satellite measurements of surface temperature	p. 219
Metadata	p. 226
The Southern Oscillation Index	p. 227
	p. 228
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.

Measuring Global Temperatures

Analysis and Interpretation

At a Glance

Hardcover

Industry Reviews

Shipping

How to return your order

Defective items

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