Originally published August 22 2005
Scientists find discrepancy in global warming statistics
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
Atmospheric temperature sensors exposed to direct sunlight on weather balloon studies in the 1970s may be responsible for inaccurate comparisons in global warming.
But there have been some discrepancies that have troubled experts.
For instance, some measurements show that atmospheric temperatures have been unchanged since the 1970s, while temperatures at the Earth's surface are rising.
"Even though models predict a close link between atmospheric and surface temperatures, there has been a large difference in the actual measurements," said Steven Sherwood, an associate professor of geology and geophysics at Yale University in Connecticut, who led the study.
"This has muddied the interpretation of reported warming."
Working with a team at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Sherwood and colleagues said they found the key to the differences lay in where the sensors were placed on equipment.
With exposed sensors used in earlier designs, measurements taken in daylight read too warm.
"It's like being outside on a hot day -- it feels hotter when you are standing in the direct sun than when you are standing in the shade," Sherwood said in a statement.
"We can't hang our hats on the old balloon numbers."
Writing in the journal Science, Sherwood and colleagues said this helps explain why temperatures in the troposphere -- the lower atmosphere -- appear not to have risen.
After taking this problem into account, they estimate there has been an increase of 0.2 degrees Celsius (0.36 degrees Fahrenheit) in the average global temperature per decade for the last 30 years.
"Unfortunately, the warming is in an accelerating trend -- the climate has not yet caught up with what we've already put into the atmosphere," Sherwood said.
"There are steps we should take, but it seems that shaking people out of complacency will take a strong incentive."
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