Comments on: How not to measure temperature, part 28 – Eureka!

By: How not to measure temperature, part 81 - roofing the past in Columbia « Watts Up With That?

Sat, 07 Feb 2009 20:03:44 +0000

[...] covered other rooftop stations in the USWB COOP network, notably the Sacramento, Eureka, and Baltimore stations. There’s also an oddball rooftop station in Oakland at the Museum. [...]

By: Papertiger

Papertiger — Tue, 07 Aug 2007 18:13:16 +0000

Anthony you will never believe this.
Former Governor and current AG Jerry Brown is arguing the AGW party line in the comment section of this Daniel Weintrab article.
Daniel Weintraub: Republicans tangle with old foe on global warming

I urge any one who is interested in arguing with the actual policy makers involved with climate change to come to that article and add your two cents. Registration is a bit of a process, but how often does such an opportunity come about?

Jerry Brown’s comment to the article;

The strange comments above reflect the type of distorted thinking now controling Republican State Senators. This rather isolated group persists in fighting every effort to combat global warming–against the views of 95% of climate scientists and the 100 nations which recently spoke out at the United Nations in favor of immediate action to control global greenhouse gasses. California can’t wait until 20012. Over 400 cities nationwide are taking action on global warming. As for freeways, the truth is I built three times more than governors Wilson and Deukmejian combined.

By: George M

George M — Tue, 07 Aug 2007 13:40:08 +0000

So, I was right the first time. It has been a while since I have seen the #2) type in service, which looks vaguely like a 50# propane bottle from the camera distance. But, that still leaves the question about the effect of the nearby trees on rainfall accuracy, nevermind temperature indications. Do you suppose they add all the rain measurement results up and divide by three to average out site effects?? The photos show the tree shadows reaching or past the various gauges, so unless those photos were taken very early or very late in the day, the trees are way too close. I suppose the distance could be scaled from the overhead photo, but the whole installation certainly reinforces your question: “What were they thinking?”.

By: Anthony

Anthony — Mon, 06 Aug 2007 22:57:22 +0000

George,

I don’t see any propane tanks. A buoy is there. But what we have are three types of rain gauges:

1) dipstick type, with three legged support

2) Old Weighing rain gauge with strip chart recorder( the silver one with small door near bottom leftmost in pictures)

3) tipping bucket rain gauge with wind reduction vanes.

By: George M

George M — Mon, 06 Aug 2007 21:17:53 +0000

On closer examination, apparently what I thought was a very old style rain gauge is a tank of propane on a pedestal. What on earth is it for? Heating the real gauge? I thought that was done electrically? Anyway, burning propane, the only use for it which seems likely, produces heat so there’s another imponderable contribution, eh? And why there, almost in the middle of the (poorly sited) instrumentation area anyway?

By: George M

George M — Mon, 06 Aug 2007 21:06:09 +0000

The geometry of the photos makes it look like the rain gauge(s?) are almost directly beneath the tower and trees. While not particularly relevant to your temperature interests, it must make the rainfall measurements questionable. I have had to move my tipping bucket unit three times in ten years due to encroaching vegetation, and the need to move is always obvious, as the deviation between it and a remotely sited fixed collector gauge becomes obviously outside the normal margin of error.

By: Papertiger

Papertiger — Mon, 06 Aug 2007 18:47:13 +0000

Eureka that is, but what I found was rather depressing.

That’d be the common reaction to Eureka. It rains, drizzles, or fogs eight months out of the year. The other four it’s overcast.
My advice to you Anthony, get out now. Before your tire goes flat or an earthquake knocks down the only exit (not kidding – we got trapped there one September due to earthquake)

Run fast and hard. Don’t look back.