Comments on: How not to measure temperature, part 70

By: evanjones

evanjones — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 20:05:01 +0000

How can the data be different. its the same station

Perhaps ye’d better . . . rephrase . . . that, laddie? (Bearing in mind that you, too, can be adjusted.)

By: Paul

Paul — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 18:15:19 +0000

I think we have found the smoking gun!

By: rutger

rutger — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 09:55:23 +0000

..Off topic but, does anybody know, why the GISS data is different from the real data from a weather staiton

for instance DE BILT is the the main weather station of the Netherlands
and hometown of the royal ducht met. station
http://www.knmi.nl

here is de official data for The KNMI
http://www.mscha.org/knmi/summer.cgi?station=260&sort=year&month=-1

Here is GISS.
http://data.giss.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/gistemp/gistemp_station.py?id=633062600003&data_set=2&num_neighbors=1

for instance 1993 GISS; 10.43 vs KNMI 9.66
(looking at the montly data november is missing in GISS data but it isnt missing in the real world its 2.10 C for De Bilt.)

I quess global warming is man made.. but really this is insane.

How can the data be different. its the same station

By: Bill P

Bill P — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 03:40:02 +0000

Anthony,

Jeff Id has linked an April thread dealing with the “thoroughly modern” USHCN facilities. Thanks again for your work on this, and a late question about the PP show there. Namely, is there currently any effort under way to study data streams of both temperature and humidity in conjunction?

Grant Goodge’s PP shows a picture of the innards of a primary weather station, which apparently took a dew point and relative humidity reading with two “matched” thermometers situated beneath the air intake duct, one of whose bulbs is swathed in a patch of cloth. I was curious if this is the way such readings are still taken, or whether the new mechanisms have any provisions at all for taking humidity readings. There’s no mention of psychrometers or hygrometers in the picture.

From what I could gather of the John Christy study in central valley California, it was apparent that fluctuating humidity levels have a profound effects on local temperatures. So, again, why don’t they take these two data streams in conjunction?

Thanks, Bill

By: Bob Maginnis

Bob Maginnis — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 00:49:18 +0000

Is there a rain gauge nearby? How could you accurately measure the water if it is expanded into ice. I propane torch would be one way to melt the ice in the rain gauge. If there are ‘agricultural operations’ nearby, are they irrigated? If so, the temps are skewed colder by evaporation of the irrigation water.

By: yep

yep — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 06:29:28 +0000

The young trees in the background will cast increasing shade on the surrounding ground every summer, resulting in a low reading bias as the years pass.

By: Bill P

Bill P — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 20:05:20 +0000

Re: “…why there is a propane torch and spark lighter inside this thermometer shelter…”

I’m surprised no one has yet identified its purpose. It’s for the barbecue. Sometimes you get one of those steaks that just doesn’t char evenly. Then you need that little bit of extra heat. Note the bottle of Pepto-Bismol on the left.

By: Richard Patton

Richard Patton — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 19:55:47 +0000

Ah, but then the readings from the updated equipment won’t agree with what the previous readings were and will have to be adjusted. We can’t have accurate readings disproving Global warming you know.

By: Jeff Id

Jeff Id — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 19:18:09 +0000

Global warming science is a hundred billion dollar industry, why the F… can’t these stations be replaced? It would be funny if it weren’t so wrong.

You’d think Gavin Schmidt would be demanding money for better instruments. I guess these ones, next to roads with a variety of paint colors show the warming just fine though.

REPLY: They are being upgraded and replaced, but it is a slow process.

Here is the modernization of the USHCN
http://wattsupwiththat.wordpress.com/2008/04/29/what-the-modernized-ushcn-will-look-like/

Here is the about to be completed Climate Reference Network:
http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/climate/uscrn/

By: John McDonald

John McDonald — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 16:24:40 +0000

Looks like a small meth lab, quite common in the Northwest.

By: Mike Bryant

Mike Bryant — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 16:01:00 +0000

C’mon guys, the torch is obviously there to make the observations easier. You know how dark it is in those stevenson boxes.

By: CookevilleWeatherGuy

CookevilleWeatherGuy — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 15:56:30 +0000

HaHa!! What is all that stuff in the Stevenson Screen??? I think some of these screens need to be packed up and shipped to “WeatherBuffs” like ourselves!! :)

http://www.cookevilleweatherguy.com

By: Brent Matich

Brent Matich — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 15:42:18 +0000

I just about fell off the chair laughing when I saw the propane torch! LOL!!!!! I guess they have to ” adjust ” their readings in line with the Gore-Hansen doctrine of fudging data for their cause.

Brent in Calgary

By: Richard Percirield

Richard Percirield — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 15:26:04 +0000

The inside is the summer storage position for the tank and spark lighter. During the winter it is hung on the outside and used to unfreeze the door for easy access. Also, when frost obscures the instrument it is useful in removing it as well. As an added benefit its thermal mass adds a dampening effect to the temperature measurement reducing the need for numerical “smoothing” of the data set during the summer, thus reducing Hansen’s workload.

See this propane torch has more uses than a Swiss Army Knife!

The only remaining question is did they purchase sufficient carbon credits for the hydrocarbons contained in the cylinder, and energy used for its production?

By: B.C.

B.C. — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 15:00:07 +0000

I believe the propane torch is used to keep the instruments from freezing up during the winter months. Can't have one's ~~Glow Bull Worming™~~ temperature-measuring devices getting cold and throwing Teh Consensus™ all out of whack, ya' know. ;-)