Maybe you Might ask Dr Christy what HE thinks that is; it looks too repetitive to just be sheer luck.

George

I don’t know what the long term mean temperature you refer to, nor do I know that it has any significance.

However, unless the fossil record is pure junk that “long term mean” temperature of the earth is higher than the present. Or were you intending to digress into a creationist argument?

I think the difference in the base line between the two is about 0.5 degrees C, actually a bit more than that. So it may be most of the diffence in the anomally numbers.

At least that is how Phillippe explained it over at Skeptical Science web site.

Is it? I thought it was an average of the temps between 850mb to 300mb but it’s been a while since I looked. I certainly don’t think UAH (or RSS) readings are representative of temps at a single height of 3300 ft (900 mb), though.

I don’t think you comprehend how the UAH monthly anomaly works. You see, that number is a measurement of the lowest levels of the troposphere, the 3300′ you reference. Therefore, the +.167 October UAH anomaly is very far from the +.78 GISS anomaly (yes, I realize their base periods are different..the difference is still huge).

And the Arctic hasn’t just been “refreezing”, it refroze at a faster rate than ever recorded in October. And snowcover over Asia is greater and thicker than it was last year at this time. And yet somehow we are supposed to believe that Asia was much warmer than last year (and all years previous for October)?

Because the satellite measurements nearest to the surface (i.e. @ 3,300 ft) are also warm. The higher the measurements – the cooler the anomalies. In any case, I’m not sure that you’re argument is – are you saying Russia and Asia weren’t warm? or South America or the Arctic.

The fact that the Arctic is refreezing means nothing. We expect it to freeze in winter.

Mr. Finn, I was just as crityical of the ’70s global cooling alarm as I am of the AGW alarm today.

Me too. And I’m even more critical of the latest global cooling nonsense. There is no evidence to suggest the world is cooling. Nor is there any evidence to suggest that a weak solar solar cycle will have any appreciable effect on global temperatures. ENSO events are a factor but even though there are still lingering effects from the recent La Nina, temperature data from all sources (satellite and surface) still show anomalies above the long term mean.

How can you say the satellite record matches GISS, when both UAH and RSS show October 2008 as the coolest since 2000, while GISS claims it is easily the warmest ever? The discrepency is HUGE.

Also, how can the Arctic have been much warmer than normal last month, when we just saw the greatest ice extent increase in October on record?

One more time for you: you can’t take the daily satellite readings at face value. There is drift, which is then corrected for in the monthly numbers. Haven’t you noticed how almost every month at some point it appears 2008 has reached “the highest point on record”, and yet that month does not end up anywhere near the actual records. November 2008 is NOT running warmer than any other year on record according to UAH, I guarantee it.

“…is very likely due to the observed increase in anthropogenic greenhouse gas concentrations.”’

In the specious, spurious science of AGW, the above is sufficient forensic evidence to determine guilt and convict. Imagine a court of justice where the guilty plea is the only plea.

Andrea, everyone should read this inspiring -save the planet – Op-Ed. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/09/opinion/09gore.html?_r=1&pagewanted=print&oref=slogin

“Here’s what we can do — now: we can make an immediate and large strategic investment to put people to work replacing 19th-century energy technologies that depend on dangerous and expensive carbon-based fuels with 21st-century technologies that use fuel that is free forever: the sun, the wind and the natural heat of the earth.”

“What follows is a five-part plan to repower America with a commitment to producing 100 percent of our electricity from carbon-free sources within 10 years. It is a plan that would simultaneously move us toward solutions to the climate crisis and the economic crisis — and create millions of new jobs that cannot be outsourced.”

Each time the high priest opens his mouth to speak, I am thankful for “hanging chads.” Have we now leaped from the frying pan into the fire?