Thanks to the work of dedicated volunteers, we continue to complete surveys of the 1221 USHCN climate stations in the USA. Last week thanks to a business trip, I was able to complete the final two stations in Nevada: Wells, and Austin.
You can see all the Nevada USHCN station surveys here in my online database. Note that in the map above, Wendover is in UTAH, not Nevada. Some interesting things to note about Nevada USHCN stations that I learned:
- With the exception of ASOS stations at airports, most USHCN stations are within a half mile or less (in some cases like Mina, less than 100 yards) from major highways and Interstates.
- Even the most remote stations, such as Austin, are within a few feet of a building. All stations in Nevada are very near some type of human influence.
- With the exception of some Stevenson Screens/mercury thermometers used as a backup all USHCN stations in Nevada have primary instruments converted either to MMTS or ASOS systems.
- As you can see in the map above, there is a vast area not covered by USHCN stations.
- Boulder City and Wells have closed in the last five years, but I surveyed them anyway to find out where the sensors had been placed.
- The Nevada Department of Transportation has an extensive network of automated weather stations with better coverage than USHCN, but most of the data is short term and in all cases, measured within 50-100 feet of the roadway.
Nevada was one of the toughest states to complete, due to it’s size and the remoteness of some stations such as Austin, which is an old mining town along the “loneliest road in the USA”, US 50.
Volunteer Russ Steele surveyed a good number of stations last summer, Craig Limesand got Golconda, Chip Edin did Battle Mountain, and I surveyed the remainder.
Despite such tedious trips, there are personal rewards to this work. For example I shot some great photos on the way to Austin. This is US50 in central Nevada looking east:
Click for larger image
And this superb sunset on the return trip after surveying Wells. I took this photo from the side of Interstate 80 just west of Lovelock:
Click for a larger image
Here is one of the Nevada DOT stations near Austin, on the mountain summit east of town within 25 feet of US 50. It was covered in rime ice and the anemometer and wind vane were frozen in place:
Austin Summit 7,484 feet- click for larger image
So even with the tedium of driving, there is always something new and interesting to find.
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Flanagan said: Temperatures in cities, close to roads, etc. are also surface temperatures. They are affected by human activities, and then?
All true. But those things have NOTHING to do with CO2 induced warming, which is what we’re trying to figure out….
So my question: is it really better to measure temperatures only in remote locations?
Fair question. If you want to balance it, you want the same exact percentage of stations in cities (suburbs, etc.) to equal the percentage of urban surface area on earth. (And average out the effect, too–some cities heat more than others. GISS actually claims almost as many cities as have a cooling bias as have a warming bias, which seems a little strange. Mmm. Make that a LOT strange.)
The trouble is that only 3% of the lower US is urban and even less of that in the RoW. But the stations are far, far more likely to be in urban areas.
This matters for two reasons:
1.) Not only are urban areas (a lot) hotter, but they exaggerate warming trends [sic!] as well.
2.) Urban, suburban and exurban creep are overtaking a greater percentage of surface stations than they are overtaking the surface of the earth.
FOX Congratulations: you mentioned Anthony Watts.
Number Of The Beast; 666
clear:
6….. protons
6 …. neutrons
6 ….electrons
naturally: CARBON
FM
Congratulations on conquering the wilds of Nevada!
As a proud member of the Surface Stations Team, concentrating my efforts in the remotest parts of Oregon (so far, I’ve captured only Paisley; Anthony beat me to Bly), I thought last Memorial Day I would make a significant contribution by capturing the station next to the spectacular Wheeler County Courthouse in Fossil, only to find it apparently is not on the USHCN list. What a disappointment!!!
So, what’s up with that, anyhow? I’ve got beautiful pix and no place to post them!!!
Anyhow, now that gas prices have dropped, I won’t be so reluctant to fire up the SUV and head across the Cascades to such garden spots as Moro, Condon, and Hermiston. Gotta do what I can to shake off this global winter . . . .
Well its raining cats and dogs here for the past month and now over most of Australia. Also temps for October at this rate will be way below anomaly so what happened to the drought Mr Tim Flannery and the AGW? Maybe should give back the prize… LOL
Looks like Mr Chapman is after all a diligent keeper of data.. no hanky panky here
http://arctic.atmos.uiuc.edu/cryosphere/IMAGES/current.365.jpg
at this rate it will be above anomaly probably for 2009. Is this not the fastest rate of recovery ever?
http://www.nasa.gov/topics/earth/features/vapor_warming.html
This was posted yesterday. Apparently now water vapor is the main cause of global warming and it amplifies the effects of Co2 🙁 sheesh.
if this ain’t a picture of a massively cooling world I don’t know what it is..
http://www.osdpd.noaa.gov/PSB/EPS/SST/data/anomnight.11.17.2008.gif
maybe time to do a post on SST
Tom in Tex,
FoxNews mentioning WUWT.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,453665,00.html
Brit Hume’s video can be found at
http://www.foxnews.com/video/index.html
Under Opinion – Brit Hume
Thanks for the answers. And how could one quantifiy the ratio between direct atmosphere heating (through heating systems, industry, combustion or whatever) and indirect contribution (due to an increase in CO2).
It just keeps getting worse. This is funny!
http://newsbusters.org/blogs/mark-finkelstein/2008/11/17/scare-mongering-steroids-nbc-warns-oceans-could-rise-200-feet
“If Iceland’s glaciers melt, sea level will rise 200 feet.” LOL!!
GISS’s blunder, ClimateAudit and WUWT also got much rant on the Mark Levin show yesterday (at about 42 minutes).
http://www.marklevinshow.com/wp-content/themes/levin/player/?url=http://podloc.andomedia.com/dloadTrack.mp3?prm=2824xhttp://citadelcc.vo.llnwd.net/o29/network/Levin/MP3/levin11172008.mp3
A bit off topic but has anyone noticed that the NSIDC’s website has changed the legend on its ice area pics? they changed the description to “median ice edge” instead of what it used to be, “normal ice edge.” i just think its funny cuz not one of us knows what “normal” is
New Ice core data released shows 5C warmer then today with no positive catastrophic feedback:
http://omniclimate.wordpress.com/2008/11/16/two-mile-deep-antarctic-ice-core-reveals-stupidity-of-agw-catastrophism/
When I read this article, I immediately thought that the “news” crew at the Onion were at it again. Beware of insects with fur coats.
Planet may get too hot for tropical insects, warn scientists
Joshua Tewksbury, assistant professor of biology at the University of Washington, said: “What we found was that if we use climate models to move the climate forward and ask how are they going to do in the future, the insects living in the tropics are already living in climates that are quite warm compared to what they want to live in.
Unlike temperate areas such as the UK, where there are more defined seasons, there is little way insects can escape the heat in tropical regions by adapting.
“If you warm up a tropical rain forest by 4C, it’s warmed up all year long, so there’s no way they can hide,” Prof Tewksbury explained.
“There’s a lack of seasonabilty so there’s no way they can adapt to live in the spring.”
And unlike warm-blooded animals, cold-blooded organisms cannot regulate their body temperatures by growing a fur coat when it is cold, or shedding it when it gets warm.
They are limited to seeking shade when it is too hot or burrowing into the soil. If it is still too hot in the shade they will not be able to survive.
http://news.scotsman.com/scitech/Planet-may–get-too.4055448.jp
Anthony,
No need to post this to your blog. Not sure how else to get the info to you.
It may not fit into this item either. Just an FYI.
BTW – Your recent info on the Russian Temp anomalies is very interesting.
Congratulations on the great work you are doing.
You may find the info at the link below to be interesting, as I did.
Based upon the 800,000 yr Ice Core record, they find an interesting Iron-CO2 link:
4. the concentrations of CO2 have depended on the amounts of iron in dust,
with higher availability of iron resulting in lower amounts of atmospheric CO2
Two-Mile-Deep Antarctic Ice Core Reveals Stupidity of AGW Catastrophism
16 11 2008
The extraordinary conclusions of the Epica 2008 “Quaternary Climate” scientific conference in Venice (Nov 10-13, Venice, Italy) have elicited little interest in the media.
http://tinyurl.com/6ry72x
Need to change my global warming wardrobe to a global cooling wardrobe.
Global Cooling is Here
Evidence for Predicting Global Cooling for the Next Three Decades
by Prof. Don J. Easterbrook
Global warming (i.e, the warming since 1977) is over. The minute increase of anthropogenic CO2 in the atmosphere (0.008%) was not the cause of the warming—it was a continuation of natural cycles that occurred over the past 500 years.
http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=10783
OT, but Prof Philip Stott is always worth a read. Not forgetting that weather is not climate, except of course when it is warmer weather, which is AGW.
See: http://web.mac.com/sinfonia1/Global_Warming_Politics/A_Hot_Topic_Blog/Entries/2008/11/18_Predictions_Off_Piste.html
“Tim Clark (11:24:12) : Tim Clark said:
“OT but important.
Since I work for the government and know what unfathomable damage the EPA can inflict if CO2 is classed as a pollutant ( Director Bremby of the Kansas Department of Health and Environment has already denied a new coal power plant in Holcomb based on CO2 as a pollutant), I have wanted to comment on the ANPR to EPA but felt somewhat intimidated by the Physics. If any of you feel the same way, perhaps this could be the avenue to vent your disapproval. Available at this website,
http://sepp.org/Archive/weekwas/2008/Nov_15_2008.htm”
Tim, Joseph D’Aleo has published this about the same subject:
You can download two PDF files with his complete response to EPA.
HE NOT ONLY ANSWERS THE QUESTIONS BUT ALSO QUESTIONS THE QUESTIONS!
Nov 15, 2008
EPA and ANPR Deadline for Comments is November 28, 2008
By Joseph D’Aleo
The ANPR is one of the steps EPA has taken in response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Massachusetts v. EPA. The Court found that the Clean Air Act authorizes EPA to regulate tailpipe greenhouse gas emissions if EPA determines they cause or contribute to air pollution that may reasonably be anticipated to endanger public health or welfare. The ANPR reflects the complexity and magnitude of the question of whether and how greenhouse gases could be effectively controlled under the Clean Air Act.
The document summarizes much of EPA’s work and lays out concerns raised by other federal agencies during their review of this work. EPA is publishing this notice at this time because it is impossible to simultaneously address all the agencies’ issues and respond to the agency�s legal obligations in a timely manner.
Key Issues for Discussion and Comment in the ANPR: Descriptions of key provisions and programs in the CAA, and advantages and disadvantages of regulating GHGs under those provisions; How a decision to regulate GHG emissions under one section of the CAA could or would lead to regulation of GHG emissions under other sections of the Act, including sections establishing permitting requirements for major stationary sources of air pollutants; Issues relevant for Congress to consider for possible future climate legislation and the potential for overlap between future legislation and regulation under the existing CAA; and, scientific information relevant to, and the issues raised by, an endangerment analysis.
EPA will accept public comment on the ANPR until November 28, 2008. See EPA ANPR for details and directions.
Earlier responses to the CCSP are supposed to be considered but it is a good idea to resubmit them to ANPR to play it safe. I have done so in two parts: Part I summarizing the 9 responses to the CCSP and a new one in Part II responding to these specific scientific questions the EPA is seeking input on:
(1). EPA seeks comment on the best available science for purposes of the endangerment discussion, and in particular on the use of the more recent findings of the U.S. Climate Change Science Program.
(2). EPA also invites comment on the extent to which it would be appropriate to use the most recent IPCC reports, including the chapters focusing on North America, and the U.S. government Climate Change Science Program synthesis reports as scientific assessments that could serve as an important source or as the primary basis for the Agency�s issuance of �air quality criteria.�
(3). EPA requests comments as well as the adequacy of the available scientific literature [synthesis reports such as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s Fourth Assessment Report and various reports of the US Climate Change Science Program]
(4). The Endangerment Technical Support Document provides evidence that the U.S. and the rest of the world are experiencing effects from climate change now.
The window will close on comments November 28, 2008 and decisions will be made that we may have to live with for a long time. We can only do our best to ensure we have a say and maybe some influence on those decisions. Though the responses I sent were relatively long, they need not be. Short pithy comments that address one or more of the questions with relevant documentation to papers and peer review or just data can be just as if not more effective. Thank you for whatever you do.
Vincent Guerrini Jr (01:17:55) :
‘so what happened to the drought Mr Tim Flannery and the AGW? Maybe should give back the prize… LOL’
Vincent You may still have a drought, but can’t see it due to all the water….LOL
Great photo of Highway 50, one of my best trips was driving down that road.