While this is encouraging news, releasing a subset will fuel some suspicion. A better choice would be to release the entire set. It may be too little, too late, the die of public opinion has been cast. Had they done this six months ago, they would have appeared visionary, rather than reactionary. The most encouraging news is the statement: “We intend that as soon as possible we will also publish the specific computer code…”. I applaud that, and I hope they do a better job than NASA GISS did, whose code is so esoteric, it is difficult to get running. Many have tried, one may have succeeded. – Anthony
From the Met Office Press Release:
Release of global-average temperature data
05 December 2009
The Met Office has announced plans to release, early next week, station temperature records for over one thousand of the stations that make up the global land surface temperature record.
This data is a subset of the full HadCRUT record of global temperatures, which is one of the global temperature records that have underpinned IPCC assessment reports and numerous scientific studies. The data subset will consist of a network of individual stations that has been designated by the World Meteorological Organisation for use in climate monitoring. The subset of stations is evenly distributed across the globe and provides a fair representation of changes in mean temperature on a global scale over land.
This subset is not a new global temperature record and it does not replace the HadCRUT, NASA GISS and NCDC global temperature records, all of which have been fully peer reviewed. We are confident this subset will show that global average land temperatures have risen over the last 150 years.
This subset release will continue the policy of putting as much of the station temperature record as possible into the public domain.
We intend that as soon as possible we will also publish the specific computer code that aggregates the individual station temperatures into the global land temperature record.
As soon as we have all permissions in place we will release the remaining station records – around 5000 in total – that make up the full land temperature record. We are dependant on international approvals to enable this final step and cannot guarantee that we will get permission from all data owners.
UEA fully supports the Met Office in making this data publicly available and is continuing to work with the Met Office to seek the necessary permission from national data owners to publish, as soon as possible as much of the data that we can gain permission for.
“Albert Gore Jr. won the Nobel peace prize was vice president for 8 years without scandal …”
Not quite. Here are a few interesting quotes from the book, The Stupidest Things Ever Said by Politicians:
On Illegal Fund-Raisers at Buddhist Temples, Al Gore on:
Explanation number 1: It wasn’t a fund-raiser, it was a “community outreach event.”
Explanation number 2: It wasn’t a fund-raiser, it was just “finance-related.”
Explanation number 3: It wasn’t a fund-raiser, it was a “donor-maintenance meeting.”
There’s also this amusing tidbit:
On Historical Knowledge, Vice-Presidential:
“Who are these guys?”
Al Gore, referring to the busts of Jefferson, Washington, Franklin, and Lafayette on a televised tour of Monticello. (p. 109)
And this:
“A zebra cannot change its spots.” (p. 54)
And this:
On Senator’s Sons, Typical Days of:
“[My father] taught me how to clean out hog waste with a shovel and a hose. He taught me how to clear land with an ax. He taught me how to plow a steep hillside with a team of mules. He taught me how to take up hay all day long in the hot sun and then, after a dinner break, go help the neighbors take up hay before the rain came and spoiled it on the ground.”
Vice President Al Gore on the virtues of farm life, not mentioning that, as a rich senator’s son, all this was presumably learned on summer vacation from Harvard. A real farmer’s son, Republican National chairman Jim Nicholson, replied, “Mr. Vice President, with all due respect, you’re shoveling a lot more of it right now than you ever did back then.” (p. 141)
And this:
On Timing is Everything:
“[Due to pollution, cars pose] a mortal threat to the security of every nation.”
Senator Al Gore in his 1992 book, Earth in the Balance.
“Here in Motor City we recognize that cars have done more than fuel our commerce. Cars have freed the American spirit and given us the chance to chase our dreams.”
Vice President Al Gore — while gearing up for his 2000 presidential run — in a 1999 speech to the Economic club of Detroit. (p. 253)
“Roger (14:18:12) :
I also notice on your web site that is “supposedly science oriented” that you cover Mar’s all very fine, HMMM but what other relatively nearby planets are missing????? how about our other neighbor y’know its the other planet — it’s called Venus — Hey why the omission????? WHERE’s VENUS??? ”
Roger, you are flogging a dead horse. *sigh* Are you comparing Earth and Venus, CO2 content and “run-away” GH effect? That’s a pile of doo-doo from said horse my friend.
A couple of points about the release.
First, this looks like yet another attempt to prevent the release of HadCRUT. They seem to be suggesting that we don’t need to replicate because a selection of stations will prove their point. I know we have all become a little more cynical since climategate but what exactly is wrong with HadCRUT that it warrants this kind of determination that nobody outside the inner sanctum should ever see it?
Second, 6000 stations sounds like that may be the whole set but are they really suggesting that 5000 of the 6000 stations are covered by confidentiality agreements?
The original FOI requests by Willis and others were for everything required to fully replicate HadCRUT, the most widely cited of all the indices , and we are no nearer to that now than we were pre climategate.
It is yet another smoke screen, more sophisticated to be sure but in the end HadCRUT will not be replicated by anyone outside the CRU. I have to ask what exactly has changed other than the method of evasion?
Me thinks roger is joshin ya!
bill (18:55:00)
“If it’s a moving average then there should only be 10years centred on the date averaged. This allows you to use up to 4years 11months from ends”
Agree (I’ve used moving averages for FTSE analysis for many years)
davidc (16:16:10) :
“Here’s the data direct from the MET”
http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/climatechange/science/monitoring/hadcet.html “
Graph I produced is also from UK Met’s office numerical data file. If data is to be believed, I found the prolonged seasonal deviation contrasts most interesting. Up to 1940 spring-summer-autumn are relatively in step with each other, then autumns move out of step.
http://www.vukcevic.co.uk/CET.gif
There is also number of prolonged periods of cold winters-hot summers .
Present warming period (ended around 2000) of 1.5C is on a similar scale to 1690-1730 period at about 2C, which certainly could not be attributed to CO2.
could someone explain why it will take 3 years to take a load of temperature data, “normalise” it, put it together and produce a graph?
Obviously I dont understand the ‘science’ that goes into these graphs but then I thought it was just data.
Roger says “Do you think they are manipulating the Greenland glaciers – of course not. ” Slowing since 2005, back to the speeds before the 80’s. The trees are more interesting to me. They are growing there again now as they were when the Vikings arrived. It seems that Greenland’s climate is returning to where it was before the LIA.
I love the phrase ‘fully peer-reviewed’. As if the peer-review process was that detailed.
Here’s a nice example of delving into the information: http://www.jgc.org/blog/