Looks like they’ve discovered what great heat sinks asphalt and concrete make:
From the National Resources Defense Council via press release posted at investorideas.com (h/t to Mark)
WORST SUMMER EVER? NEW ANALYSIS OF 2010 SUMMER HEAT TO HIGHLIGHT LITTLE-DISCUSSED “DARK SIDE OF CLIMATE CHANGE”: RECORD NIGHT-TIME TEMPERATURES IN U.S.
New Focus on Sweltering Highs in Night-Time Temperatures to Outline Risks to Human Health, Environment; Record Night-Time Highs Seen in More than Three Dozen States: AL, AZ, AR, CT, DE, FL, GA, IL, IN, IA, KS, KY, LA, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, MS, MO, NH, NJ, NM, NY, NC, ND, OH, OK, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, VA, WV, and WI.
WASHINGTON, D.C./NATURAL RESOURCES DEFENSE COUNCIL – September 15, 2010 (Investorideas.com renewable energy/green newswire) – While it is common knowledge that the summer of 2010 posted record-high temperatures across the United States, almost no attention has been paid so far to the equally disturbing trend of pervasive record high night-time temperatures where evening cooling did not occur this summer, according to a new analysis to be released at 11 a.m. EDT Thursday (September 16, 2010) by Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC).
More than three dozen states (and a correspondingly significant share of the nation’s population) contain weather stations that recorded record high night-time temperatures, the “dark side of climate change” under which temperatures do not cool off overnight. The NRDC analysis breaks out the number of U.S. counties and their respective population that experienced these record night-time temperatures.
The 37 states with record high night-time temperatures highlighted in the report are: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.
News event speakers will be:
- Dan Lashof, director, Climate Center, Natural Resources Defense Council; and
- Kim Knowlton, senior scientist, Health Program, Natural Resources Defense Council.
The NRDC analysis outlines the danger of heat deaths and other impacts that are linked to the growing problem of summer temperatures that do not drop overnight.
TO PARTICIPATE: You can join this live, phone-based news conference (with full, two-way Q&A) at 11 a.m. EDT on September 16, 2010 by dialing 1 (800) 860-2442. Ask for the “worst summer ever?” news event.
CAN’T PARTICIPATE?: A streaming audio replay of the news event will be available on the Web at http://www.nrdc.org as of 3 p.m. EDT on September 16, 2010.
CONTACT: Ailis Aaron Wolf, (703) 276-3265 or aawolf@hastingsgroup.com.
ABOUT NATURAL RESOURCES DEFENSE COUNCIL
The Natural Resources Defense Council is a national nonprofit organization with more than 1.3 million members and online activists. Since 1970, our lawyers, scientists, and other environmental specialists have worked to protect the world’s natural resources, public health, and the environment.
NRDC has offices in New York City, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Livingston, MT, and Beijing. Visit NRDC on the Web at http://www.nrdc.org.
=========================================================
Here’s an infrared photo of before and after at a USHCN climate station in Fayetteville, NC
Here is what you see in visible light:
Here is what the infrared camera sees:
Note that the concrete surface is around 22-24°C, while the grassy areas are between 12-19°C. This was shortly after a rain, about 2 hours before sunset. The rain did nearly nothing to cool down the concrete.
Tim F writes:
“But I don’t see how that really addresses this report. Many rural counties in the eastern US set records. These counties have neither urban heat islands, nor irrigation/soil change. The first two hypotheses put forth do not seem to work for these areas. Looks like a different hypothesis is needed….”
I live in one of those rural counties in the East. Our local newspaper reported record highs this summer. My thermometers disagreed, as did those of most other locals. I drove to the airport. The official thermometer has been moved so that it sits about 6 inches from a runway. Voila: there is your global warming. In general, keep in mind that rural no longer means poor. Many rural counties in Florida are dotted by private airports whose runways are lined with the mansions of the wealthy retired, often military. That’s just one example. If your official thermometer is at one of those locations, it is going to read higher than any thermometer not at one of those locations.
Nebraska was left off the list of 37 states. Ignored again. On a more serious note from mid July to late August we had unusually high dew points in Lincoln, sometimes 10 F above typical. Of course more humid air will not cool as fast at night. We also had a very wet summer. Green lawns without watering for three months – almost unheard of in Nebraska.
Theo Goodwin says:
September 16, 2010 at 3:46 pm
I live in one of those rural counties in the East. Our local newspaper reported record highs this summer. My thermometers disagreed, as did those of most other locals. I drove to the airport. The official thermometer has been moved so that it sits about 6 inches from a runway. Voila: there is your global warming.
That is certainly a concern. I DO wish we had better data so we knew more clearly how much of the observed warming is from
1) real warming
2) artifacts from the location of weather stations
3) changes in equipment/calibration/collection times/….
My understanding is that even stations in “natural” settings have shown warming (but I don’t have a reference handy). Until scientist involved can be more convincing that 1) is a significant (or even THE significant) cause, “global warming” will be easy to attack.
Infrared camera readings – I have developed firmware for IR cameras previously and there is a flaw in this analysis:
You cannot directly compare IR temperatures from objects made of different materials.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emissivity
EMISSIVITY – Different materials will read differently in a thermal camera depending on their characteristics. A “fudge factor” has to be applied for each material type to get an accurate reading. It is necessary to apply the emissivity factor of grass and concrete. This may or may not make a large difference in the readings.
A more effective method is to use before and after thermal camera images with the camera set to a constant scale, and then calculate the change in temperature.
BETTER:
1. Setup the camera to constant IR scale.
2. Take readings at least every hour for a full cycle (24 hours)
3. Compare the changes in temperature over the cycle (apply emissivity)
If the concrete is acting as heat sink, you should see the concrete’s temperature graph lag the grass’s temperature graph.
A time lapse IR video of this effect could be a compelling example.
“contain weather stations that recorded record high night-time temperatures”
Anyone looked at where in the states these stations are contained? I suspect right next to a water treatment facility. I doubt the rural stations are showing the same issue.
almost no attention has been paid so far to the equally disturbing trend of pervasive record high night-time temperatures where evening cooling did not occur this summer,
Apparently the authors of this study do not get out that much. There was a LOT of talk about that subject in my area by the local news. It was getting tiresome to be told not only the high and low, but the records for the highest low (there was only 1 set)!
If you look at ‘degree day’ maps like this one:
http://chiefio.files.wordpress.com/2010/07/nv_41w.png
from this posting:
http://chiefio.wordpress.com/2010/07/14/degree-days-view/
You get a better idea what’s going on with the urban cement and asphalt. The rest of the place is pretty darned cold, but the cities light up nice and hot.