Apropos today – Turkey weather station

No, not CRS stuffing.

But, an odd weather station in Adana, Turkey.

This is the first one I’ve ever seen where the put wind instruments on the roof of the Stevenson Screen:

Needs a paint job, don’t you think? Nice siting too.

WUWT Reader Jeff writes in with:

Hi Anthony…

I live in Ankara, but was in Adana Turkey this past week and came across a weather-beaten meteorological station at the local university. I took a photo If you like, I’ll send it to you for your collection.

Regards,

Jeff

There is a GHCN station listed in Adana, Turkey, though the lat/lon is coarse.

64917350000 ADANA/INCIRLI 37.00 35.42

That may very well be Adana Incirlik AFB.

GISTEMP has a station in Andara Incirlik, but says it stopped reporting in 1990. Of course that doesn’t mean anything, as we’ve seen, CLIMAT reporting is pretty weak in other countries, even though the live data is available on the net at Weather Underground

And there are three active stations listed in NCDC’s MMS metadatabase:

Though none of the lat/lons put it anywhere close to Çukurova University, where I think it might be located. See the sign hanging on the weather station, it says Ç. U. with what appears to be an admonishment of “faculty only”.

I could write to Jeff again and get specifics, but I thought this might be a fun Turkey Day snipe hunt for readers to see if they can find it. Maybe somebody who can translate the writing can divine some clues enough to locate it on Google Earth. Here’s a head start for you:

37.057857°, 35.360572° is about the center of Çukurova University area. And their website is: http://www.cu.edu.tr/Content/Asp/English/index.asp

Chasing weather stations beats arguing with the visiting relatives, right?

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Ralph
November 25, 2010 8:12 am

Let me guess. With that tree sitting there, they never record any strong winds from the East.
Nice one.

ShrNfr
November 25, 2010 8:22 am

[snip – religious snark, don’t need that here ~mod]

P Wilson
November 25, 2010 8:23 am

also apropos today is the earliest and most widespread snawfall in the UK for 17 years.
Just weather – thats all (oh, the sort that is a thing of the past)
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1332822/Big-freeze-begins-widespread-November-snowfall-17-year.html

Palantir
November 25, 2010 8:28 am

The signs to the left say, Classrooms R1 – R2 and Central Library, which suggest it is on the university campus. Unrecorded station move?

Doug Proctor
November 25, 2010 8:53 am

This is only slightly ot: what is the rationale for dropping all the weather stations from the GISS analysis, since many are still reporting? As a followup, why are the ARGO SST data only good up to 2008? Is not electronic communication and handling automatic, cheap and easy?

Roy
November 25, 2010 8:54 am
RomanM
November 25, 2010 8:58 am

Best guess:
37.0604°, 35.3531°
Seems to match the geography and buildings in the background. The library is down the road to the right.

Garry
November 25, 2010 9:18 am

I plugged the sign into Google Translate, and it comes out:
“Institutional meteorological monitoring fisheries faculty unit”
The blue signs behind and to left read:
“Classroom R1-R2” and “Central Library”
The orange lettering is something about “Textile engineering” and the logo for Turkish company Sabanci Holding:
http://www.sabanci.com.tr/
The photo is indeed of Cukurova University – Adana, and here’s another photo of that same textiles engineering building from the Sabanci Foundation web site:
http://www.sabancivakfi.org/eng/?kalicieser/egm/adana/sabanci_tekstil_muhendisligi_bolumu/sabanci_tekstil_muhendisligi_bolumu.html
Here’s a campus map:
http://www.cukurova.edu.tr/Content/Asp/English/cubilgi08.asp
And just by comparing the campus map to the photo, with the Faculty of Fisheries building at south (“urunleri fakultesi”) and the Sabanci Textile Engineering building north, I’d surmise it’s right at the southeast corner of this intersection, on the grass and just inside the “elbow” of the sidewalk (as shown in the original photo above):
http://maps.google.com/maps?t=h&hl=en&ie=UTF8&ll=37.060357,35.353108&spn=0.001503,0.001768&z=19
The above G Maps link will show an intersection on the campus, the Stevenson Screen can be seen as a very small shape inside the “elbow” of the sidewalk. Not great resolution on the Google Map or on Google Earth, but that’s got to be it.

November 25, 2010 9:24 am

The new Bank building to the north will blanket any cold north wind, and any that does get through will be nicely warmed by the hot road if the sun is out.
More lovely warming apparent in the observations.
But the whole thing looks so old I wonder if there are any instruments in it now.
Maybe someone could take a peek.

November 25, 2010 9:26 am

The new Bank building to the north will blanket any cold north wind, and any that does get through will be nicely warmed by the hot road if the sun is out.
More lovely warming apparent in the observations.
But the whole thing looks so old I wonder if there are any instruments in it now.
Maybe someone could take a peek.
I’ve just realized it’s not a Bank but the comment stands.
Sill me.

November 25, 2010 9:28 am

I mean “silly me”.
The early snow must have got to my computer.

John F. Hultquist
November 25, 2010 9:29 am

The campus area looks almost completely new. Could this be near an older area of the city?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As this is a weather station post:
I’ve done a survey of Cle Elum, WA where the temperature sensor is on a 7 ft. pole and there are other neat things. I’m not sure how to get it uploaded to the surface station project site, but it is here:
http://www.elixant.com/~nancyh/CleElumWeatherStation.html
The above has text and small images while there is a folder
available in downloadable zipped format from the second line at
the top of the page.
J. Slayton has previously submitted a survey of
the old station and while the official designation
has not been changed — that one should be considered
in South Cle Elum while the new one is in
Cle Elum (1.66 miles apart).

simpleseekeraftertruth
November 25, 2010 9:35 am

East in Turkish is doğu. West is batı. Where the W & E on the windvane came from, who knows: but is it oriented correctly? 🙂
Happy thanksgiving Anthony and the moderators!

John Peter
November 25, 2010 9:40 am

“Doug Proctor says:
November 25, 2010 at 8:53 am
This is only slightly ot: what is the rationale for dropping all the weather stations from the GISS analysis, since many are still reporting? As a followup, why are the ARGO SST data only good up to 2008? Is not electronic communication and handling automatic, cheap and easy?”
I was wondering about ARGO too, but looking at http://www.argo.ucsd.edu/global_change_analysis.html
It would seem as if they are looking for a more recent paper written by Roemmich and Gilson updating the information. Since ocean levels are falling now it could also be that ARGO do not want to spoil the warming of 0.06 degree C since early 60’s by now having to show recent oceanic cooling. As I see it lower sea levels would mean cooler water and/or less smelting of inland ice. How do you explain that with increasing CO2 and steady or maybe slightly falling atmospheric temperatures since 1998?

Billy Liar
November 25, 2010 9:50 am

I think it’s just decoration. A museum piece made up of old bits of a weather station. Like the old planes put outside military airbases.
Sorry to spoil the fun 😉

Editor
November 25, 2010 10:14 am

Garry says:
November 25, 2010 at 9:18 am

The above G Maps link will show an intersection on the campus, the Stevenson Screen can be seen as a very small shape inside the “elbow” of the sidewalk. Not great resolution on the Google Map or on Google Earth, but that’s got to be it.

While the Stevenson screen is hard to make out, there is a rectangular shadow that’s gotta be from the box. I like looking at shadows when I’m not sure of the colors involved. There are other shadows for comparison and they can be the best measure of how tall objects are.

Ursa
November 25, 2010 10:15 am

The building in the background is “tekstil muhendisligi blumu” (textile engineering).
There is an older picture of the building at http://www.sabancivakfi.org/tr/?kalicieser/egm/adana/sabanci_tekstil_muhendisligi_bolumu/sabanci_tekstil_muhendisligi_bolumu.html
It looks like the road between the building and the weather station is relatively new, so the location of the weather station may have changed recently.

Rational Debate
November 25, 2010 12:16 pm

Curiosity & ignorance here, but how much temp difference does a well painted white screen vs. a paint worn out lots of brown/grey wood showing make? Any to speak of?

Steve (Paris)
November 25, 2010 12:31 pm

Everyone longs for snow to go with their Christmas turkey in the UK. Looks like its come early this year:
“Forecasters said the cold spell could last a fortnight, with snow reaching England’s southern counties next week.”
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-11836547

harrywr2
November 25, 2010 1:01 pm

Rational Debate says:
November 25, 2010 at 12:16 pm
“Curiosity & ignorance here, but how much temp difference does a well painted white screen vs. a paint worn out lots of brown/grey wood showing make? Any to speak of?”
Since the estimated global warming in the last 100 years is 8/10th’s of a degree centrigrade..even half a degree is ‘huge’.
Anthony did a test a couple of years ago.
http://wattsupwiththat.com/2008/01/14/a-typical-day-in-the-stevenson-screen-paint-test/

Grumbler
November 25, 2010 1:22 pm

Rational Debate says:
November 25, 2010 at 12:16 pm
Curiosity & ignorance here, but how much temp difference does a well painted white screen vs. a paint worn out lots of brown/grey wood showing make? Any to speak of?
I’m guessing .5 of a degree over the past century 😉

November 25, 2010 3:02 pm

Gee Ant Toe Knee, I thought I had heard the last of the Turkiye/turkey pun in my primary school days. Next you’ll be saying Italy was Hungary so it ate Greeced Turkey (boom boom)
Back on subject, I think Billy Liar may well be correct in that this old stevenson screen could be an inoperative museum piece.
If it was an active screen, being read couple of times a day, there’d be a path beaten to it. The above photo doesn’t support that.

u.k.(us)
November 25, 2010 4:00 pm

Seems like a set-up.
That thing wouldn’t have lasted a week in my suburb, when I was a kid.
I would have torn it apart, just to see how it works 🙂
No cables, no fences, etc.

Keith
November 25, 2010 4:08 pm

So far as the station at Incirlik goes, it would appear to be located at 37.004802N 35.263486E, about 300 yards from the very beginning of the runway and nearly 500 yards from any taxi paths. As they go, it’s not a bad one. For an airport / air force base.
Of course, that might not be it, as there are plenty of other blobs that appear to be white boxes on Google Earth resolution.

November 25, 2010 7:48 pm

I remember going out on the roof of the hangar where our weather station was located and reading the temp/dew point inside the Stevenson screen on a hand cranked psychrometer with a moistened wick from a small water container.
Around 1962 they switched to electronic gages; didn’t realize the significance then; just beginning to now.

sHx
November 25, 2010 8:27 pm

Baa Humbug says:
November 25, 2010 at 3:02 pm
Gee Ant Toe Knee, I thought I had heard the last of the Turkiye/turkey pun in my primary school days.

I first heard of the pun in junior high school where I learned my first English words… in Turkey. 🙂
BTW, turkey translates as ‘hindi’ in Turkish, which makes ‘Hindistan’ (India) the land of turkeys. 😀

Dennis Dunton
November 25, 2010 9:43 pm

I worked in Base Operations at Incirlik in the late sixties and if memory serves
the Stevenson screen was located between us and the parallel taxiway.
Denny

Jeff Livesay
November 26, 2010 8:34 am

Yes, Garry nailed it. My friends and I were contemplating the nearby fisheries building which is labeled (on the building) “Su Urunleri” (Water Products).
The weather vane with English letters caught my eye too, simpleseekeraftertruth. I didn’t get any closer than when I took the photo, so I can’t add more details about what’s inside the box or evidence of daily/weekly use or access.

Tom
November 26, 2010 8:39 am

Anthony, only bases in the U.S. are A.F.B.’s. We don’t want to sound aggresive, so over seas, the word force is taken out leaving just A.B. or Air Base. Pedantic I know, forgive me.