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Late Breaking News |
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| Date: August 12, 1998 4:10pm Contact: Ozone Action Kymberly Escobar (202) 265-6738 kescobar@ozone.org |
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Latest News Releases
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New Study in Nature Magazine Undermines Climate Change Skeptics; Findings Correct Error In Satellite Readings Bringing Them In Line With Other Data Showing A Rise In Global Temperatures | ||
| WASHINGTON - August 12 - A new article coming out in this week's
Nature Magazine addresses the atmospheric temperature discrepancy between surface
measurements and satellite measurements. In "Effects of Orbital Decay on
Satellite-Derived Lower-Tropospheric Temperature Trends," authors Frank J. Wentz and Matthias Schabel of Remote Sensing Systems in Santa Rosa, California explain how accounting for the neglected "falling satellite" effect has enabled them to derive new estimates of temperature trends in the lower atmosphere which indicate a warming rather than cooling. Scientists use many sources of data from surface measuring stations, weather balloons and satellites to monitor temperatures. While all data sources have shown a gradual increase in global temperatures, the satellite data have displayed an actual cooling in the lower troposphere, the layer of the atmosphere closest to earth. This new study, however, illustrates how the height of a satellite's orbit is lowered over time by atmospheric drag, changing the satellite's angular view of the Earth's surface (the so-called "falling satellite" effect or "orbital decay"). By correcting for this effect, the authors found that temperature trends were in closer agreement with the global warming found from surface measurements. Prior to the correction, some satellite data revealed a 0.09° F cooling trend per decade. By accounting for orbital decay, satellite data now reveals a 0.13° F warming trend per decade. This represents a 0.22°F per decade increase in temperatures, which is very significant. According to John Passacantando, executive director of Ozone Action, "this study shoots a major hole in the armor of climate change skeptics who have been holding onto this last thin reed of contradictory data." In fact, just last month Congress heard testimony from Dr. John Christy, one of the originators of generating temperature data from satellites. "The acid test of peer review has now steamrolled one of the last legitimate points of contention on global warming," Passacantando said. For More Information Contact: Frank J. Wentz, Remote Sensing Systems, (707) 545 2904 ext.16, email: wentz@remss.com Dian J. Gaffen, NOAA Air Resources Lab, (301) 713 0625, email: dian.gaffen@noaa.gov Dr. Kevin Trenberth, National Center for Atmospheric Research (303) 497-1318, email: trenbert@ucar.edu ### |
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