Next Article in Journal
A Study of the Correlation between Earthquakes and NOAA Satellite Energetic Particle Bursts
Next Article in Special Issue
Satellite Global and Hemispheric Lower Tropospheric Temperature Annual Temperature Cycle
Previous Article in Journal
Meteorological Influence on Predicting Air Pollution from MODIS-Derived Aerosol Optical Thickness: A Case Study in Nanjing, China
 
 
Search for Articles:
Title / Keyword
Author / Affiliation / Email
Journal
Article Type
 
 
Advanced Search
 
Section
Special Issue
Volume
Issue
Number
Page
 
Journals
Remote Sensing
Volume 2
Issue 9
10.3390/rs2092148
remotesensing-logo
Submit to this Journal Review for this Journal Propose a Special Issue
► Article Menu

Article Menu

share Share announcement Help format_quote Cite question_answer Discuss in SciProfiles
first_page
settings
Order Article Reprints
Font Type:
Arial Georgia Verdana
Font Size:
Aa Aa Aa
Line Spacing:
Column Width:
Background:
Article

What Do Observational Datasets Say about Modeled Tropospheric Temperature Trends since 1979?

by
John R. Christy
1,*,
Benjamin Herman
2,
Roger Pielke, Sr.
3,
Philip Klotzbach
4,
Richard T. McNider
1,
Justin J. Hnilo
1,
Roy W. Spencer
1,
Thomas Chase
3 and
David Douglass
5
1
ESSC-UAH, University of Alabama in Huntsville, Cramer Hall, Huntsville AL 35899, USA
2
Atmospheric Physics, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85821, USA
3
University of Colorado, Stadium 255-16, Boulder, CO 80309, USA
4
Department of Atmospheric Science, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA
5
Department of Physics and Astronomy, Rochester University, Bausch & Lomb Hall, P.O. Box 270171, 500 Wilson Blvd., Rochester, NY 14627-0171, USA
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Remote Sens. 2010, 2(9), 2148-2169; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs2092148
Submission received: 30 July 2010 / Revised: 3 September 2010 / Accepted: 14 September 2010 / Published: 15 September 2010
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Remote Sensing in Climate Monitoring and Analysis)
Browse Figures
Versions Notes

Abstract

Updated tropical lower tropospheric temperature datasets covering the period 1979–2009 are presented and assessed for accuracy based upon recent publications and several analyses conducted here. We conclude that the lower tropospheric temperature (TLT) trend over these 31 years is +0.09 ± 0.03 °C decade−1. Given that the surface temperature (Tsfc) trends from three different groups agree extremely closely among themselves (~ +0.12 °C decade−1) this indicates that the “scaling ratio” (SR, or ratio of atmospheric trend to surface trend: TLT/Tsfc) of the observations is ~0.8 ± 0.3. This is significantly different from the average SR calculated from the IPCC AR4 model simulations which is ~1.4. This result indicates the majority of AR4 simulations tend to portray significantly greater warming in the troposphere relative to the surface than is found in observations. The SR, as an internal, normalized metric of model behavior, largely avoids the confounding influence of short-term fluctuations such as El Niños which make direct comparison of trend magnitudes less confident, even over multi-decadal periods.
Keywords: tropical temperature; climate change; satellite temperatures; climate models tropical temperature; climate change; satellite temperatures; climate models

Share and Cite

MDPI and ACS Style

Christy, J.R.; Herman, B.; Pielke, R., Sr.; Klotzbach, P.; McNider, R.T.; Hnilo, J.J.; Spencer, R.W.; Chase, T.; Douglass, D. What Do Observational Datasets Say about Modeled Tropospheric Temperature Trends since 1979? Remote Sens. 2010, 2, 2148-2169. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs2092148

AMA Style

Christy JR, Herman B, Pielke R Sr., Klotzbach P, McNider RT, Hnilo JJ, Spencer RW, Chase T, Douglass D. What Do Observational Datasets Say about Modeled Tropospheric Temperature Trends since 1979? Remote Sensing. 2010; 2(9):2148-2169. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs2092148

Chicago/Turabian Style

Christy, John R., Benjamin Herman, Roger Pielke, Sr., Philip Klotzbach, Richard T. McNider, Justin J. Hnilo, Roy W. Spencer, Thomas Chase, and David Douglass. 2010. "What Do Observational Datasets Say about Modeled Tropospheric Temperature Trends since 1979?" Remote Sensing 2, no. 9: 2148-2169. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs2092148

APA Style

Christy, J. R., Herman, B., Pielke, R., Sr., Klotzbach, P., McNider, R. T., Hnilo, J. J., Spencer, R. W., Chase, T., & Douglass, D. (2010). What Do Observational Datasets Say about Modeled Tropospheric Temperature Trends since 1979? Remote Sensing, 2(9), 2148-2169. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs2092148

Article Metrics

Back to TopTop