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If you choose to follow any links to the complete text of articles listed below, you will be leaving the Strategian Web site. If you wish to return to this page from the Web page you are sent to, please use the Back option of your browser. David E. Parker Climate Change: Temperatures High and Low. (... a short perspective on a number of recent studies that have found and/or looked at the discrepancy between temperatures recorded at the Earth's surface and temperatures recorded in the lower troposphere--the layer of the Earth's atmosphere which extends from appropimately 1 to 5 kilometers above the Earth's surface. Satellite measurements [of the troposphere] show almost no temperature change since measurements began in 1979; in contrast, temperatures at Earth's surface are reported to have risen by 0.3º to 0.4ºC over the same period. As the author explains, understanding the difference between surface and tropospheric temperature trends is crucial for modeling climate, explaining and attributing climatic changes [due to global warming], and planning for future climate monitoring. The author particularly looks at 2 studies [see Santer et al. and Gaffen et al. below] that are published in the same issue--from the text of the article; please see the bibliography of this article) Science Volume 287, Number 5456 (February 18, 2000): 1216-1217. B. D. Santer, T. M. L. Wigley, D. J. Gaffen, L. Bengtsson, C. Doutriaux, J. S. Boyle, M. Esch, J. J. Hnilo, P. D. Jones, G. A. Meehl, E. Roeckner, K. E. Taylor, and M. F. Wehner Interpreting Differential Temperature Trends at the Surface and in the Lower Troposphere. (... this study attempts to account for the discrepancy observed between the increasingly warmer temperatures recorded at the Earth's surface in contrast to the temperatures recorded in the lower troposphere of the Earth's atmosphere over the time period 1979 to 1998. The authors conclude a model forced by a combination of anthropogenic [human] factors and volcanic aerosols yields surface-troposphere temperature trend differences closest to those observed--from the abstract of the article) Science Volume 287, Number 5456 (February 18, 2000): 1227-1232. Dian J. Gaffen, Benjamin D. Santer, James S. Boyle, John R. Christy, Nicholas E. Graham, and Rebecca J. Ross Multidecadal Changes in the Vertical Temperature Structure of the Tropical Troposphere. (... using temperature observations taken from radiosondes [weather balloons], this study looks at the discrepancy observed between the increasingly warmer temperatures recorded at the Earth's surface in contrast to the temperatures recorded in the lower troposphere of the Earth's atmosphere over the time period 1979 to 1997. The largest observed discrepancy in the temperature measurements has been in the tropical regions of the Earth. While the interaction of various climate-related factors in the tropics is complex and uncertainties exist, the authors conclude the radiosonde results presented here serve to confirm, at least for the tropical regions, enhanced warming of the surface relative to the lower troposphere--from the text of the article) Science Volume 287, Number 5456 (February 18, 2000): 1242-1245. C. E. Thomas, Brian D. James, Frank D. Lomax, Jr., and Ira F. Kuhn, Jr. Fuel Options for the Fuel Cell Vehicle: Hydrogen, Methanol or Gasoline? (... as an alternative to the internal combustion engine, cars and other vehicles using fuel cells can be run on a variety of fuels including hydrogen, methanol, ethanol, or gasoline. While using hydrogen is a simpler process for these vehicles rather than the necessity of developing the more complex onboard fuel processors needed for the other fuels, the use of hydrogen has traditionally been considered much more expensive than the other fuels. These authors contend that the total fuel infrastructure cost to society including onboard fuel processors may be less for hydrogen than for either gasoline or methanol. Plus, the authors conclude that using hydrogen fuel has air pollution and greenhouse gas advantages as compared to the use of gasoline or methanol in fuel cell vehicles--from the text of the abstract) International Journal of Hydrogen Energy Volume 25, Number 6 (June 1, 2000): 551-567. How to find the above journals, magazines, and other publications? See Step 3: Locate of the Information Strategy for details. Questions about any or all of the above? Please let me know. |
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