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| Source: Bloomberg |
Eric Roston and Blacki Migliozzi of Bloomberg have put together a great info graphic based on research from NASA/GISS illustrating the various human and natural drivers of climate change and their influence on warming since the late 1880s. One of the great myths concerning climate research is that we only focus on carbon dioxide. Nothing could be further from the truth as considerable effort has gone into understanding and quantifying the role of various natural and anthropogenic factors and their influence on climate change. Their graphic, available
here, allows you to examine each of these factors, as well as their combined influence.
I don't believe it. This was put together by the same folks who killed Kennedy and framed Pete Rose.
ReplyDeleteVery nice. Clear and easily readable for the layperson. Just one question relating to the baseline average between 1880 and 1910- any reason for this 30-year baseline average? Wondering why this was chosen for the baseline, does it have to do with the beginning of recorded weather averages? I'm assuming that a wider range of averages would skew the overall implication of warming, but not entirely sure...
ReplyDeleteI suspect that was chosen simply to highlight the warming since the beginning of the instrumented record. 1880 is the starting point that NASA/GISS uses for their global temperature analysis and a 30-year period is considered the minimum required for a reasonable average.
DeleteInteresting analysis, but I doubt about the authors' argument about deforestation having a slight cooling effect. They say that de-forested areas are brighter, therefore causing more reflection and cooling. However in my experience, the micro-climate of forests is always cooler than in bare areas, forests hold the snowpack longer, forest soil acts as a water reservoir, and evaporation from tree leaves causes further cooling, and forests can boost the rainfall in the area...
ReplyDeleteHave you considered that forests also act as an insulating blanket for bare ground, thus inhibiting radiational cooling of what would otherwise be a bare surface?
DeleteOne thing related to land use that I have long suspected to be a factor, and may be worth bringing up here is dust. When a land surface is disturbed or improperly managed, dust is greatly increased. Dust can be carried long distances, coating snow and ice, which can greatly increase its warm season melt rate. This may partially explain why so much of the warming seems to be concentrated in the Arctic and the retreat of glaciers, etc has been so significant.
ReplyDeleteThis Bloomberg article has been shredded at Watts Up With That.
ReplyDeletehttp://blog.hotwhopper.com/2015/06/david-burton-wattsupwiththat-denies.html.
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