This maps out the apparent
effects of La Nina this year as the main driver for the sharp changes in the
Jet Stream. An additional driver in the
form of volcanism also affected the Arctic and
part of the northern Hemisphere.
The impact on the measurement
regime was to show a slight cooling.
What I am saying is that we know for sure is that the heat got
distributed differently than normal.
That is the problem with so
called global statements. The input has
not changed at all, so the question is were has it gone.
This year La Nina shifted it
around rather severely and put an Arctic air mass deep into the continent to
everyone’s shock.
It has been a cold winter we are
now seeing the back of as temperature finally rise this week.
La Nina Pacific Ocean Cooling Pulls Global Temps Below Norms
Released: 2/5/2011 6:00 AM EST
Source: University
of Alabama Huntsville
Global Temperature Report: January 2011
Global climate trend since Nov. 16, 1978: +0.14 C per decade
January temperatures (preliminary)
Global composite temp.: -0.01 C (about 0.02 degrees Fahrenheit) below
30-year average for January.
Northern Hemisphere: -0.06 C (about 0.11 degrees Fahrenheit) below
30-year average for January.
Southern Hemisphere: +0.04 C (about 0.07 degrees Fahrenheit) above
30-year average for January.
Tropics: -0.37 C (about 0.67 degrees Fahrenheit) below 30-year average
for January.
December temperatures (revised):
Global Composite: +0.18 C above 30-year average
Northern Hemisphere: +0.22 C above 30-year average
Southern Hemisphere: +0.15 C above 30-year average
Tropics: -0.22 C below 30-year average
(All temperature anomalies are based on a 30-year average (1981-2010)
for the month reported.)
Notes on data released Feb. 3, 2011:
The La Nina Pacific Ocean cooling event continues to pull down
temperatures, with the global average temperature falling below seasonal norms
for the first time in 18 months and only the second time in almost two and a
half years, according to Dr. John Christy, professor of atmospheric science and
director of the Earth System Science Center at The University of Alabama in
Huntsville.
Technical Note:
The baseline period used to determine seasonal norms has been changed from the 20-year (1979 to 1998) period at the beginning of the satellite record to a new 30-year (1981 to 2010) reference average. This was done to match the climatological period normally used with climate data by the U.N.'s World Meteorological Organization.
As part of an ongoing joint project between UAHuntsville, NOAA and
NASA, Christy and Dr. Roy Spencer, a principal research scientist in the ESSC,
use data gathered by advanced microwave sounding units on NOAA and NASA
satellites to get accurate temperature readings for almost all regions of the
Earth. This includes remote desert, ocean and rain forest areas where reliable
climate data are not otherwise available.
The satellite-based instruments measure the temperature of the
atmosphere from the surface up to an altitude of about eight kilometers above
sea level. Once the monthly temperature data is collected and processed, it is
placed in a "public" computer file for immediate access by
atmospheric scientists in the U.S.
Neither Christy nor Spencer receives any research support or funding
from oil, coal or industrial companies or organizations, or from any private or
special interest groups. All of their climate research funding comes from
federal and state grants or contracts.
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