It’s the blob (anomaly)! ( A giant temperature anomaly is attacking Canada and Greenland.)

Wattsupwiththat.com ^ | March 19, 2010 | Anthony Watts

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

An Example Of Why A Global Average Temperature Anomaly Is Not An Effective Metric Of Climate

Roy Spencer and John Christy of the University of Alabama at Huntsville have reported in their Global Temperature Report that February 2010 was the 2nd warmest February in 32 years (e.g. see Roy’s summary).

Their spatial map of the anomalies, however, shows that most of the relative warmth was in a focused geographic area; see

The global average is  based on the summation of large areas of positive and negative temperature anomalies.

As I have reported before on my weblog; e.g. see

What is the Importance to Climate of Heterogeneous Spatial Trends in Tropospheric Temperatures?,

it is the regional tropospheric temperature anomalies that determine the locations of development and movement of weather systems [which are the actual determinants of such climate events as drought, floods, ect] not a global average temperature anomaly.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

From the comments:

****************************************

Veronica (10:02:46) :

As Pearland Aggie says, a lot of this effect is due to the map projection used.
It’s probably a small campfire from somebody’s polar bear hunting expedition.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Not sure what this means....but WUWT thought enough of it to post it!

[agere_contra]

Yep. Map projection + its a % deviation from norm, not an actual temperature.

[agere_contra]

My bad, its a temperature contour.

So, lousy use of map projection tracking a single campfire and conflating it to the size of Britain.

[wolfcreek]

I think that *pink* area was over Texas last summer. (now it’s cooler than average)

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

From:

Latest Global Temps

****************************EXCERPT**********************************

Latest Global Average Tropospheric Temperatures

(Want to see how the current month’s temperatures are shaping up? Check this out.)

Since 1979, NOAA satellites have been carrying instruments which measure the natural microwave thermal emissions from oxygen in the atmosphere. The signals that these microwave radiometers measure at different microwave frequencies are directly proportional to the temperature of different, deep layers of the atmosphere. Every month, John Christy and I update global temperature datasets that represent the piecing together of the temperature data from a total of eleven instruments flying on eleven different satellites over the years. As of early 2010, our most stable instrument for this monitoring is the Advanced Microwave Sounding Unit (AMSU-A) flying on NASA’s Aqua satellite.

The graph above represents the latest update; updates are usually made within the first week of every month. Contrary to some reports, the satellite measurements are not calibrated in any way with the global surface-based thermometer record of temperature. They instead use their own on-board precision redundant platinum resistance thermometers calibrated to a laboratory reference standard before launch.

[Dr. Bogus Pachysandra]

I’ve had a window open on that for an hour! Just haven’t broken loose to read it. Lots of action of all sorts today.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Related thread I have been posting much stuff on:

Weather balloon data backs up missing decline found in old magazine

[wolfcreek]

Thanks!

[americanophile]

Maybe this is where our earthquake machine is at the moment.

[NormsRevenge]

I always wondered what kind of phenomena may occur when the Earth’s magnetic poles are getting ready to flip .. space weather in action.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

when the Earth’s magnetic poles are getting ready to flip .. space weather in action.

Ok....I have been focused in on this Global '"Warming Hoax'"...

So what is this about the magnetic poles flipping?

[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

D0000MAGE!

Global Warming PING!

You have been pinged because of your interest in environmentalism, alarmist wackos, mainstream media doomsday hype, and other issues pertaining to global warming.

Freep-mail me to get on or off: Add me / Remove me

Please ping me to all note-worthy threads on global warming.

Grandaddy of green, James Lovelock, warms to eco-sceptics

The Warmers Strike Back

Poll: Fewer people worry about warming

Al Gore Shocked by ‘The Great Cool-Down’

Spin, science and climate change

Latest from Climate Depot

Latest from Real Climate

Global Warming on Free Republic

Latest from Global Warming News Site

Latest from Greenie Watch

Latest from Junk Science

Latest from Terra Daily

[steelyourfaith]

Thanx !

 

Beam me to Planet Gore !

[EternalVigilance]

I’ve had a window open on that for an hour!

Aha! The source of the temperature "anomaly"!

:-)

[Dr. Bogus Pachysandra]

Bwaaa! Good ‘un!

[SunkenCiv]

:’)

[ApplegateRanch]

You mean Mister Mercator’s projection distorts everything except the equitorial regions; progressively magnifying and distorting areas, the closer to the poles one gets?

Golly, wonder why they don’t teach this in schools....

I would love to see the same data plotted on an equiareal projection.

[Marine_Uncle]

Got to hit the rack. But I cannot help notice if we looked back the last few months of 2009 through January of this year upper Canada had very low extended temperatures. Guess we shall soon see if it is trending to the warm side in this red area or not.