. | . |
Current climate date rescue activities in Australia by Staff Writers Beijing (SPX) Nov 22, 2016
Long-term weather data is the backbone of almost all research into climate change and variability. The recovery of historical instrumental data is a well-established practise in the Northern Hemisphere, where observations are available for the past several centuries in many regions. In the Southern Hemisphere however, the currently available set of climate observations generally only begin in the early to mid-20th century. This makes it a lot harder to study the climate, and climate change, in the southern latitudes. But this does not mean that there are no historical weather records down south. In a recently published article in Advances in Atmospheric Sciences, Dr. Linden Ashcroft (University Roviara I Virgili, Spain) and her co-authors from the UK and Australia draw attention to the recent data rescue efforts being undertaken in Australia. These range from international initiatives such as the South Eastern Research Climate project (SEARCH), to volunteer organisations working with families who have uncovered their grandfather's long-lost weather diaries. According to Ashcroft, these extended sets of weather observations can + improve future climate projections + validate palaeoclimate records from tree rings and ice cores, and + put our current climate into a long-term context, helping scientists identify what is natural, and what is human-induced climate change. "The stories of these meteorological pioneers deserve to be shared, and the data they painstakingly collected more than a century ago are still very useful today." says Ashcroft. The data they have uncovered are already contributing to international datasets that are in turn being used to build global models of the atmosphere. The addition of even one new weather station can dramatically improve the accuracy of these models for the Southern Hemisphere. More observations are now being found in ship logbooks, settler's journals and colonial records in the Southern Hemisphere. "Through our efforts and those of others, and we are slowly shedding more light on our important climatic past. " says Ashcroft.
Related Links Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences Climate Science News - Modeling, Mitigation Adaptation
|
|
The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us. |