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Santer BD, Mears C, Doutriaux C, Caldwell P, Gleckler PJ, Wigley TML, Solomon S, Gillett NP, Ivanova D, Karl TR, Lanzante JR, Meehl GA, Stott PA, Taylor KE, Thorne PW, Wehner MF, Wentz FJ. Separating signal and noise in atmospheric temperature changes: The importance of timescale. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2011. [DOI: 10.1029/2011jd016263] [Citation(s) in RCA: 133] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- B. D. Santer
- Program for Climate Model Diagnosis and Intercomparison, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory; Livermore California USA
| | - C. Mears
- Remote Sensing Systems; Santa Rosa California USA
| | - C. Doutriaux
- Program for Climate Model Diagnosis and Intercomparison, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory; Livermore California USA
| | - P. Caldwell
- Program for Climate Model Diagnosis and Intercomparison, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory; Livermore California USA
| | - P. J. Gleckler
- Program for Climate Model Diagnosis and Intercomparison, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory; Livermore California USA
| | - T. M. L. Wigley
- National Center for Atmospheric Research; Boulder Colorado USA
| | - S. Solomon
- Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences; University of Colorado at Boulder; Boulder Colorado USA
| | - N. P. Gillett
- Canadian Centre for Climate Modelling and Analysis, Environment Canada; Victoria, British Columbia Canada
| | - D. Ivanova
- Program for Climate Model Diagnosis and Intercomparison, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory; Livermore California USA
| | - T. R. Karl
- National Climatic Data Center, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; Asheville North Carolina USA
| | - J. R. Lanzante
- Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; Princeton New Jersey USA
| | - G. A. Meehl
- National Center for Atmospheric Research; Boulder Colorado USA
| | | | - K. E. Taylor
- Program for Climate Model Diagnosis and Intercomparison, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory; Livermore California USA
| | - P. W. Thorne
- National Climatic Data Center, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; Asheville North Carolina USA
| | - M. F. Wehner
- Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory; Berkeley California USA
| | - F. J. Wentz
- Remote Sensing Systems; Santa Rosa California USA
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Jones WL, Black PG, Boggs DM, Bracalente EM, Brown RA, Dome G, Ernst JA, Halberstam IM, Overland JE, Peteherych S, Pierson WJ, Wentz FJ, Woiceshyn PM, Wurtele MG. Seasat scatterometer: results of the gulf of alaska workshop. Science 2010; 204:1413-5. [PMID: 17814199 DOI: 10.1126/science.204.4400.1413] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
Abstract
The Seasat microwave scatterometer was designed to measure, globally and in nearly all weather, wind speed to an accuracy of +/- 2 meters per second and wind direction to +/- 20 degrees in two swaths 500 kilometers wide on either side of the spacecraft. For two operating modes in rain-free conditions, a limited number of comparisons to high-quality surface truth indicates that these specifications may have been met.
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Lipes RG, Bernstein RL, Cardone VJ, Katsaros KB, Njoku EG, Riley AL, Ross DB, Swift CT, Wentz FJ. Seasat scanning multichannel microwave radiometer: results of the gulf of alaska workshop. Science 2010; 204:1415-7. [PMID: 17814200 DOI: 10.1126/science.204.4400.1415] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
Abstract
The scanning multichannel microwave radiometer results for the Gulf of Alaska Seasat Experiment Workshop are quite encouraging, especially in view of the immaturity of the data-processing algorithms. For open ocean, rain-free cells of highest-quality surface truth wind determinations exhibit standard deviations of 3 meters per second about a bias of 1.5 meters per second. The sea-surface temperature shows a standard deviation of approximately 1.5 degrees C about a bias of 3 degrees to 5 degrees C under a variety of changing meteorological conditions.
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Santer BD, Mears C, Wentz FJ, Taylor KE, Gleckler PJ, Wigley TML, Barnett TP, Boyle JS, Brüggemann W, Gillett NP, Klein SA, Meehl GA, Nozawa T, Pierce DW, Stott PA, Washington WM, Wehner MF. Identification of human-induced changes in atmospheric moisture content. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2007; 104:15248-53. [PMID: 17881573 PMCID: PMC1986574 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0702872104] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/27/2007] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Data from the satellite-based Special Sensor Microwave Imager (SSM/I) show that the total atmospheric moisture content over oceans has increased by 0.41 kg/m(2) per decade since 1988. Results from current climate models indicate that water vapor increases of this magnitude cannot be explained by climate noise alone. In a formal detection and attribution analysis using the pooled results from 22 different climate models, the simulated "fingerprint" pattern of anthropogenically caused changes in water vapor is identifiable with high statistical confidence in the SSM/I data. Experiments in which forcing factors are varied individually suggest that this fingerprint "match" is primarily due to human-caused increases in greenhouse gases and not to solar forcing or recovery from the eruption of Mount Pinatubo. Our findings provide preliminary evidence of an emerging anthropogenic signal in the moisture content of earth's atmosphere.
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Affiliation(s)
- B D Santer
- Program for Climate Model Diagnosis and Intercomparison, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA 94550, USA.
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Santer BD, Wigley TML, Mears C, Wentz FJ, Klein SA, Seidel DJ, Taylor KE, Thorne PW, Wehner MF, Gleckler PJ, Boyle JS, Collins WD, Dixon KW, Doutriaux C, Free M, Fu Q, Hansen JE, Jones GS, Ruedy R, Karl TR, Lanzante JR, Meehl GA, Ramaswamy V, Russell G, Schmidt GA. Amplification of surface temperature trends and variability in the tropical atmosphere. Science 2005; 309:1551-6. [PMID: 16099951 DOI: 10.1126/science.1114867] [Citation(s) in RCA: 226] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
Abstract
The month-to-month variability of tropical temperatures is larger in the troposphere than at Earth's surface. This amplification behavior is similar in a range of observations and climate model simulations and is consistent with basic theory. On multidecadal time scales, tropospheric amplification of surface warming is a robust feature of model simulations, but it occurs in only one observational data set. Other observations show weak, or even negative, amplification. These results suggest either that different physical mechanisms control amplification processes on monthly and decadal time scales, and models fail to capture such behavior; or (more plausibly) that residual errors in several observational data sets used here affect their representation of long-term trends.
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Affiliation(s)
- B D Santer
- Program for Climate Model Diagnosis and Intercomparison, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA 94550, USA.
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Santer BD, Wigley TML, Meehl GA, Wehner MF, Mears C, Schabel M, Wentz FJ, Ammann C, Arblaster J, Bettge T, Washington WM, Taylor KE, Boyle JS, Brüggemann W, Doutriaux C. Influence of satellite data uncertainties on the detection of externally forced climate change. Science 2003; 300:1280-4. [PMID: 12730497 DOI: 10.1126/science.1082393] [Citation(s) in RCA: 57] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Abstract
Two independent analyses of the same satellite-based radiative emissions data yield tropospheric temperature trends that differ by 0.1 degrees C per decade over 1979 to 2001. The troposphere warms appreciably in one satellite data set, while the other data set shows little overall change. These satellite data uncertainties are important in studies seeking to identify human effects on climate. A model-predicted "fingerprint" of combined anthropogenic and natural effects is statistically detectable only in the satellite data set with a warming troposphere. Our findings show that claimed inconsistencies between model predictions and satellite tropospheric temperature data (and between the latter and surface data) may be an artifact of data uncertainties.
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Affiliation(s)
- B D Santer
- Program for Climate Model Diagnosis and Intercomparison, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA 94550, USA.
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Abstract
Measurements of sea surface temperature (SST) can be made by satellite microwave radiometry in all weather conditions except rain. Microwaves penetrate clouds with little attenuation, giving an uninterrupted view of the ocean surface. This is a distinct advantage over infrared measurements of SST, which are obstructed by clouds. Comparisons with ocean buoys show a root mean square difference of about 0.6 degrees C, which is partly due to the satellite-buoy spatial-temporal sampling mismatch and the difference between the ocean skin temperature and bulk temperature. Microwave SST retrievals provide insights in a number of areas, including tropical instability waves, marine boundary layer dynamics, and the prediction of hurricane intensity.
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Affiliation(s)
- FJ Wentz
- Remote Sensing Systems, 438 First Street, Suite 200, Santa Rosa, CA 95401, USA. College of Oceanic and Atmospheric Sciences, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331, USA
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Moore RK, Birrer IJ, Bracalente EM, Dome GJ, Wentz FJ. Evaluation of atmospheric attenuation from SMMR brightness temperature for the SEASAT satellite scatterometer. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 1982. [DOI: 10.1029/jc087ic05p03337] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
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