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Earth Fever
Tue Jun 15, 2004
Listen in RealAudio 
We don’t know where you would find the earth’s tongue to place the thermometer, but it
appears that our planet is running a temperature, and has been for at least a couple of
decades. Hi, I’m Bryan Yeaton, and this is The Weather Notebook.
In a cooperative study between NOAA and NASA, published in the "Bulletin of the
American Meteorological Society," satellite data was compiled from an 18-year stretch
(1981-1998), and showed that the earth’s skin temperature -- that actual temperature
of the land -- had increased a degree and a half Fahrenheit over the period.
Menglin Jin, visiting scientist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, compiled the
data, which also showed that certain local areas may not be experiencing significant
climate change, but for net effect, you have to examine the global picture. Said Jin:
"While many regions were warming, central continental regions in North America and
Asia were actually cooling."
Researchers believe that the skin temperature method for determining the warming
trend is more accurate than ground-based measurements because the ground
stations are at scattered, sporadic spots around the globe, and are dependent on
political boundaries, and that these stations measure air temperature up to several
meters above the ground. However, measurements from these stations also agreed
with the satellite readings.
Although the satellite data cannot account for surface temperatures on snow-covered
regions, it can detect changes in the extent of snow coverage over such places as the
Tibetan Plateau. The land surface area of the earth is 90 percent snow-free in July,
compared to 65 percent in January.
The Weather Notebook is a program of the Mount Washington Observatory, on the Web
at www.mountwashington.org. We are funded by the National Science Foundation, and
Subaru of America. Thanks today to Marketing Manager Melody Nester and Audio
Producer Trish Anderton.
Today's Links
Satellite Thermometers:
http://www.nasa.gov/vision/earth/environment/Earth_Temperature.html
Satellites act as thermometers in space:
http://www.gsfc.nasa.gov/topstory/2004/0315skintemp.html
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