Subdeacon Joe Posted June 19, 2011 Share Posted June 19, 2011 Seems that another set of numbers has been cooked. I know that it borders on the political, so I'll not comment on it here. But if I were to comment on it, I would say something like: Changing Tides: Research Center Under Fire for 'Adjusted' Sea-Level Data Is climate change raising sea levels, as Al Gore has argued -- or are climate scientists doctoring the data? The University of Colorado’s Sea Level Research Group decided in May to add 0.3 millimeters -- or about the thickness of a fingernail -- every year to its actual measurements of sea levels, sparking criticism from experts who called it an attempt to exaggerate the effects of global warming. "Gatekeepers of our sea level data are manufacturing a fictitious sea level rise that is not occurring," said James M. Taylor, a lawyer who focuses on environmental issues for the Heartland Institute. Steve Nerem, the director of the widely relied-upon research center, told FoxNews.com that his group added the 0.3 millimeters per year to the actual sea level measurements because land masses, still rebounding from the ice age, are rising and increasing the amount of water that oceans can hold. "We have to account for the fact that the ocean basins are actually getting slightly bigger... water volume is expanding," he said, a phenomenon they call glacial isostatic adjustment (GIA). Taylor calls it tomfoolery. "There really is no reason to do this other than to advance a political agenda," he said. Climate scientist John Christy, a professor at the University of Alabama in Huntsville, said that the amount of water in the ocean and sea level were two different things. "To me… sea level rise is what's measured against the actual coast," he told FoxNews.com. "That's what tells us the impact of rising oceans." Taylor agreed. "Many global warming alarmists say that vast stretches of coastline are going to be swallowed up by the sea. Well, that means we should be talking about sea level, not about global water volume." In e-mails with FoxNews.com, Nerem indicated that he considered "sea level rise" to be the same thing as the amount of water in the ocean. "If we correct our data to remove [the effect of rising land], it actually does cause the rate of sea level (a.k.a. ocean water volume change) rise to be bigger," Nerem wrote. The adjustment is trivial, and not worth public attention, he added. Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2011/06/17/research-center-under-fire-for-adjusted-sea-level-data/#ixzz1Ph0o4Znt Average annual rise is about 1.8mm. These guys are adding close to 17% to that. 17% is NOT 'trivial.' And who is this elitist to say what is or is not 'worth public notice? But, again, that might be getting political, so I'm not going to say it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Woodrow Cahill, SASS # 54363 Posted June 19, 2011 Share Posted June 19, 2011 The planet's somewhere around 13 billion years old, and we only have about 100 years of good data. Trying to extrapolate future trends based on a statistically insignificant set of observations is junk science, if you can call it science at all. Follow the money - Steve Nerem is probably getting a government grant to fund his research and is trying to justify the expense so he can get more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S. Quentin Quale, Esq. SASS 9953 Posted June 19, 2011 Share Posted June 19, 2011 The Earth's climate has been changing ever since the moment of creation (whether that moment occured several billion years ago or 6000 years ago). It's changing even now. We can no more stop that change than we can stop the tide from going in and out. The issue is human culpability for change. The evidence for that is not convincing. "Cooking the scientific books" is about the second or third dumbest thing I can think of. And I'm not even a PhD (which, in the present instance, must mean "Piled high and Deep"). SQQ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocWard Posted June 19, 2011 Share Posted June 19, 2011 The Earth's climate has been changing ever since the moment of creation (whether that moment occured several billion years ago or 6000 years ago). It's changing even now. We can no more stop that change than we can stop the tide from going in and out. The issue is human culpability for change. The evidence for that is not convincing. "Cooking the scientific books" is about the second or third dumbest thing I can think of. And I'm not even a PhD (which, in the present instance, must mean "Piled high and Deep"). SQQ +1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subdeacon Joe Posted June 19, 2011 Author Share Posted June 19, 2011 I wonder if a 17% reduction in their funding and pay would be "trivial" and "not worth notice?" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cumberland Mtn John SASS#40593 Posted June 19, 2011 Share Posted June 19, 2011 +1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.