NASA’s GISS Analyzes Earth’s Cooling and Warming Phases over Several Years

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<h1>NASA’s GISS Analyzes Earth’s Cooling and Warming Phases over Several Years</h1><strong> Author: <a href='http://www.articleseen.com/profile_Eric Jones.aspx'>Eric Jones</a></strong><br /><p>According to climatologists at the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS), who analyzed the world’s climate from 2000 to 2008, 2008 was the coolest year. While that may seem to indicate a cooling trend, there is other data that leads to an entirely different conclusion. When looking at year round temperatures from 1880 (when continuous instrumental records began) to 2008, 2008 was also the ninth warmest year. The top 10 warmest years ever recorded were all between 1997 and 2008, according to NASA. Data was collected from several sources. GISS used Thomas Smith and Richard Reynolds’ satellite analysis of global sea surface temperatures, which they collected for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. GISS also used its own research regarding global average temperatures. GISS conducted research from 1951 to 1980 for baseline research and found that during that time frame, the global average surface air temperature was .79 degrees above the global mean. As the study approached 2008, it found that most of the globe was either normal or warmer. Eurasia, the Arctic, and the Antarctic Peninsula were especially warm. The study also found that the Pacific Ocean region was much cooler. This area of cooling materialized due to La Niña. La Niña is produced by relatively low temperatures in the tropical Pacific. In 2008, La Niña conditions were strong in the first half of the year, which led to the cooling. While La Niña is a cooling phase, El Niño is a warming phase that produces the opposite effect and follows La Niña after a year or so. The two occurrences are both a part of the natural oscillation of equatorial Pacific Ocean temperatures. In 2008, the United States’ temperatures were almost the same as they were in the baseline research, which led climatologists to conclude that it was cooler than previous years, as there had previously been a heating trend. While this is something to consider, the United States in only a small part of the study, and the entire earth’s temperature must be considered. James Hansen, the director of GISS, predicted that a new global surface air temperature record would be set despite the cooling effect that was produced in 2008. He suspected this because it was widely thought that 2010 would bring the next El Niño. Since the sun was passing though solar minimum, it was transmitting a small amount of radiant energy toward Earth all year round. While his predictions were founded in science, it turns out that Hansen’s forecast was not completely accurate, as a strong El Niño has not occurred since 1998. The scientific community now predicts the next strong El Niño will materialize in 2015. GISS also uses data from the Global Historical Climatology Network of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Climate Data Center. They analyze the global surface temperature and the earth’s heating and cooling patterns using satellite analysis. The NOAA’s Richard Reynolds and Thomas Smith have been keeping records of global sea surface temperatures for years. All of Reynolds and Smith’s data help GISS record and analyze global temperatures through the years. Hansen also said that GISS’s data and analysis is in high demand from journalists who want to report on the current state of global warming. The ranking of global temperatures allow the public to easily understand how temperatures are changing and the consequences it can have on all of us. Hansen warns that that data can also be misleading, and stated that the global average is more important than the yearly rankings. </p><strong>About the Author:</strong><br /><a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.giss.nasa.gov/research/news/20090223/">Learn more about NASA and GISS’ climate research and how it affects the earth’s cooling and heating</a>.<p> Article Source: <a href='http://www.articleseen.com/Article_NASA’s-GISS-Analyzes-Earth’s-Cooling-and-Warming-Phases-over-Several-Years_307423.aspx'> http://www.articleseen.com/Article_NASA’s GISS Analyzes Earth’s Cooling and Warming Phases over Several Years_307423.aspx</a></p>

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Keywords : global, temperatures,

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