NASA Finds 2011 Ninth-Warmest Year on Record

[OKIsItJustMe]

Last edited Fri Jan 20, 2012, 08:22 PM - Edit history (1)

http://www.nasa.gov/topics/earth/features/2011-temps.html

[font face=Times,Times New Roman,Serif][font size=5]NASA Finds 2011 Ninth-Warmest Year on Record[/font]

01.19.12

[font size=3]The global average surface temperature in 2011 was the ninth warmest since 1880, according to NASA scientists. The finding continues a trend in which nine of the 10 warmest years in the modern meteorological record have occurred since the year 2000.

NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) in New York, which monitors global surface temperatures on an ongoing basis, released an updated analysis that shows temperatures around the globe in 2011 compared to the average global temperature from the mid-20th century. The comparison shows how Earth continues to experience warmer temperatures than several decades ago. The average temperature around the globe in 2011 was 0.92 degrees F (0.51 C) warmer than the mid-20th century baseline.

Global temperatures have warmed significantly since 1880, the beginning of what scientists call the "modern record." At this time, the coverage provided by weather stations allowed for essentially global temperature data. As greenhouse gas emissions from energy production, industry and vehicles have increased, temperatures have climbed, most notably since the late 1970s. In this animation of temperature data from 1880-2011, reds indicate temperatures higher than the average during a baseline period of 1951-1980, while blues indicate lower temperatures than the baseline average. (Data source: NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies. Visualization credit: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Scientific Visualization Studio)
› Download video (38 MB mp4) <http://www.nasa.gov/mp4/616923main_GISStemperature2011_withColorbar.mp4 >| without color bar<http://www.nasa.gov/mp4/616909main_GISStemp2011dates.mp4 >

"We know the planet is absorbing more energy than it is emitting," said GISS Director James E. Hansen. "So we are continuing to see a trend toward higher temperatures. Even with the cooling effects of a strong La Niña influence and low solar activity for the past several years, 2011 was one of the 10 warmest years on record."

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[TupperHappy]

1. So then

Nineth-warmest year since 2000.

There have been ten years since 2000.

That means this is the second coolest year since 2000.

Guess it all depends on how you frame it.

[OKIsItJustMe]

2. How about this way of framing it?

http://www.nasa.gov/topics/earth/features/2011-temps.html

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Higher temperatures today are largely sustained by increased atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases, especially carbon dioxide. These gases absorb infrared radiation emitted by Earth and release that energy into the atmosphere rather than allowing it to escape to space. As their atmospheric concentration has increased, the amount of energy "trapped" by these gases has led to higher temperatures.


While average global temperature will still fluctuate from year to year, scientists focus on the decadal trend. Nine of the 10 warmest years since 1880 have occurred since the year 2000, as the Earth has experienced sustained higher temperatures than in any decade during the 20th century. As greenhouse gas emissions and atmospheric carbon dioxide levels continue to rise, scientists expect the long-term temperature increase to continue as well. (Data source: NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies. Image credit: NASA Earth Observatory, Robert Simmon)
› PDF format

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[NickB79]

4. See, global warming is clearly a myth

It stopped in 1910, 1950, and 1970. Obviously there's no such thing as global warming or a warming trend unless the temperature increases every year, year after year, in a linear upward fashion!

[NickB79]

3. 2011 was the warmest La-Nina year on record

How's that for framing?