Slashdot Mirror
Workweek Causes Climate Changes
Shipud writes "An
article
in the
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
reports that daily temperature ranges are smaller on weekdays than on weekends. This phenomenon is strongest in the US, but also appears in China and Japan. The researchers attribute this to human activity, although the exact mechanism is unclear. The prime suspect is
aerosol / cloud interactions. Here is the more legible version from
Scientific American"
Relevant quote:
"As a result, they (contrails) help reduce the daily range in daytime highs and nighttime lows. Contrails, by providing additional insulation, further reduce the variability."
"For every right, an equal responsibility..."
Popular press take on it
Abstract:
Direct human influences on climate have been detected at local scales, such as urban temperature increases and precipitation enhancement, and at global scales,. A possible indication of an anthropogenic effect on regional climate is by identification of equivalent weekly cycles in climate and pollution variables. Weekly cycles have been observed in both global surface temperature and local pollution data sets. Here we describe statistical analyses that reveal weekly cycles in three independent regional-scale coastal Atlantic data sets: lower-troposphere pollution, precipitation and tropical cyclones. Three atmospheric monitoring stations record minimum concentrations of ozone and carbon monoxide early in the week, while highest concentrations are observed later in the week. This air-pollution cycle corresponds to observed weekly variability in regional rainfall and tropical cyclones. Specifically, satellite-based precipitation estimates indicate that near-coastal ocean areas receive significantly more precipitation at weekends than on weekdays. Near-coastal tropical cyclones have, on average, significantly weaker surface winds, higher surface pressure and higher frequency at weekends. Although our statistical findings limit the identification of cause-effect relationships, we advance the hypothesis that the thermal influence of pollution-derived aerosols on storms may drive these weekly climate cycles.
Recycle PCs and build a wireless community network www.hillsborough.org.nz
Ahhhhh.... Here it is. It's a Chicago Tribune article.
-non sig- You're stuck with my non sig in your brain cells now. I guess you could drink it away.
Because global warming doesn't act over a period of days
Global warming, no. Local effects, yes.
In case we've already forgotten, during the no-fly restriction after the WTC attack, daily temperature variations changed by up to two degrees Fahrenheit per day in areas normally having the highest levels of air traffic.
So yes, something as simple as increased particulate matter in the air leads to increased cloud formation, drastically affecting local weather, over the course of hours rather than years.
Such changes may have little to no long-term effects, but they do occur, and do have a simple enough explanation that your "average uneducated slashbot" can understand it. More particulates means more clouds, which means less temperature variation.
Actually, many scientists believe that the earth is at the center of the universe
Actually, not.
Dahlmann tightly grips the knife, which he may have no idea how to use, and steps out into the plain.
Umm, math and science ARE built upon assumptions. They are called Axioms. Goedel: Any formal system must be based on theroms not provable by that system.
The stations used to collect data for these studies were specificaly set up to do this study, i.e. setup to insure that the error in data was independent of the week cycle. All meteroligist are well aware of the traditional unreliability of weekend/holiday data. This is one of the reasons for the data collection portion of these studies. Otherwise a lot of time and effort could have been saved by using already existing data.