Wednesday, May 09, 2007

NASA study suggests extreme summer warming in the future

A new study by NASA scientists suggests that greenhouse-gas warming may raise average summer temperatures in the eastern United States nearly 10 degrees Fahrenheit by the 2080s.

"There is the potential for extremely hot summertime temperatures in the future, especially during summers with less-than-average frequent rainfall," said lead author Barry Lynn of NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies and Columbia University, New York.

The research found that eastern U.S. summer daily high temperatures that currently average in the low-to-mid-80s (degrees Fahrenheit) will most likely soar into the low-to-mid-90s during typical summers by the 2080s. In extreme seasons – when precipitation falls infrequently – July and August daily high temperatures could average between 100 and 110 degrees Fahrenheit in cities such as Chicago, Washington, and Atlanta.

To reach their conclusions, the researchers analyzed nearly 30 years of observational temperature and precipitation data and also used computer model simulations that considered soil, atmospheric, and oceanic conditions and projected changes in greenhouse gases. The simulations were produced using a widely-used weather prediction model coupled to a global model developed by NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies.

The global model, one of the models used in the recently issued climate report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), was utilized in this study to identify future changes in large-scale atmospheric circulation patterns due to the build up of greenhouse gases. This information was then fed into the weather prediction model to forecast summer-to-summer temperature variability in the eastern United States during the 2080s.

The weather model showed that extreme summertime surface temperatures developed when carbon dioxide emissions were assumed to continue to increase about two percent a year, the "business as usual" scenario. These findings are too recent to be included in the latest IPCC report.


This is NY. This is NY on Global Warming! Any questions?

2 comments:

Sarda Sahney said...

A recent study has also revealed that the 0.5 degree increase in the Earth's gloabl temperature has also been observed on Mars. What does this mean for global warming?!?!?!? I suspect it didn't get a lot of press because it doe snot agree with the human-driven climate change perspective that sells so many papers and adverts these days.

I for one think that humans are having a huge impact on our planet but I hate how contrary evidence is buried. It frustrates me as I don't think people are given the opportunity to form informed opinions.

Will Baird said...

Hey Sarda!

I agree that we should NOT be suppressing ANY good scientific work wrt to any field. even if it disagrees with the main body of work. However, outliers ought to be approached carefully and thoughtfully.

WRT to the Mars data, there are a few different things to consider. Is it a case of solar output increase? Is it a change in the atmosphere such as a thickening? Or something else? If its a change in the solar output taht ought to be measurable pretty easily at Mars and here. Ditto for all the rest too.

So, I agree with you, Sarda. even Gerta Keller deserves her day. ;)