Climate Observations

Thursday, April 8, 2010

Converting txt Data Into Columns In EXCEL

I’ve moved to WordPress. This post can now be found at Converting txt Data Into Columns In EXCEL

####################
You’ve made the decision to investigate climate data, or to verify a claim made by a blogger, or to check the graphs climate bloggers present in their posts. You want to make sure they’re not making incorrect claims or being creative with the data. So, for example, you go to the KNMI Climate Explorer Monthly observations webpage and select HADISST data. On the next page, you input -5 and 5 for latitudes and -170 and -120 for longitudes, which are the coordinates of the NINO3.4 region (5S-5N, 170W-120W) of the tropical Pacific, an ENSO index. Then, on the next page, you scroll down to the third graph “anomalies” and click on “Raw Data” above it. There, you’re presented with the webpage shown in Figure 1, with two columns of data in txt format: months and the monthly NINO3.4 SST anomalies from January 1870 to present.

http://i41.tinypic.com/x59stf.jpg
Figure 1

You copy and paste the data in TXT format into EXCEL, and you run into a stumbling block, Figure 2. Both of the columns of numbers appear in one column in EXCEL. You don’t know what to do, so, frustrated, you close the windows and forget about it.

http://i43.tinypic.com/2m4u2s5.jpg
Figure 2

Or you discover how simple converting the txt Data to Columns is in EXCEL, Figures 3 through 5. Your version of EXCEL may be different, but I believe the “Convert Text To Column Wizard” is present in other versions.
NOTE: The data often includes numbers in Scientific Notation (Example: 0.377E-02). Do not delete any part of the number. EXCEL understands Scientific Notation and will automatically convert it (Convert the example to 0.00377).

http://i42.tinypic.com/51x3px.jpg
Figure 3
##################

http://i41.tinypic.com/2dl966b.jpg
Figure 4
##################

http://i44.tinypic.com/vhqku9.jpg
Figure 5

Yup, it’s that simple.

Monday, April 5, 2010

March 2010 SST Anomaly Update

I’ve moved to WordPress. This post can now be found at March 2010 SST Anomaly Update

################
MONTHLY SST ANOMALY MAP

The map of Global OI.v2 SST anomalies for March 2010 downloaded from the NOMADS website is shown below. Note the pattern of warm SST anomalies over the Southern part of the North Atlantic and cool SST anomalies in the Gulf of Mexico. If the pattern persisted through the summer months (big IF), how would it impact the hurricane season?

http://i42.tinypic.com/rur969.png
March 2010 SST Anomalies Map (Global SST Anomaly = +0.301 deg C)
Note: I was advised via email that the NOAA corrected the February OI.v2 SST data. It represents an upward change of only ~0.005 deg C globally, but since it was a correction in areas with sea ice, I decided to check those as well. The February Arctic Ocean SST anomalies rose ~0.02 deg C and the Southern Ocean SST anomalies ~0.03 deg C with the corrections.

MONTHLY OVERVIEW

There was a minor rise (0.012 deg C) this month in Global SST anomalies. SST Anomalies in both the Southern and Northern Hemispheres rose approximately the same amount. El Nino conditions remain in the central tropical Pacific (Monthly NINO3.4 SST Anomaly = +1.14 deg C and Weekly NINO3.4 SST Anomaly = +0.97 deg C), but SST anomalies there are dropping. Monthly NINO3.4 SST anomalies dropped 0.10 in March. The North Atlantic, Indian Ocean and the East Indian-West Pacific Ocean datasets all show significant rises this month. They are partly offset by the drops in the Pacific and South Atlantic.

http://i40.tinypic.com/4rav48.png
Global
Monthly Change = +0.012 deg C
############

http://i44.tinypic.com/24yvcrt.png
NINO3.4 SST Anomaly
Monthly Change = -0.104 deg C

EAST INDIAN-WEST PACIFIC

The SST anomalies in the East Indian and West Pacific continue their lagged rise in response to the El Nino. Will they also rise, noticeably, in response to the La Nina as they have in the past?

I’ve added this dataset in an attempt to draw attention to the upward step response. Using the 1986/87/88 and 1997/98 El Nino events as references, East Indian-West Pacific SST Anomalies peak about 7 to 9 months after the peak of the NINO3.4 SST anomalies, so we shouldn’t expect any visible sign of a step change for almost 18 to 24 months. We’ll just have to watch and see.

http://i41.tinypic.com/wsabg2.png
East Indian-West Pacific (60S-65N, 80E-180)
Monthly Change = +0.084 deg C

Further information on the upward “step changes” that result from strong El Nino events, refer to my posts from a year ago Can El Nino Events Explain All of the Global Warming Since 1976? – Part 1 and Can El Nino Events Explain All of the Global Warming Since 1976? – Part 2

And for the discussions of the processes that cause the rise, refer to More Detail On The Multiyear Aftereffects Of ENSO - Part 2 – La Nina Events Recharge The Heat Released By El Nino Events AND...During Major Traditional ENSO Events, Warm Water Is Redistributed Via Ocean Currents -AND- More Detail On The Multiyear Aftereffects Of ENSO - Part 3 – East Indian & West Pacific Oceans Can Warm In Response To Both El Nino & La Nina Events

NOTE ABOUT THE DATA

The MONTHLY graphs illustrate raw monthly OI.v2 SST anomaly data from November 1981 to March 2009.

MONTHLY INDIVIDUAL OCEAN AND HEMISPHERIC SST UPDATES

http://i42.tinypic.com/nn03rs.png
Northern Hemisphere
Monthly Change = +0.013 deg C
#####

http://i42.tinypic.com/2myrggz.png
Southern Hemisphere
Monthly Change = +0.011 deg C
#####

http://i40.tinypic.com/2mm6yw3.png
North Atlantic (0 to 75N, 78W to 10E)
Monthly Change = +0.120 deg C
#####

http://i41.tinypic.com/330679u.png
South Atlantic (0 to 60S, 70W to 20E)
Monthly Change = -0.007 deg C

Note: The 2009 upward shift in South Atlantic SST anomalies is becoming very obvious. I’ll have to work up a post about it. I have yet to see a paper that explains it.

#####

http://i42.tinypic.com/2eve0lk.png
North Pacific (0 to 65N, 100 to 270E, where 270E=90W)
Monthly Change = -0.058 Deg C
#####

http://i44.tinypic.com/2s180tw.png
South Pacific (0 to 60S, 145 to 290E, where 290E=70W)
Monthly Change = -0.033 deg C
#####

http://i40.tinypic.com/6i901z.png
Indian Ocean (30N to 60S, 20 to 145E)
Monthly Change = +0.082 deg C
#####

http://i40.tinypic.com/e002s4.png
Arctic Ocean (65 to 90N)
Monthly Change = -0.092 deg C
#####

http://i39.tinypic.com/dza246.png
Southern Ocean (60 to 90S)
Monthly Change = +0.120 deg C

WEEKLY NINO3.4 SST ANOMALIES

The weekly NINO3.4 SST anomaly data illustrate OI.v2 data centered on Wednesdays. The latest weekly NINO3.4 SST anomalies are +0.97 deg C. They’re working their way down.

http://i44.tinypic.com/2ll10ye.png
Weekly NINO3.4 (5S-5N, 170W-120W)

SOURCE

The Optimally Interpolated Sea Surface Temperature Data (OISST) are available through the NOAA National Operational Model Archive & Distribution System (NOMADS).
http://nomad1.ncep.noaa.gov/cgi-bin/pdisp_sst.sh
or
http://nomad3.ncep.noaa.gov/cgi-bin/pdisp_sst.sh

Friday, April 2, 2010

“Polar” Sea and Land Surface Temperatures (Not Anomalies)

’ve moved to WordPress. This post can now be found at “Polar” Sea and Land Surface Temperatures (Not Anomalies)
###################
This post illustrates Arctic and Antarctic/Southern Ocean surface temperatures (not anomalies) using NCDC OI.v2 Sea Surface Temperature (SST) and CPC GHCN/CAMS t2m Land Surface Temperature (LST) data. The intent is simply to show the ranges of the annual variations in temperature and the relative magnitude of those temperature ranges in comparison graphs. In other words, these are reference graphs. I have not provided a detailed narrative for them.

The OI.v2 SST data begins in November 1981. The GHCN/CAMS t2m data is available as far back as January 1948, but I’ve started in January 1979 so that the comparison graphs of LST and SST have similar periods.

Polar is in quotes in the title because these datasets do not include areas with sea ice. Sea surface temperature does not measure sea ice temperature. And like other datasets the GHCN/CAMS t2m data only measures temperature on land—not sea ice. Refer to Figure 1. So there is a “gap” in the data presented in this post; keep that in mind. Figure 1 also shows complete land surface temperature coverage for the Antarctic. You’ll have to refer to Fan and Dool (2007) “A global monthly land surface air temperature analysis for 1948-present” for the methods used to infill data. Link to Fan and Dool (2007):ftp://ftp.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/wd51yf/GHCN_CAMS/cpc_globalT.pdf

http://i41.tinypic.com/x41xch.png
Figure 1

Note: I’ve used the latitudes North of 65N for the Arctic and South of 60S for the Antarctic and the Southern Ocean.

POLAR SEA SURFACE TEMPERATURES (SST)

Figures 2 and 3 show SST for the Arctic and Southern Oceans. And the comparison, Figure 4, shows the range of Arctic Ocean SST far exceeds that of the Southern Ocean.

http://i42.tinypic.com/21on1up.png
Figure 2
#############

http://i42.tinypic.com/1zbb8mh.png
Figure 3
#############

http://i39.tinypic.com/nn4qc3.png
Figure 4

POLAR LAND SURFACE TEMPERATURES (LST)

Figures 5 and 6 illustrate LST for the Arctic and Antarctic. The comparison, Figure 7, again shows the variations in Arctic LST are much greater than in the Antarctic.

http://i40.tinypic.com/ay3akz.png
Figure 5
#############

http://i39.tinypic.com/htae69.png
Figure 6
#############

http://i43.tinypic.com/24w95vt.png
Figure 7

POLAR LAND VERSUS SEA SURFACE TEMPERATURES

The Arctic LST and SST are compared in Figure 8, the Antarctic SST and Southern Ocean SST are compared in Figure 9, and Figure 10 compares the four datasets. The variations in LST dwarf those of SST.