News Archive
January 2000

publications
Global Warming 'Undoubtedly Real'
NRC report confirms that Earth's surface temperature is rising
Despite differences in temperature data, strong evidence exists to show that the warming of the Earth's surface is "undoubtedly real," and that surface temperatures in the past two decades have risen at a rate substantially greater than average for the past 100 years, says a new National Research Council report. A press release from the National Academies quotes John M. Wallace, chair of the panel that authored the report, as saying, "The nations of the world should develop an improved climate monitoring system to resolve uncertainties in the data and provide policy-makers with the best available information."

global change data
NASA Researchers Create First Global Long-Term Precipitation Data Set
Data useful for understanding El Niño/La Niña
NASA scientists have completed the first globally complete long-term data set for use in understanding El Niño/La Niña events. Presented by Dr. Robert Adler of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center at the 80^th American Meteorological Society Annual Meeting in Long Beach, California, the data result from combining information from a number of polar orbiting satellites, geosynchronous satellites and rain gauges to give the best analysis of global precipitation on a monthly time scale over a 20-year period. The data set is a product of the Global Precipitation Climatology Project (GPCP) and is available from the project web site.

global change data
DOE and NOAA Produce Report on Ocean Carbon Measurements
Data are from cruises in the North and South Pacific from 1990-1996
The Dept. of Energy's Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center (CDIAC), in collaboration with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory (PMEL), and Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory (AOML), has published Comparison of the Carbon System Parameters at the Global CO₂ Survey Crossover Locations in the North and South Pacific Ocean, 1990-1996 (CDIAC-115). This report compares measurements of carbon parameters at 30 locations that were sampled by more than one survey, to ensure that the surveys conducted during the 1990s produce a consistent global data set.

The melting and freezing of polar ice is one of the best barometers of the global climate. Because the ice that blankets Greenland sits at a lower latitude than other polar ice caps, scientists expect it to show the effects of global climate change first. NASA's Earth Observatory presents an article about how two researchers are using satellite data to look for effects of global warming.

EPA Publications Search
A new site, located off the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) search page, simplifies finding EPA publications. Users can search by document number, title, or keyword. Search results include a brief abstract, URL, and references to documents in HTML or PDF formats. The site also offers a Guide to EPA Publication Numbers and more information about EPA publications in general.

global change data
Dept. of Energy's ARM Program Releases New Dataset
Cimel sunphotometer data from Southern Great Plains now available
Data from the Cimel sunphotometer (CSPHOT) recorded by the Dept. of Energy's Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Program at its Southern Great Plains site is now available. Data include aerosol optical thickness as a function of 7 wavelengths, precipitable water derived from measurements in the 940 nm band, almucantar sky radiance and solar principle plane sky radiance at 4 wavelengths, and column volume size distribution. The data are preliminary and have not been filtered for the presence of clouds. Data can be obtained from the ARM Archive and details of the instrument and its operation can be obtained from the CSPOT Instrument page.

Conference Announcement/Call for Papers
Data for Science and Society
In conjunction with several federal science agencies, the U.S. National Committee for CODATA is organizing the second national data conference (March 13-14, 2000) to address important multidisciplinary issues in managing and using scientific and technical (S&T) data, and to improve the visibility of those issues nationally. The main focus will be to promote the availability and usefulness of S&T data to all users, both in research and in the broader society, using examples of ground-breaking and innovative applications and highly creative partnerships.

Previous News Stories...