data

“”To claim that observations can tell us something about ECS, we first have to see whether it is a meaningful test by using the best info to hand – model output ”

Or in other words ignore data. Who needs data anyway.
It is useless without models.
Now as someone once said all models are wrong.
But we can discuss a lot of physics in the models and the answers are always right.

Further proof,
“Observations therefore are not likely to usefully constrain ECS in any Bayesian assessment”
We do not need observations or data to construct highly reliable models, especially when we know what the data will be in the future without looking at it.
“Whereas by 2095, the correlation between total warming and ECS is 0.77. Correlation over the period 2006 to 2095 is 0.81. The best way to estimate climate sensitivity is to be there, not here and now.”
In fact model data gets better and better in correlation with the models as it gets further away from actually being observed.

 

angech says:

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“Roughly speaking, this result seems broadly consistent with the IPCC range of 1.5-4.5K (although that might be a 17-83%, rather than a 5-95%, range),”
Eyeballing the graphs roughly there appears to be little correlation with the Lewis best estimate way below the IPCC estimate.
BBD prefers 3.0 Lewis would be lucky to be 2.0.

“What would be nice would be to maybe include more physics so as to exclude regions of parameter space that we regard virtually impossible (for example, ECS values below 1K).”
If the physics is right why do we have to include “more” physics? Surely impossible results will be excluded by the physics we have, if it is right in the first place, not more of it.

no pause

Mal Adapted says:
November 21, 2017 at 11:44 pm

angech:

All the hand waving afterwards and altering of the data sets afterwards do not change the premise, at the time, on the data that was available and used, that there was a pause.

Except there was no pause, if by ‘pause’ you mean a short-term interval when the slope of the long-term statistical trend in GMST fell to zero. There was an interval between 1998 and 2012 when observed GMST appeared to the eye to rise more slowly than projections for that interval produced by an ensemble of coupled GCMs, although still within modeled lower confidence bounds. Change point analysis, more rigorous than eyeball methods, found no statistically significant change in the trend of the previous three decades. From the latter article, by Rahmstorf, Foster and Cahill earlier this year in ERL:

[T]he data are fully consistent with a steady global warming trend since the 1970s, superimposed with random, stationary, short-term variability. All recent variations in short-term trends are well within what was to be expected, based on the observed warming trend and the observed variability from the 1970s up to the year 2000. We discuss some pitfalls of statistical analysis of global temperatures which have led to incorrect claims of an unexpected or significant warming slowdown.

Although the alleged ‘pause’ was not statistically significant and was conclusively terminated in 2014, it attracted attention from climate scientists seeking to resolve ‘internal’, short-term variability to forcings. Rather than casting doubt on the AGW consensus, the short-term slowdown in observed warming led to refinement of models as well as datasets. Climate science advanced pretty much as one expects, and the consensus case for AGW grew still stronger. AGW-deniers hoping to weaken it, OTOH, found their ‘pause’ rhetoric had backfired ;^D!
angech says:
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November 22, 2017 at 2:45 am

“The problem becomes worse, in that a lot of people here dispute that there was a pause at all”
Mal Adapted says: re
“All the hand waving afterwards and altering of the data sets afterwards do not change the premise, at the time, on the data that was available and used, that there was a pause.”

“Except there was no pause, if by ‘pause’ you mean a short-term interval when the slope of the long-term statistical trend in GMST fell to zero”

Note I did say premise, not fact.
And thank you for one definition of what a pause might be.
It is difficult to discuss what one believes does not exist.
Particularly when giving proof that it did not exist because you [*Xiangdong Zhang] have found extra missing data that proves it did not exist.
angech says:
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November 22, 2017 at 3:12 am

Mal Adapted
“Except there was no pause, if by ‘pause’ you mean a short-term interval when the slope of the long-term statistical trend in GMST fell to zero”

I would be happy with a definition of a pause, in general, to be a zero slope trend for any graph with a time base over any reasonable fraction of the presented graph.
This is not a standard definition but since we are discussing unicorns this is the sort of definition I would prefer.
At Lucia’s 2 years ago she and others argued that a steady slope with no acceleration could be taken in some circles to mean a pause. I get the idea of a non changing rate being paused but in the real world I would insist on a zero slope, that is there was a rate which has now altered to a zero slope.
As for short term there is no short term in my definition if showing a single pause as the requirement is for it to be visible on the graph shown.

Commenting specifically on “[T]he data are fully consistent with a steady global warming trend since the 1970s, superimposed with random, stationary, short-term variability”
We have a graph of 47 years, the authors dispute the existence of a pause while admitting several occurred by my definition [random, stationary, short-term variability]. Karsten himself acknowledges a pause was seen and named by some people ” the inappropriately named “hiatus”. John Hart references “average global temperatures from 1998-2012 ” which would be a significant 14 years out of 47, hardly short term in the context of a 47 YO graph.

Since a lot of people here dispute that there was a pause at all.
Not to mention all authors referenced above
With good arguments.
Too short a time frame.
The graph actually went up 0.05C in the misquoted study.
Cherry picking a time after El Nino.
Definition of a pause is completely wrong.
etc.
There is no need to throw in studies showing there was a pause but….

Anthropogenic Climate Change as an entity.

 

  • angech says:

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    John Hartz
    “I believe that the Womens March on Washington will go down in history as the pivotal event for shifiting the momentum.”
    Really?
    “I was wondering where Liv Tyler has her hands to cause the expressions on the face of Trump and the Emir.”
    “Hmm err, so Trump is married to a mannequin I mean seriously, have you ever seen her move? I haven’t.”
    Really pivotal?
    Cue the Princess Bride Spaniard.
    Mind you the first comment was funny in my non PC correct world.

  • angech says:

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    DM
    ” For someone that doesn’t accept the existence of anthropogenic climate change, there is no “impact of the accompanying production pathway” in this respect, so how are they going to accept any ownership of a problem they do not believe to exist?
    “Making people own their position can be very difficult. Sometimes the best you can do is expose the evasion.”

    There is a subtle difference between knowing and believing.
    Found this out studying Italian Conditional verbs last week.

    I guess some of the people that do not accept the existence of anthropogenic climate change know they do not have enough proof. Show them enough proof.

    Others are believers, They do not need proof and you will never convince them.
    They are still people and we all need to get on with people so the best thing is to be nice to them [especially your elders] and not harangue them and embarrass them in public as others have done. Some are mothers, sisters, wives, girlfriends or family, some are bosses.
    No need to argue with them. just ignore them.

    Some are difficult contrarians on blogs. Fight them with all you have got. Expose my evasion.

    For the record.
    The world has a lot of problems and potential problems and if your justified fears on Climate change come true there may well be severe “problems” as you put it.
    If I waved a magic wand and fixed it today forever the rest of the problems would still exist.
    Some of the problems would still be the same, deforestation and species rundown from anthropogenic, non climate change reasons.
    Some of the problems are much more urgent and pressing than climate change and can be fixed for a fraction of the cost. Overpopulation and famine for a start.
    Which one should I give allegiance to, and at what detriment to all the others?

    None of the problems for a single person last more than a thinking lifetime.
    Duties and obligations seem to be an undercurrent. Yet why are we lumbered with duties and obligations, culturally burdened, when we did not ask to be born?
    Do you blame your forebears for not considering the consequences of invading the new world or starting the Industrial Revolution? Did they consider their descendants?

  • angech says:

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    “I’m sorry, but as far as I can see, you have not answered the question”
    Anthropogenic Climate Change as an entity.
    Willard might have a list of levels.
    Absolute denial. Some deluded people. Not CO2 , not happening
    Relative Denial Some deluded people. Not CO2.
    Specific denial Some deluded people Not CO2, something else
    but then we have another group of people also called denialists who absolutely agree that there is AGW but just do not believe that it has to be bad or severe.
    Judith Curry and R Pielke spring to mind as do nearly all Climate etc followers and most WUWT bloggers.

    A definition of Anthropogenic Climate Change would be that harmful warming due to human activity [ specifically increased CO2] that produces 110% of all the warming that has occurred to date since humans first built fires and will cause anything between a 2.0 and 6.0C temperature rise by 2100 if fossil fuel use increases at the current rate.
    Harmful warming being sea level rise of several meters, Increased severe flooding, droughts and weather disturbances etc.
    Special mention that this effect will be irreversible and last for 100’s of years.

    For some strange and unaccountable reason a lot of people just do not buy this product despite testimonials from 97% of dentists.

 

scourge of despair

The term scourge of drugs was mentioned yesterday.

The image that came into my mind was not that of a drug addict but that of a person suffering from despair. What else would drive  most people to use and continue to use drugs that have such a terrible effect on their lives.

Some people obviously use drugs out of curiosity initially. What sort of effect does it have?