Global Surface Air Temperature (GloSAT)
Lead Research Organisation:
University of East Anglia
Department Name: Environmental Sciences
Abstract
Surface temperature is the longest instrumental record of climate change and the measure used in the Paris Climate Agreement that aims to 'prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system'. The Agreement defines an ambition to limit global temperature change to 1.5C or 2C above pre-industrial levels. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) used a baseline of 1850-1900 for its definition of 'pre-industrial' as this is when existing instrumental records begin. It has been estimated that global temperatures may have already increased by 0.0-0.2C by this time, but this is uncertain due to lack of data. However, even using the 1850-1900 baseline, existing temperature datasets disagree on the amount of warming to date and this disagreement implies more than 20% uncertainty in the allowed carbon budget to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement solely due to uncertainty in observed surface temperature change. These differences between temperature datasets arise mostly from two structural uncertainties: the use of sea surface temperatures (SST) rather than air temperatures over the oceans, especially ice-covered regions, and differences in data coverage and interpolation strategies. This project addresses both.
To best inform decision-makers, records of temperature change must be as accurate, consistent, and long as possible. Existing global datasets start in 1850 or later, but we will extend the record a further 70 years back to the late 18th century. Current knowledge of this period comes from instrumental measurements in Europe, palaeo-proxies (tree-rings, corals or ice cores), and climate models. We will dramatically extend the spatial coverage of the early measured record in this 70-year period, which is important for understanding natural climate variability and the climate response to different radiative forcings. For example, the longer record includes the period of 5 large volcanic eruptions and extra cycles of multi-decadal climate oscillations. The new record will allow us to better disentangle the contributions of anthropogenic and natural factors on the climate system and quantify the effect humans have already had on Earth's temperature, and hence on future climate.
A major inconsistency has been past use of air temperature over land but SST over oceans. Recent advances mean we can produce a marine air temperature record to construct the first global air temperature dataset over ocean, land and ice, stretching back to the late 18th century. Our dataset will be independent from SST, currently the most uncertain component of global temperature. We will improve land, marine and cryosphere air temperature observations to make them more homogeneous and extend the global record further back in time. This requires fundamental research to better understand the bias and noise characteristics of historical observations and develop new error models. We will adopt sophisticated statistical techniques to allow the estimation of air temperature everywhere, even when there are gaps in the observations. We will expand the historical climate record with new ship's logbook and weather station digitisations focused on early data, sparse periods and regions, and the interfaces between land, ocean and ice. We will engage the public in the digitisation effort building on recent successful citizen science initiatives.
We will analyse the new surface air temperature record to better understand how temperatures have changed since the late 18th century. This longer record will give a better understanding of natural climate variations, both variability generated internally within the climate system and that due to external forcing factors such as volcanic eruptions and solar changes. This improved understanding of natural variability will enable us to more cleanly isolate the characteristic "fingerprints" of man-made climate change allowing us to more confidently detect and attribute human-induced changes
To best inform decision-makers, records of temperature change must be as accurate, consistent, and long as possible. Existing global datasets start in 1850 or later, but we will extend the record a further 70 years back to the late 18th century. Current knowledge of this period comes from instrumental measurements in Europe, palaeo-proxies (tree-rings, corals or ice cores), and climate models. We will dramatically extend the spatial coverage of the early measured record in this 70-year period, which is important for understanding natural climate variability and the climate response to different radiative forcings. For example, the longer record includes the period of 5 large volcanic eruptions and extra cycles of multi-decadal climate oscillations. The new record will allow us to better disentangle the contributions of anthropogenic and natural factors on the climate system and quantify the effect humans have already had on Earth's temperature, and hence on future climate.
A major inconsistency has been past use of air temperature over land but SST over oceans. Recent advances mean we can produce a marine air temperature record to construct the first global air temperature dataset over ocean, land and ice, stretching back to the late 18th century. Our dataset will be independent from SST, currently the most uncertain component of global temperature. We will improve land, marine and cryosphere air temperature observations to make them more homogeneous and extend the global record further back in time. This requires fundamental research to better understand the bias and noise characteristics of historical observations and develop new error models. We will adopt sophisticated statistical techniques to allow the estimation of air temperature everywhere, even when there are gaps in the observations. We will expand the historical climate record with new ship's logbook and weather station digitisations focused on early data, sparse periods and regions, and the interfaces between land, ocean and ice. We will engage the public in the digitisation effort building on recent successful citizen science initiatives.
We will analyse the new surface air temperature record to better understand how temperatures have changed since the late 18th century. This longer record will give a better understanding of natural climate variations, both variability generated internally within the climate system and that due to external forcing factors such as volcanic eruptions and solar changes. This improved understanding of natural variability will enable us to more cleanly isolate the characteristic "fingerprints" of man-made climate change allowing us to more confidently detect and attribute human-induced changes
Planned Impact
The most recent Climate Change Public Attitude Tracking Survey in the UK found that
74% of respondents were either 'very' or 'fairly' concerned about climate change. Global political concern over the issue is reflected by the Paris Agreement negotiated by 196 parties at the 21st Conference of Parties in 2015. The UK has committed to reducing greenhouse emissions by 80% by 2050. Clean growth is a key element of the government's industrial strategy.
The most visible measure of climate change for both policymakers and the public is the historical temperature record, which measures how global temperatures have changed over the past 170 years, and shows periods of rapid warming in the early 20th century and for the whole of the last 50 years. However the record is not long enough to give a complete picture of temperature change since before the start of the industrial revolution, or how exceptional recent temperature change is in comparison to pre-industrial conditions. The current historical temperature record mixes air and water temperatures in a way which creates confusion when comparing with climate model predictions.
This project will produce a new global surface air temperature dataset starting in around 1780 - at least 70 years longer than any other and stretching back almost to the start of the industrial revolution. The length of the record, the use of air temperatures for both land and oceans, and improvements to our understanding of the historical measurements will make this new dataset the benchmark for the understanding human impact on the climate for both policymakers and the general public.
Temperature data underpins national and international policy on climate change. The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) process will benefit from improved quantification of temperature change since the pre-industrial period to feed into their regular 'global stocktake' which will monitor progress towards achieving the aims of the Paris Agreement to limit global temperature change to 1.5 or 2C above pre-industrial levels.
A range of datasets with differing spatial and temporal resolutions will be produced to represent improving data coverage over time, and incorporating new analyses of the level of confidence in the data at any point in time. This information will feed into national & international climate assessments, such as the annual State of the Climate Report, the UK Climate Change Risk Assessments, and future Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reports. The climate science community will also benefit from an improved understanding of natural climate variations, such as those due to volcanic eruptions and internal ocean-atmosphere interactions: the new dataset will be widely used to compare to other observational datasets, weather model reanalyses and climate model simulations. This will improve our understanding of past climate change and weather extremes, and implications for future change, providing data for risk management in both government and industry.
An important part of GloSAT will be the digitisation of historical observations from their current paper or scanned image formats. Much of this will be achieved through public engagement and citizen science digitisation, building on the highly successful WeatherRescue.org project, which has already rescued more than 2.5 million weather observations using thousands of volunteers. The rescued observations will be added to international weather observation databases such as ICOADS, ISTI, ISPD and the Copernicus Climate Data Store for the entire climate community to use. The use of citizen science for digitisation will also be exploited as an opportunity to engage the public in science and to communicate climate science.
74% of respondents were either 'very' or 'fairly' concerned about climate change. Global political concern over the issue is reflected by the Paris Agreement negotiated by 196 parties at the 21st Conference of Parties in 2015. The UK has committed to reducing greenhouse emissions by 80% by 2050. Clean growth is a key element of the government's industrial strategy.
The most visible measure of climate change for both policymakers and the public is the historical temperature record, which measures how global temperatures have changed over the past 170 years, and shows periods of rapid warming in the early 20th century and for the whole of the last 50 years. However the record is not long enough to give a complete picture of temperature change since before the start of the industrial revolution, or how exceptional recent temperature change is in comparison to pre-industrial conditions. The current historical temperature record mixes air and water temperatures in a way which creates confusion when comparing with climate model predictions.
This project will produce a new global surface air temperature dataset starting in around 1780 - at least 70 years longer than any other and stretching back almost to the start of the industrial revolution. The length of the record, the use of air temperatures for both land and oceans, and improvements to our understanding of the historical measurements will make this new dataset the benchmark for the understanding human impact on the climate for both policymakers and the general public.
Temperature data underpins national and international policy on climate change. The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) process will benefit from improved quantification of temperature change since the pre-industrial period to feed into their regular 'global stocktake' which will monitor progress towards achieving the aims of the Paris Agreement to limit global temperature change to 1.5 or 2C above pre-industrial levels.
A range of datasets with differing spatial and temporal resolutions will be produced to represent improving data coverage over time, and incorporating new analyses of the level of confidence in the data at any point in time. This information will feed into national & international climate assessments, such as the annual State of the Climate Report, the UK Climate Change Risk Assessments, and future Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reports. The climate science community will also benefit from an improved understanding of natural climate variations, such as those due to volcanic eruptions and internal ocean-atmosphere interactions: the new dataset will be widely used to compare to other observational datasets, weather model reanalyses and climate model simulations. This will improve our understanding of past climate change and weather extremes, and implications for future change, providing data for risk management in both government and industry.
An important part of GloSAT will be the digitisation of historical observations from their current paper or scanned image formats. Much of this will be achieved through public engagement and citizen science digitisation, building on the highly successful WeatherRescue.org project, which has already rescued more than 2.5 million weather observations using thousands of volunteers. The rescued observations will be added to international weather observation databases such as ICOADS, ISTI, ISPD and the Copernicus Climate Data Store for the entire climate community to use. The use of citizen science for digitisation will also be exploited as an opportunity to engage the public in science and to communicate climate science.
Organisations
Publications
Davies T.D.
(2023)
The Stories behind the Painted Scenes: A climate mural for our times
Dunn R
(2022)
Global Climate
in Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society
Dunn R
(2021)
Global Climate
in Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society
Dunn R
(2023)
Global Climate
in Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society
Hantemirov RM
(2022)
Current Siberian heating is unprecedented during the past seven millennia.
in Nature communications
Harris I
(2020)
Version 4 of the CRU TS monthly high-resolution gridded multivariate climate dataset.
in Scientific data
Osborn T
(2021)
Land Surface Air Temperature Variations Across the Globe Updated to 2019: The CRUTEM5 Data Set
in Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres
Wallis E
(2021)
Identifying exposure biases in early instrumental data
Studentship Projects
Project Reference | Relationship | Related To | Start | End | Student Name |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
NE/S015582/1 | 30/09/2019 | 31/12/2024 | |||
2274391 | Studentship | NE/S015582/1 | 30/09/2019 | 30/11/2023 | Emily Wallis |
Title | A Climate Mural for Our Times: Global Science, Local Expression |
Description | A Climate Mural for our Times is a 10m-wide work in Norwich City Council's debating chamber that depicts climate change over 66 million years. Painted by artist Gennadiy Ivanov, its placement is meant as a continuous reminder to our representatives that policy decisions must be made with climate change in mind. The work is a collaboration between Norwich City Council, the Transitions Art-Science Project on Climate Change, Global Water Futures and the Climatic Research Unit scientists supported by the NERC GloSAT project. |
Type Of Art | Artwork |
Year Produced | 2022 |
Impact | Public engagement and outreach The Climate Mural is the focus of ongoing engagement and outreach with the public, with schools and with the wider community. Examples of these activities are recorded here. Kick the Dust Creative Response (27 Jan 2023, 10 Feb 2023) Organised by Norfolk Museums Service, Kick the Dust provide an opportunity for young people aged 11-25 to work on a creative response to the mural. As part of this, they will join a guided tour of the mural. Norwich Science Festival (17 Feb 2023) Discover the Climate Change and Norfolk paintings at City Hall. These are tours of the mural as part of the 2023 Norwich Science Festival, linked to a 'Climate Explorers' activity run by UEA (specifically by members of the Climatic Research Unit and the Tyndall Centre). Political responses and actions The Climate Mural aims to remind policy makers and other decision makers of the importance of accounting for the climate change challenge in their decision making. Examples of these outcomes are recorded here. Clive Lewis MP (7 Dec 2022) Clive Lewis, MP for Norwich South, provides commentary on his visit to the climate mural. Alan Waters, Leader of Norwich City Council (25 Nov 2022) Alan Waters gives the opening speech at the launch event. Media coverage A Climate Mural for Our Times opened at the City Hall Norwich on 25 November 2022. We have compiled here some examples of media coverage since then. Eastern Daily Press (EDP) article (27 Nov 2022) here Huge climate change mural installed in Norwich City Hall. dots-above-the-e article (25 Nov 2022) here 'A Climate Mural For Our Times' unveiled at Norwich City Hall. UEA media release (25 Nov 2022) here Climate change mural now on display at Norwich City Hall in historic year for Climatic Research Unit. Norwich City Council media release (25 Nov 2022) here Climate change mural unveiled at Norwich City Hall in historic year for Climatic Research Unit. Tyndall Centre news item (25 Nov 2022) here CRU Climate Mural celebrates their 50 years of research. |
URL | https://stories.uea.ac.uk/a-climate-mural-for-our-times/ |
Description | We published the fifth major update of a dataset of global land air temperature, CRUTEM5. CRUTEM5 is based on an expanded network of 7983 stations (up from 4842) and improved identification of outlier values. The estimated increase in global land air temperature from 1861-1900 to 2015-2019 is 1.6C (or 1.7C with an alternative gridding method). |
Exploitation Route | The CRUTEM5 global land air temperature dataset is in an open repository https://www.uea.ac.uk/news/-/article/uea-contributes-to-major-update-to-key-global-temperature-dataset so it can be downloaded and used by others who want to analyse the variability and changes in our surface climate. |
Sectors | Environment |
URL | https://www.uea.ac.uk/news/-/article/uea-contributes-to-major-update-to-key-global-temperature-dataset |
Description | Our CRUTEM5 global land surface air temperature analysis was used in the latest assessment of climate science by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which was published in 2021. Our analysis contributed to the assessments of global warming and global land warming, which were considered to be of sufficient importance to the development of international climate policy that they were included in the IPCC's Summary for Policymakers. Our impact has therefore been on evaluating progress towards international policy goals, via our influence on the IPCC's assessment. |
First Year Of Impact | 2021 |
Sector | Government, Democracy and Justice |
Impact Types | Policy & public services |
Title | CRUTEM.5.0.0.0: Climatic Research Unit (CRU) gridded near-surface air temperature anomalies over land |
Description | CRUTEM (Climatic Research Unit TEMperature) is a gridded dataset of global historical near-surface air temperature anomalies over land at a monthly timescale. It is a collaborative product of the Climatic Research Unit at the University of East Anglia, the Met Office Hadley Centre and the National Centre for Atmospheric Science. CRUTEM also contributes the land air temperature station data to the global (land and ocean) temperature dataset called HadCRUT. CRUTEM5 is the fifth major version of the dataset, covering the time period from 1850, with a spatial resolution of 5° latitude by 5° longitude and a monthly-mean time resolution. The gridded temperature anomaly fields are based on a compilation of monthly-mean temperature observational records from weather stations. This compilation contains 10639 station records, but only 7983 records had the necessary coverage to be used for producing the gridded dataset. Anomalies are differences from average conditions in the 1961-1990 period. Hemispheric and global mean time series of land air temperature anomalies are also provided. |
Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
Year Produced | 2020 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
Impact | It is being used in the next IPCC assessment as a record of global temperature changes over land. |
URL | https://catalogue.ceda.ac.uk/uuid/901f576dacae4e049630ab879d6fb476 |
Description | A CLIMATE MURAL FOR OUR TIMES |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
Results and Impact | A Climate Mural for Our Times opened at the City Hall Norwich on 25 November 2022, in the 50th Anniversary Year of the Founding of the Climatic Research Unit, University of East Anglia, Norwich. An art-science collaboration between Gennadiy Ivanov, Norwich City Council, the Climatic Research Unit UEA, the Transitions Art-Science Project, and Global Water Futures. Art and science to help inform decisions about all our futures. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022,2023 |
URL | https://crudata.uea.ac.uk/cru/climate-mural/index.html |
Description | Norwich Science Festival |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Schools |
Results and Impact | Two linked activities were provided for the Norwich Science Festival. One was an activity related to climate change and how we track past global temperatures, involving Emily Wallis and aimed as school children. The other was a tour of the climate mural for our times, involving Michael Taylor. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
URL | https://crudata.uea.ac.uk/cru/climate-mural/outcomes.html |