[Vision2020] Thomas R. Karl, Director, National Climatic Data Center "...emails do nothing to undermine the...strong scientific consensus...earth is warming...human activity...responsible."

[Ted Moffett]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2009/12/10/DI2009121003293.html
 Global warming: What the science tells us Key Copenhagen group releases
draft climate plan
Thomas R. Karl

Director, National Climatic Data Center
Friday, December 11, 2009; 11:00 AM

Two top Obama administration officials arrived this week at the
U.N.-sponsored climate talks offering both diplomacy and a tough
line<http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/12/09/AR2009120904596.html>:
The United States is willing to be a full partner in fighting climate
change, but the real problem is with China and the developing world.

At a critical time, the uproar over stolen
e-mails<http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-12/10/content_12625720.htm>suggesting
scientists suppressed contrary views about climate change has
emboldened skeptics -- including congressional Republicans looking to
scuttle President Barack Obama's push for mandatory reductions in greenhouse
gases.

The climate skeptics gained political momentum when former Republican vice
presidential candidate Sarah Palin said Obama should boycott the
negotiations<http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/12/08/AR2009120803402.html>in
Denmark and "not be a party to fraudulent scientific practices" -- a
clear reference to the purloined e-mails from computers belonging to
scientists at a British climate research center.

*Thomas R. Karl*, director of the National Climatic Data
Center<http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/ncdc.html>at NOAA (National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration) and recently
returned from Copenhagen was online *Friday, Dec. 11, at 11 a.m. ET* to
discuss the scientific aspects of climate change.

____________________

*Thomas R. Karl:* Hi. My name is Tom Karl and I am the Director of NOAA's
National Climatic Data Center in Asheville, North Carolina and I am also
NOAA's lead for Climate Services. I've just returned from the climate
conference in Copenhagen, (COP 15 http://cop15.state.gov/) where
approximately 15,000 people will gather over the two-week period to work
together towards solving the problem of human-caused climate change. There,
I gave two presentations, one on changes in climate extremes and one on
climate change impacts in the U.S. - including both the impacts. I'm here
today to talk about the science behind global climate change, to answer
questions about what we know, what the data tells us, and to dispel
misconceptions and myths.

_______________________

*Germantown, Md.:* Good Afternoon,

A lot has been made about the e-mails from East Anglia, (especially in
Washington, D.C.). It's difficult to assess the true scope of the issue
because of the plainly partisan bias at play in the government. Could you
please explain what exactly the e-mails mean for the scientific community at
work on climate issues, and also explain why East Anglia university is
important in this debate, if it is at all. (If it had been MIT, or Harvard,
how would that have affected the debate?) Thank you!

*Thomas R. Karl:* These emails do nothing to undermine the very strong
scientific consensus that the earth is warming and that human activity is
largely responsible.

*Washington, D.C.:* Everyone goes on about the Arctic ice melting and
causing catastrophic flooding in coastal areas. But since most of the Arctic
ice is floating ice, wouldn't this have little to no effect on sea levels?
Think of an ice cube in a glass of water. When the ice cube melts, the level
of water has not changed. So why the panic?

*Thomas R. Karl:* You are absolutely correct. Melting of Arctic sea ice does
not change global sea level. Sea-level rise is caused by increasing ocean
temperatures, which expands the volume of water in the ocean. Additionally,
melting of the world's glaciers contributes to sea-level rise, and of
particular concern is the recently observed melting of major ice sheets,
including Greenland.

Sea-level rise has been accelerating over the past two decades compared to
the previous 100 years of observed data. This trend is expected to continue
with potential large additional contributions of melting from the major ice
sheets.

_______________________

*Amherst, Mass.:* Why isn't the raw temperature measurement data set/s
freely available to anyone who wants to do own calculations?

*Thomas R. Karl:* All original NOAA data are freely available to anyone who
requests it.

All of the data that NOAA uses to develop our time series are openly
available. NOAA operates 3 National Data Centers and 5 World Data Centers.
Part of their mission is to make climate-related data available to all
users.

Data are available at http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov, phone: 828-271-4800.

_______________________

*washingtonpost.com:* National Climatic Data
Center<http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/ncdc.html>

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Vision2020 Post: Ted Moffett
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