Global Temperature Station Data in Google Earth

Recent Updates

• 2007-08-28: Renamed page to StationData from GISTEMP
• 2007-08-27: Updated with latest NASA data (see Blog-o-Sphere 1998/1934 & Y2K noise).
• 2007-08-03: First version of this page.
• All changes to this page
• Source code ChangeLog

Introduction

This page provides access to the NASA GISS GISTEMP Station Data via Google Earth.

This is an ongoing work-in-progress performed by the EdGCM project. The data is accessed over the network and therefore subject to change as we improve the algorithms, and/or the data gets updated. All changes can be monitored via this page (ChangeLog) and the source (ChangeLog, ChangeLog via RSS).

Our goal is to provide an interactive tool for the exploration of climate change at global, regional, and local scales. Globally and regionally we will eventually re-create, as nearly as possible, the analysis described by Hansen et al., 1999, with the objective of providing a Google Earth equivalent of the annual GISS Surface Air Temperature Analysis. The current product shows temperature change at individual stations, providing a microscopic view of the data (ungridded, individual stations, and individual months for each station) that allows people to examine how their local temperature change over time. This view does not provide a scientifically robust method for analyzing global warming because of inconsistencies and complexities associated with the recording of temperatures at the station level (see The Elusive Absolute Surface Air Temperature document). However, it has the very real advantage of allowing people to relate global climate analyses to the recording of weather data in their communities.

Download

To begin download the StationData.kml layer. If you see text in your browser, then right click (or CMD+click) and select "Save As". Launch Google Earth and import StationData.kml if this does not occur automatically.

About the Display

The initial view shows the location of each weather station. Clicking on a pin brings up a window that provides detailed information about the data collected by that weather station.

Pins

Color: The color of the pin shows the warming trend between the baseline years and recent years. White represents pins without sufficient data in the baseline or recent years. The amount of cooling is shown in shades of blue and amount of warming in reds. The baseline years used are 1951 to 1980, and at least 10 years of annual average data must exist in this timeframe. The 'recent' years used is 2000 to present, and four or more years of annual average data must be present. The difference between the mean of the recent years and the mean of the baseline is calculated and converted to a color.

Size: The size of the pin provides a visual cue to the number of years in the data set. The temporal location of those years (historical or recent) is not taken into account. Stations with fewer years of data are smaller, and stations with more years are larger.

Opacity: The opacity or transparency of a pin is used to show proximity to a populated center. Stations located closer to urban centers have pins that are 50% opaque. Stations located in rural locations have pins that are 100% opaque (0% transparent). This provides a visual que to possible effects of urban heat islands

Window

Time Series Plot: The top graphic in the window is a time series of all years that contain an annual average. The thick gray line is a running ten year average of the data. The thin black line is a linear regression fit of all available data points. The three yellow/orange/red lines are linear fits to the last 10, 25, and 50 years from 2007 (only shown when sufficient data exist).

Color Graphic: The lower graphic shows the value for each individual month in the data set. The graphic is repeated two times, offset by six months, allowing a clear view of both summer and winter. The top graphic shows January through December data, and the lower graphic shows July through June.

Meta: Below the graphic there is meta data provided about each station. The station number and name, location (latitude, longitude), elevation, population of nearby cities, distance to cities, vegetation, and various other data is provided. A link to the raw station data is also provided.

References

@article{hansen1999gas,
  title={{GISS analysis of surface temperature change}},
  author={Hansen, J. and Ruedy, R. and Glascoe, J. and Sato, M.},
  journal={Journal of Geophysical Research},
  volume={104},
  number={D24},
  pages={30997--31022},
  year={1999}
}

@article{hansen2001clu,
  title={{A Closer Look at United States and Global Surface Temperature Change}},
  author={Hansen, J. and Lawrence, W. and Easterling, D. and Peterson, T. and Karl, T. and Ruedy, R. and Sato, M. and Imhoff, M.},
  journal={J. Geophys. Res.(D: Atmospheres)},
  volume={106},
  pages={23947--23963},
  year={2001}
}

Contact

Ken Mankoff (mankoff at giss.nasa.gov)

Mark Chandler (mac59 at columbia.edu)

http://edgcm.columbia.edu/