recorded Webinar with Christopher Merchant (University of Reading, UK)

Climatic Trends from Earth Observation: The Question of Observational Stability

Webinar with Christopher Merchant (University of Reading, UK)

Now that some records stretch back over four decades, observations of Earth from space are used widely in climate science. Observation-based trends in a range of essential climate variables are important as direct indicators of tendencies that may persist in coming decades, and to assess climate-model based projections. Requirements for the stability (the trend fidelity) of observations of essential climate variables have been internationally coordinated through the Global Climate Observing System (GCOS). The fidelity of the observed trends is important to consider – not least because we often must exploit early missions that were not originally specified for climate monitoring. Despite this, climate data records are often analysed as if the observations are perfectly stable. This webinar explores why that is, why that needs to change, and what would constitute better practice both in specifying stability requirements and in quantifying trend uncertainties. Along the way, we encounter some of the important climatic trends that are shaping our climate future.