Average temperature in Finland has risen by more than two degrees

Over the past 166 years, the average temperature in Finland has risen by more than two degrees. During the observation period, the average increase was 0.14 degrees per decade, which is nearly twice as much as the global average.

According to a recent University of Eastern Finland and Finnish Meteorological Institute study, the rise in the temperature has been especially fast over the past 40 years, with the temperature rising by more than 0.2 degrees per decade. "The biggest temperature rise has coincided with November, December and January. Temperatures have also risen faster than the annual average in the spring months, i.e., March, April and May. In the summer months, however, the temperature rise has not been as significant," says Professor Ari Laaksonen of the University of Eastern Finland and the Finnish Meteorological Institute. As a result of the temperature rising, lakes in Finland get their ice cover later than before, and the ice cover also melts away earlier in the spring. Although the temperature rise in the actual growth season has been moderate, observations of Finnish trees beginning to blossom earlier than before have been made.

Temperature has risen in leaps

The annual average temperature has risen in two phases, the first being from the beginning of the observation period to the late 1930s, and the second from the late 1960s to present. Since the 1960s, the temperature has risen faster than ever before, with the rise varying between 0.2 and 0.4 degrees per decade. Between the late 1930s and late 1960s, the temperature remained nearly steady. "The stop in the temperature rise can be explained by several factors, including long-term changes in solar activity and post-World War II growth of human-derived aerosols in the atmosphere. When looking at recent years' observations from Finland, it seems that the temperature rising is not slowing down," University of Eastern Finland researcher Santtu Mikkonen explains.

The temperature time series was created by averaging the data produced by all Finnish weather stations across the country. Furthermore, as the Finnish weather station network wasn't comprehensive nation-wide in the early years, data obtained from measurement stations in Finland's neighbouring countries was also used.

Finland is located between the Atlantic Ocean and the continental Eurasia, which causes great variability in the country's weather. In the time series of the average temperature, this is visible in the form of strong noise, which makes it very challenging to detect statistically significant trends. The temperature time series for Finland was analysed by using a dynamic regression model. The method allows the division of the time series into sections indicating mean changes, i.e. trends, periodic variation, observation inter-dependence and noise. The method makes it possible to take into consideration the seasonal changes typical of Nordic conditions, as well as significant annual variation.

Journal Reference:

S. Mikkonen, M. Laine, H. M. M?kel?, H. Gregow, H. Tuomenvirta, M. Lahtinen, A. Laaksonen. Trends in the average temperature in Finland, 1847–2013. Stochastic Environmental Research and Risk Assessment, 2014; DOI: 10.1007/s00477-014-0992-2

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Temperature anomalies are warming faster than Earth's average, study finds

It's widely known that Earth's average temperature has been rising. But research by an Indiana University geographer and colleagues finds that spatial patterns of extreme temperature anomalies -- readings well above or below the mean -- are warming even faster than the overall average.

And trends in extreme heat and cold are important, said Scott M. Robeson, professor of geography in the College of Arts and Sciences at IU Bloomington. They have an outsized impact on water supplies, agricultural productivity and other factors related to human health and well-being.

"Average temperatures don't tell us everything we need to know about climate change," he said. "Arguably, these cold extremes and warm extremes are the most important factors for human society."

Robeson is the lead author of the article "Trends in hemispheric warm and cold anomalies," which will be published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters and is available online. Co-authors are Cort J. Willmott of the University of Delaware and Phil D. Jones of the University of East Anglia.

The researchers analyzed temperature records for the years 1881 to 2013 from HadCRUT4, a widely used data set for land and sea locations compiled by the University of East Anglia and the U.K. Met Office. Using monthly average temperatures at points across the globe, they sorted them into "spatial percentiles," which represent how unusual they are by their geographic size.

Their findings include:

Temperatures at the cold and warm "tails" of the spatial distribution -- the 5th and 95th percentiles -- increased more than the overall average Earth temperature.Over the 130-year record, cold anomalies increased more than warm anomalies, resulting in an overall narrowing of the range of Earth's temperatures.In the past 30 years, however, that pattern reversed, with warm anomalies increasing at a faster rate than cold anomalies. "Earth's temperature was becoming more homogenous with time," Robeson said, "but now it's not."

The study records separate results for the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. Temperatures are considerably more volatile in the Northern Hemisphere, an expected result because there's considerably less land mass in the South to add complexity to weather systems.

The study also examined anomalies during the "pause" in global warming that scientists have observed since 1998. While a 16-year-period is too short a time to draw conclusions about trends, the researchers found that warming continued at most locations on the planet and during much of the year, but that warming was offset by strong cooling during winter months in the Northern Hemisphere.

"There really hasn't been a pause in global warming," Robeson said. "There's been a pause in Northern Hemisphere winter warming."

Co-author Jones of the University of East Anglia said the study provides scientists with better knowledge about what's taking place with Earth's climate. "Improved understanding of the spatial patterns of change over the three periods studied are vital for understanding the causes of recent events," he said.

It may seem counterintuitive that global warming would be accompanied by colder winter weather at some locales. But Robeson said the observation aligns with theories about climate change, which hold that amplified warming in the Arctic region produces changes in the jet stream, which can result in extended periods of cold weather at some locations in the mid-northern latitudes.

And while the rate of planetary warming has slowed in the past 16 years, it hasn't stopped. The World Meteorological Organization announced this month that 2014 is on track to be one of the warmest, if not the warmest, years on record as measured by global average temperatures.

In the U.S., the East has been unusually cold and snowy in recent years, but much of the West has been unusually warm and has experienced drought. And what happens here doesn't necessarily reflect conditions on the rest of the planet. Robeson points out that the United States, including Alaska, makes up only 2 percent of Earth's surface.

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Corals don’t lie: Centuries of rising ocean levels and temperature data revealed

AIMS researchers plus a team in the College of Wa, CSIRO and also the College of North Park have analysed barrier cores in the eastern Indian Sea to know the way the unique barrier reefs of Wa are influenced by altering sea power and water temps. The study was released today within the worldwide journal Character Communications. The findings give new experience into how La Ni?a, an environment swing within the tropical Off-shore, affects the Leeuwin current and just how our oceans are altering.

“Due to the possible lack of lengthy-term findings of marine climate we used lengthy barrier cores, with annual growth bands much like tree rings, to supply a record of history. We acquired records of past ocean temps by calculating caffeine composition from the barrier skeleton from year upon year. This demonstrated how altering winds and sea power within the eastern Indian Sea are impelled by climate variability within the western tropical Gulf Of Mexico,” stated Dr Jens Zinke (Assistant Professor in the UWA Oceans Institute and AIMS-UWA researcher). The lengthy barrier records permitted the researchers to check out these designs of climate variability to 1795 AD.

La Ni?a occasions within the tropical Off-shore create a increased Leeuwin Current and abnormally tepid to warm water temps and greater ocean levels off southwest Wa.

“A prominent example may be the 2011 warmth wave along WA’s reefs which brought to barrier bleaching and seafood kills,” stated Dr Ming Feng CSIRO Principal Research Researcher.?

The worldwide team discovered that additionally to warming ocean surface temps, ocean-level variability and Leeuwin Current strength have elevated since 1980. The barrier cores also demonstrate that the strong winds and extreme weather of 2011 off Wa are highly improbable poor yesteryear 215 years. The authors conclude this is obvious evidence that climatic change and ocean-level rise is growing the seriousness of these extreme occasions which change up the highly diverse barrier reefs of Wa, such as the Ningaloo Reef World Heritage site.

“Given ongoing global global warming, Chances are that future La Ni?a occasions can lead to more extreme warming and ocean-level occasions with potentially significant effects for that upkeep of Western Australia's unique marine environments,” stated Dr Janice Lough, AIMS Senior Principal Research Researcher.

The scientists used core examples of massive Porites colonies in the Houtman-Abrolhos Islands, probably the most southerly reefs within the Indian Sea that are directly within the road to the Leeuwin Current. While using chemical composition from the annual barrier growth bands they could rebuild ocean surface temperature and Leeuwin Current for 215 years, from 1795 to 2010.

Journal Reference:

J. Zinke, A. Rountrey, M. Feng, S.-P. Xie, D. Dissard, K. Rankenburg, J.M. Lough, M.T. McCulloch. Corals record lengthy-term Leeuwin current variability including Ningaloo Ni?o/Ni?a since 1795. Character Communications, 2014 5 DOI: 10.1038/ncomms4607

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World temperature records available via Google Earth

Climate scientists in the College of East Anglia make the earth's temperature records available via Google Earth.

The Weather Research Unit Temperature Version 4 (CRUTEM4) land-surface air temperature dataset is among the most broadly used records from the climate system.

The brand new Google Earth format enables customers to scroll all over the world, focus on 6,000 weather stations, and examine monthly, periodic and annual temperature data easier than in the past.

Customers can drill lower to determine some 20,000 graphs -- most of which show temperature records dating back 1850.

The move belongs to a continuing effort to create data about past climate and global warming as accessible and transparent as you possibly can.

Dr Tim Osborn from UEA's Weather Research Unit stated: "The good thing about using Google Earth is you can instantly see in which the weather stations are, focus on specific nations, and find out station datasets a lot more clearly.

"The information itself originates from the most recent CRUTEM4 figures, that have been freely on our website and through the Met Office. But we would have liked to create this key temperature dataset as interactive and user-friendly as you possibly can.Inch

Google's Earth interface shows the way the globe continues to be split up into 5? latitude and longitude power grid boxes. The boxes are about 550km wide across the Equator, thinning for the South and north rods. This red-colored and eco-friendly checkerboard covers the majority of Earth and signifies regions of land where station data can be found. Hitting a power grid box discloses the area's annual temps, in addition to links to more in depth downloadable station data.

But as the new initiative does allow greater ease of access, the study team do anticipate finding errors.

Dr Osborn stated: "This dataset combines monthly records from 6,000 weather stations all over the world -- most of which go as far back greater than 150 years. That's lots of data, therefore we would anticipate seeing a couple of errors. We greatly persuade folks to alert us to the records that appear unusual.

"You will find some gaps within the power grid -- it is because you will find no weather stations in remote areas like the Sahara. Customers could also place the location of some weather stations isn't exact. It is because the data we've concerning the latitude and longitude of every station is restricted to at least one decimal place, therefore the station markers might be a couple of kms in the actual location.

"This is not an issue scientifically since the temperature records don't rely on the actual location of every station. But it's a thing that will improve with time weight loss detailed location information opens up.Inch

This new initiative is referred to inside a new information paper released on Feb 4 within the journal Earth System Science Data (Osborn T.J. and Johnson P.D., 2014: The CRUTEM4 land-surface air temperature dataset: construction, previous versions and distribution via Google Earth).

The CRUTEM4 data set can be obtained from doi:10.5285/EECBA94F-62F9-4B7C-88D3-482F2C93C468.

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Because the temperature drops, chance of fracture increases

Record-setting winter months within the U.S. has brought to plenty of road condition advisories, but tend to there be also a fall alert?

By examining various conditions -- like snow, wind speed, temperature -- right into a 'Slipperiness Score,' a College of Michigan Health System study helps identify what days would be the most dangerous for fall injuries.

The research, released in February's Plastic and Rebuilding Surgery Journal, concentrates on Medicare insurance patients, throughout age 65, but authors note, the chance of falling is available for anybody throughout harsh winter months.

"Although the notion that slippery footing increases your chance of falling is not new, what we have had the ability to show is the fact that these harmful conditions lead to more fractures within this already vulnerable population of grown ups," states lead study author Aviram Giladi, M.D., a homeowner within the U-M Department of Surgery's Division of Cosmetic Surgery.

The research findings include:

With different scale, varying from to 7, on the day having a score above 4 the chance of keeping a wrist fracture elevated by 21 percent.Around the most slippery days, that additional risk increased to almost 40 %.During the cold months, over 1,000 additional wrist fractures happened among grown ups age 65 and older in comparison with other seasons.

Nearly 90,000 Medicare insurance enrollees sustain wrist fractures every year, frequently from falls while standing in most cases outdoors. The fractures can be very restricting, and result in a lack of independence for older patients. Medicare insurance stays greater than $240 million annually dealing with the injuries.

"Understanding the chance of these injuries might help inform prevention and preparation efforts, especially on days in which the weather conditions are certain to lead to more slippery conditions," states senior study author Kevin C. Chung, M.D., professor of cosmetic surgery and memory foam surgery and also the Charles B. G. p Nancrede Professor of Surgery. "Hopefully to help individuals get ready for dangerous conditions and adjust when and where they walk outdoors."

Journal Reference:

Aviram M. Giladi, Melissa J. Shauver, Allison Ho, Lin Zhong, H. Myra Kim, Kevin C. Chung. Variation within the Incidence of Distal Radius Fractures within the U.S. Seniors as Associated with Slippery Climate Conditions. Plastic and Rebuilding Surgery, 2014 133 (2): 321 DOI: 10.1097/01.prs.0000436796.74305.38

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