Earliest Temperature Records from Near the North Pole (Subarctic Temperatures Part 1)
Posted by jennifer, November 21st, 2008 - under Opinion.
Tags: Climate & Climate Change
IT is generally agreed that there has been some global warming over the last 100 or so years and that this has been most pronounced in the Arctic – at the North Pole.
There is temperature data for Hudson Bay in central Canada – not at the North Pole, or within the Arctic Circle, but nevertheless a long way north – back to 1768.
In 1768 two astronomers from the Royal Society were sent to observe the transit of Venus at Hudson Bay (see Instrumental Temperature Records at Two Sites in Central Canada: 1768 to 1910. Timothy Ball and Roger Kingsley, Climate Change, Vol 6. pgs 39-56. ).
At the late John Daly’s website, Miceal O’Ronain has plotted this very early record, and subsequent records from the Hudson’s Bay Company, with data from the modern weather station at Churchill to 2002.
The earlier records suggest great variation in the temperature in the nineteenth century, but this may be an artefact of how it was measured. The upswing at the very end of the twentieth century is probably real and corresponds with the present period of decline in the extent of sea ice at the Arctic particularly in summer.
Dear Jennifer
The link below may be of some value
http://www.climate4you.com/
Go to history years 1919 to 1949 it deals with Spitsbergen.
Sorry I could not provide a direct link.
This is the direct link
http://www.climate4you.com/ClimateAndHistory%201900-1949.htm#1922: The Changing Arctic; warming in Svalbard
In about 1850, the British Royal Society for Science financed a summer mapping expedition to the North Pole region.
When the ships returned, it was reported on record that the Arctic sea ice had almost completely melted. The expedition members were unable to offer an explanation for this, however.
Sorry, I don’t have the actual paper reference any more (when I read it, I was far more interested in its’ geology than its’ climatic comments) but it is available in the MacQ Uni library for those who may be interested
AGW proponents seem to prefer to ignore empirical data such as this in favour of 3x distant proxies
Ian,
I recall that observation too – but even more interesting is the fact that 400,000 years ago the island of Spitzbergen hosted tropical species. Given its latitude and assuming it’s been there 400,000 years ago, then having a tropical climate at Spitzbergen implies a somewhat more torrid climate at the lower latitudes.
Our useful idiots seem to avoid this inconvenient fact.
Come on Luke proclaim the gospel, I wonder if NT is actual Mathew and SJT Mark. Who is the fourth?
Stuart thanks that is an excellent link. Spitzbergen is well clear of sea ice now and was in 1979 wasn’t it? Or have misread the satellite pics? The world is difficult to read on maps at the poles due to the way they are dawn. Anyone know the Spitzbergen latitude?
DHMO,
Google Earth has it at this position 78°21′29.17″N ; 19°12′37.39″E
The Islands are at the same latitude as the northern coast of Greenland.
If 400,000 years ago Spitzbergen hosted tropical species, then so ought Greenland, and I think we have a bit of a problem here. It implies the North Pole was tropical as well, so the existing equatorial regions would have been ????????
One side effect is that palaeoclimate studies may have some issues as well.
Louis
The following is an extract from Climate4you link Climate and History Year 1919 to 1925. The latitude is given as 81 degrees 29minutes
The oceanographic observations have, however, been
even more iinteresting. Ice conditions were exceptional.
In fact, so little ice as has never before been noted. The
expedition all but established a record, sailing as far
north its 81″ 29′ in ice-free water. This is the farthest
north ever reached with modern oceanographic apparatus.
The character of the waters of the great polar basin
has heretofore been practically unknown. Dr. Hoel reports
that he made a section of the Gulf Stream at 81′
north latitude and took soundings to a depth of 3,100
meters. These show the Gulf Stream very warm, and it
could be traced as a surface current till beyond the 81st
parallel. The warmth of the waters makes it robable
time.
Later a section was taken of the Gulf Stream off Bear
Island and off the Isfjord, as well as a section of the cold
current that comes down along the west coast of Spitzbergen
off the south ca e.
to note the unusually warm summer in Arctic Norway
and the observations of Capt. Martin Ingebrigtsen, who
has sailed the eastern Arctic for 54 years past. He says
that he first noted wanner conditions in 1915, that since
that time it has steadily gotten warmer, and that to-day
the Arctic of that region is not recognizable as the same
re ion of 1865 to 1917.
Many old landmarks are so changed as to be unrecognizable.
End of extract
Stuart
Thanks for that extract – I wonder what Kristian Birkeland was up to during this period – he was studying the northern aurora’s and carried out a few expeiditions to this region, but on land of course.
Could it be that at this time the auroral displays were more conspicuous due to an increase in electric currents to the earth which also had the side effect of warming it as well? We now know that billions of EV are entering the earth http://oilismastery.blogspot.com/2008/11/billions-of-electron-volts-hitting.html and this energy does not just disappear.
It is probably this surge in EM energy which is causing some of the observed warming and cooling that climate scientists, ignorant of electrical theory, have mis-identified as greenhouse gas behaviour.
Hi Jennifer
Here are some more cooling records to add to your previous post
Geoff
The waves of cold, Canadian air washing over the eastern United States brought a record low to Athens this morning, breaking a low-temperature mark that stood for 117 years.
http://onlineathens.com/stories/111908/new_357656965.shtml
Highs will be as much as 20 degrees below normal today throughout most of the East, challenging even more record cold high temperatures.
http://www.accuweather.com/news-top-headline.asp?partner=accuweather&traveler=0&date=2008-11-19_09:25
Global Cooling cuts the crime rate in Greenville County USA
http://www.greenvilleonline.com/article/20081119/NEWS01/81119017/1001/NEWS
“In 1768 two astronomers from the Royal Society were sent to observe the transit of Venus at Hudson Bay (see Instrumental Temperature Records at Two Sites in Central Canada: 1768 to 1910. Timothy Ball and Roger Kingsley, Climate Change, Vol 6. pgs 39-56. ).”
Why? It’s a longperiod past Isaac Newton’s time, and HM government felt need to collect more measurements of Venus?
[...] appears to have the very earliest records for the Arctic – back to 1768. But again, why the discrepancy between GISS and Environment [...]