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Global warming slowdown has been a matter of debate among researchers and scientists ever since the concept first came into discussion. The global warming slowdown trend was revealed about 18 years ago and according to it, the temperatures around the globe, have indeed increased, but at a slower pace than the one registered in previous years.
This news was received with a lot of skepticism by many scientists, especially those from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, who were not entirely convinced of how scientifically accurate this assessment was. They believed that something must have happened that tampered with the data to show such a disproportionate result compared to what was going on in real life and which was so discordant with satellite readings.
For instance, 2014 was the year with the highest temperatures ever to be documented, since humanity started keeping track of temperatures in the 1800s. To make matters even more dire, 2015 is following the temperatures of 2014 and it is on a straight path to beating the high temperature record. A phenomenon that is happening two years in a row, is hardly a coincidence.
Every newly collected data pointed to the fact that the slowdown of global warming had to be a myth, but what was the thing that misled scientists into making such a big error.
As with most measurements, one crucial factor to always take into account is human error. For the most part, all the measurements were made by ships who tracked the water temperature by using two methods.
The first method implied that they would lower a bucket into the water and then bring it up on the surface where they would measure its temperature. Through the second method, water temperature was measured as it entered the ship`s engine.
Measurements of the water temperatures were made at various times during the day, everyday, but nothing was standardized so results showed a lot of variations and when it came time to draw a scientific decision, the data was not consistent with reality. Not to mention that the temperatures from certain areas, like the Arctic, were particularly difficult to measure.
So scientists came up with a better method of studying water temperatures, one that took care, as best it could, of the human error factor. The new method implemented for measuring water temperatures uses buoys on which special gear has been installed. Thanks to this new equipment addition, water temperatures can now be measured at the exact time, regardless of the location and how difficult it is for boats to reach a certain region.
The new data collected by the buoy, was manipulated so as to create a valid correlation between the ascending trend that the temperatures have been showing. The new calculations confirmed that indeed, global warming has not slowed down and it still continues at a worrisome pace.
The ascending trend of the temperatures is high indeed, but for the Arctic region, which has been historically difficult to measure, the rising temperature rate is downright alarming, as it appears to be warming up twice as fast as the rest of the globe.
There are still non-scientists who contest the truthfulness of global warming and who claim that scientists have tampered with the data in order to obtain results that validate their theories.
However, other scientists who have studied the phenomenon closely, agree with the researchers that have come up with the adjustment formula, saying that their calculations are indeed correct and that the global warming rate has not slowed down.
Image Source: scienceblogs
