Are you an EPFL student looking for a semester project?
Work with us on data science and visualisation projects, and deploy your project as an app on top of Graph Search.
Concept
Instrumental temperature record
Summary
The instrumental temperature record is a record of temperatures within Earth's climate based on direct, instrument-based measurements of air temperature and ocean temperature. Instrumental temperature records are distinguished from indirect reconstructions using climate proxy data such as from tree rings and ocean sediments. Instrument-based data are collected from thousands of meteorological stations, buoys and ships around the globe. Whilst many heavily-populated areas have a high density of measurements, observations are more widely spread in sparsely populated areas such as polar regions and deserts, as well as over many parts of Africa and South America. Measurements were historically made using mercury or alcohol thermometers which were read manually, but are increasingly made using electronic sensors which transmit data automatically. Records of global average surface temperature are usually presented as anomalies rather than as absolute temperatures. A temperature anomaly is measured against a reference value (also called baseline period or long-term average). For example, a commonly used baseline period is the time period 1951-1980.
The longest-running temperature record is the Central England temperature data series, which starts in 1659. The longest-running quasi-global records start in 1850. Temperatures are also measured in the upper atmosphere using a variety of methods, including radiosondes launched using weather balloons, a variety of satellites, and aircraft. Satellites are used extensively to monitor temperatures in the upper atmosphere but to date have generally not been used to assess temperature change at the surface. In recent decades, global surface temperature datasets have been supplemented by extensive sampling of ocean temperatures at various depths, allowing estimates of ocean heat content.
The record shows a rising trend in global average surface temperatures (i.e. global warming) driven by human-induced emissions of greenhouse gases. The global average and combined land and ocean surface temperature show a warming of 1.
About this result
This page is automatically generated and may contain information that is not correct, complete, up-to-date, or relevant to your search query. The same applies to every other page on this website. Please make sure to verify the information with EPFL's official sources.
Ontological neighbourhood
Related courses (8)
ENV-410: Science of climate change
The course equips students with a comprehensive scientific understanding of climate change covering a wide range of topics from physical principles, historical climate change, greenhouse gas emissions
HUM-123(b): Global issues: energy B
Le cours abordera les grandes problématiques technologiques et socio-économiques liées à la transition énergétique, ainsi que les perspectives et barrières à l'établissement d'un système énergétique d
HUM-121(b): Global issues: climate B
Le cours présente les enjeux mondiaux liés au climat: système climatique et prévisions ; impacts sur écosystèmes et biodiversité ; cadrage historique et débat public ; objectifs et politiques climatiq
Related publications (196)
Related concepts (21)
Climate change
In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to Earth's climate. The current rise in global average temperature is more rapid than previous changes, and is primarily caused by humans burning fossil fuels. Fossil fuel use, deforestation, and some agricultural and industrial practices increase greenhouse gases, notably carbon dioxide and methane.
Climatology
Climatology (from Greek κλίμα, klima, "slope"; and -λογία, -logia) or climate science is the scientific study of Earth's climate, typically defined as weather conditions averaged over a period of at least 30 years. Climate concerns the atmospheric condition during an extended to indefinite period of time; weather is the condition of the atmosphere during a relative brief period of time. The main topics of research are the study of climate variability, mechanisms of climate changes and modern climate change.
Atmosphere of Earth
The atmosphere of Earth is the layer of gases, known collectively as air, retained by Earth's gravity that surrounds the planet and forms its planetary atmosphere. The atmosphere of Earth creates pressure, absorbs most meteoroids and ultraviolet solar radiation, warms the surface through heat retention (greenhouse effect), allowing life and liquid water to exist on the Earth's surface, and reduces temperature extremes between day and night (the diurnal temperature variation). As of 2023, by mole fraction (i.