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One of the weakest points in the anthropogenic global warming argument is the heavy reliance on positive feedback assumptions.  CO2 is a weak greenhouse gas, and can be projected to cause rapid, catastrophic warming only if we assume that it will increase water vapor, which is turn is a much stronger greenhouse gas.  The problem is that there is little evidence that the positive feedback mechanism exists, and even some reason to suppose that the feedback may be negative.  New evidence from NASA's water vapor project highlights the uncertainty:
Climate models predict upper atmosphere moistening which triples the greenhouse effect from man-made carbon dioxide emissions.  The new satellite data from the NASA water vapor project shows declining upper atmosphere water vapor during the period 1988 to 2001. . . .  The cooling effect of the water vapor changes on OLR [outgoing longwave radiation] is 16 times greater than the warming effect of CO2 during the 1990 to 2001 period.  Radiosonde data shows that upper atmosphere water vapor declines with warming. . . .  Both satellite data and radiosonde data confirm the absence of any tropical upper atmosphere temperature amplification, contrary to IPCC theory.  Four independent data sets demonstrate that the IPCC theory is wrong.  CO2 does not cause significant global warming.

6 comments:

Grim said...

Well, the models are pretty good. It's Nature that's messing this up.

Eric Blair said...

It always does.

MikeD said...

I'm now wondering how long until they start back on the "Manmade Global Cooling" kick again. Ten or twenty more years?

E Hines said...

I'm waiting for them to insist that the ice core data are false/don't exist. After all, these data, both from Greenland and Antarctica, show that atmospheric CO2 increases follow, rather than lead, climate warming. Atmospheric CO2 increase is a confirming indicator of increasing life--increasing planetary health.

Eric Hines

DL Sly said...

No, Mike. That's just right around the corner now that ocean temps have proven to be essentially stagnant for the last 16 yrs.
Also, there was the regular multi-decadal rotation in the oceans. The most recent was the Pacific Decadal Oscillation in 2008 where the then-present warm water current running along the western American coastline "flipped" with the pool of cold water sitting in the middle of the ocean. The last time the flip happened was in 1979. The warm water pool that had been sitting in the middle flipped with the cold current that had been flowing along the western coastline for the previous 30 yrs.
Does 1979 ring some bells? It should because it was in the mid-70's when the "Next Ice Age" bullshit started. I'm sure y'all remember the blizzards of the 60's and 70's....

Assistant Village Idiot said...

The desire that other people change their lifestyle and values in order to favor the status of Arts & Humanities liberals precedes the data about warming.

E Hines - I have read the same, that CO2 = warming is cart before horse.