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The Impact of Technology Upon In Situ Atmospheric Observations and Climate Science

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Book cover Geography and Technology

Abstract

Over the past 100 years geographers have extensively employed in situ observations of the atmosphere in their research endeavors. Technological improvements in instrumentation, communication, and data storage media have played fundamental roles in the expansion of observational networks and in the improved accuracy and precision of measurements. Yet, technological changes, along with technological limitations, such as instrument drift and failure, have introduced unwanted inhomogeneity into the time series of surface and upper-air observations. An additional constraint is that most, if not all, observational networks for the atmosphere were designed for short-range weather prediction rather than for climate monitoring. This essay reviews, for the non-climatologist, the primary surface and upper-air datasets available for climatological research in the U.S. and for global-scale analyses. Particular focus is placed on the known sources of inhomogeneities in these data series. Geographers need to become more aware of the value of in situ surface and upper-air observations and the current limitations and fragility of these networks.

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Authors
  1. Julie A. Winkler
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geography, University of Kentucky, Lexington, USA

    Stanley D. Brunn

  2. Department of Geography, University of South Carolina, Columbia, USA

    Susan L. Cutter

  3. Department of Geography, University of Washington, Seattle, USA

    J. W. Harrington Jr.

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Winkler, J.A. (2004). The Impact of Technology Upon In Situ Atmospheric Observations and Climate Science. In: Brunn, S.D., Cutter, S.L., Harrington, J.W. (eds) Geography and Technology. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-2353-8_20

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