Climate Data Adjustments

Researchers at the University of Colorado appear to be similar to the scandal-tarred researchers at East Anglia University.

The University of Colorado’s Sea Level Research Group decided in May to add 0.3 millimeters -- or about the thickness of a fingernail -- every year to its actual measurements of sea levels, sparking criticism from experts who called it an attempt to exaggerate the effects of global warming.

"Gatekeepers of our sea level data are manufacturing a fictitious sea level rise that is not occurring," said James M. Taylor, a lawyer who focuses on environmental issues for the Heartland Institute.

Researchers call their arithmetic manipulation glacial isostatic adjustment and contend that fudging the numbers is necessary to account for Earth's land masses heading toward outer space due to lingering effects of the last Ice Age.

With rising land masses, researchers believe that actual measured sea level doesn't reflect the increase in seawater volume. In the words of head Colorado researcher Steve Nerem,

"If we correct our data to remove [the effect of rising land], it actually does cause the rate of sea level (a.k.a. ocean water volume change) rise to be bigger," Nerem wrote. The adjustment is trivial, and not worth public attention, he added.

I'd suggest that suspicious adjustments to empirically-derived scientific data are never trivial. I'd also suggest that manipulation of scientific data should never be suspicious.

Tip: slwlion