i wouldn't call that a gross anomaly at all, it is still well within the ranges of models from decades ago and even more recent ones.
Mmmm... but those "ranges" are getting stretched into the lower 3-sigma deviation.
That's not promising for the models.
and there are many mechanisms that more than explain it. surface air temps haven't gone up much (they have still gone up), but ocean temps have. a stronger la nina pattern explains some of it too. the oceans are still rising, the ice caps are still retreating, greenland is still melting, 2012 was still one of the warmest la nina years on recod.
The oceans are a critical part in this equation, I suspect. The levels have gone up, at least according to satellite data which correlates damn near perfectly with the old tidal gauges. This does increase the heat capacity (ergo, dissipation) of the oceans. Also, the LOTI and HADCRUT4 data-sets incorporate ocean temps in their averages, so they are not ignored in that IGOR graph I posted. However, you do give me an idea for further investigation since they have those data-sets available in disaggregated form.
But again, if GHGs are the "prime driver" (and according to IPCC the OVERWHELMING driver by orders of magnitude), then why has it paused for so long?
I just stumbled on this website which has a good collection of critiques, although the bias is obvious in the commentary. However, there is more than enough (neutral) evidence to demonstrate various failings of the modelers, and thereby those who base policy on their work.
Take Hansen's 3 scenarios, for example:
[HR][/HR]NASA's James Hansen declared that if the world did not change its way, and kept emitting CO2 in the 'business-as-usual' (BAU) manner, global warming would skyrocket, threatening all of civilization. This is the 'Scenario A' plot on the chart.
Well.....not only has the world matched the 'BAU' growth of the 15 years prior to the 1988 testimony,
we have increased the CO2 emission tonnes growth from 1.8% per year to 2.2% (the 15 years prior to 2013). To put those numbers into context, from 1972 through 1987, humans emitted 302 billion tonnes of CO2; in contrast, from 1998 through 2012 humans produced 461 billion tonnes.
[HR][/HR]
Now this shows us either CO2 (and the other GHGs) are not anywhere near as powerful at forcing as we thought, or there are other avenues of climate moderation we have no practical concept of. This chart is not unique, BTW, just in case you're concerned about any cherry-picks, etc.
As for the ice caps, that is not exactly accurate. As I believe I noted earlier in the thread, the actual
volume of arctic ice is increasing (while antarctic
area is increasing). Greenland? Yeah, I've flown over it enough times in the past 25+ years to have seen its decay in that period. All that freshwater must be disturbing the Atlantic somewhat. But the way it supposedly slows the Atlantic flow, it should increase surface warming (along with the air), not abate it.
So there's another puzzle.
It may be possible that all those inputs you mention have a synergistic effect, but if that's the case, we'd better get around to understanding WHY instead of plodding along with funky policy based on erroneous prediction.
none of us are qualified to speak on the issue. all we can really do is listen to those who are qualified, and they are pretty much all in consensus. anyone who states otherwise is a fucking idiot.
Hmm...I suspect if you hung around more scientists, you'd probably change your opinion. They may be damn intelligent, but perfect they are not.
For example, a physicist will enthusiastically tell you all these crazy things about how a star goes through its "burning" stages of Hydrogen, Helium and Silicon, based on their "model" of gravity-fed nuclear reactions, but when you ask them, "why is the Sun's corona orders of magnitude hotter than the surface" or "why is the sun so round", they'll be stymied. And that creates some
serious problems as far as orthodoxy is concerned (at least at the cosmological level).
With that in mind, it is important that all who care take time to learn at least a fraction of the science and start asking questions of the authorities.
The truth can always be questioned.
Hell, you demonstrate that ability on a regular basis as far as regular politics is concerned. It is equally important to do the same with science, even if it appears overwhelming in complexity.
One doesn't need to know how to solve a Laplacian Heat Equation to read a thermometer.
Now, making one from scratch...?