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 Global
Stratospheric and Tropospheric Temperature Anomalies (1979-2001)
These graphs show atmospheric temperature
anomalies (deviations from average normal temperatures), but
they’re from different layers of the atmosphere: The
top graph shows temperature trends in a higher layer of the
atmosphere than the bottom graph.
It’s immediately apparent that the atmosphere is not
simply a uniform blanket of air: These two layers show different
temperature patterns over time, with one layer warming and
the other cooling simultaneously. In fact, some parts of the
upper atmosphere appear to be cooling at a rate of about 0.05ºC
per decade. This may be partially due to processes (such as
increases in carbon dioxide concentrations) that cause other
parts of the atmosphere to warm up.
The fact that different air layers show divergent temperature
patterns underscores the complexity of the earth’s atmosphere.
These data also suggest that the cooling of some atmospheric
layers may not be inconsistent with a general warming of the
earth’s climate.
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This
graph, Global
Tropospheric Temperature Anomalies,
shows temperature
trends in the lower troposphere, the layer from
the earth’s surface to about 5 miles up.
Source:
NASA's
Global Hydrology and Climate Center
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Sometimes, new kinds of
information reveal that our understanding of a
problem is fundamentally incomplete. Before researchers
were able to investigate the upper atmosphere
using balloons, airplanes, rockets, and satellites,
any real understanding of how the atmosphere works—and
thus, of how the earth’s climate is changing—was
impossible.
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glossary
terms
