Classifying Land Temperature Stations as Either “Urban” or “Rural” in UHI Studies Proves Nothing about Spurious Temperature Trends
April 8th, 2023 by Roy W. Spencer, Ph. D.
As I spend more time working on a research project, the more time I have to reflect on things that others have simply assumed to be true. And in the process I sometimes have an epiphany than clarifies my thinking on a subject.
As I continue to investigate how to quantify urban heat island (UHI) effects for the purpose of determining the extent to which land surface temperature trends have been spuriously inflated by urbanization effects, there is one recurring theme I find has not been handled well in previously published papers on the subject. I’ve mentioned it before, but it’s so important, it deserves its own (brief) blog post.
It has to do with the common assumption that “urban” thermometer sites experience spurious warming over time, while “rural” sites do not.
https://www.drroyspencer.com/2023/04/classifying-land-temperature-stations-as-either-urban-or-rural-in-uhi-studies-proves-nothing-about-spurious-temperature-trends/
