Temporal Homogenization of Monthly Radiosonde Temperature Data. Part II: Trends, Sensitivities, and MSU Comparison

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Abstract
Trends in radiosonde-based temperatures and lower-tropospheric lapse rates are presented for the time periods 1959–97 and 1979–97, including their vertical, horizontal, and seasonal variations. A novel aspect is that estimates are made globally of the effects of artificial (instrumental or procedural) changes on the derived trends using data homogenization procedures introduced in a companion paper (Part I). Credibility of the data homogenization scheme is established by comparison with independent satellite temperature measurements derived from the microwave sounding unit (MSU) instruments for 1979–97. The various analyses are performed using monthly mean temperatures from a near–globally distributed network of 87 radiosonde stations. The severity of instrument-related problems, which varies markedly by geographic region, was found, in general, to increase from the lower troposphere to the lower stratosphere, although surface data were found to be as problematic as data from the stratosphere. Ex... Abstract Trends in radiosonde-based temperatures and lower-tropospheric lapse rates are presented for the time periods 1959–97 and 1979–97, including their vertical, horizontal, and seasonal variations. A novel aspect is that estimates are made globally of the effects of artificial (instrumental or procedural) changes on the derived trends using data homogenization procedures introduced in a companion paper (Part I). Credibility of the data homogenization scheme is established by comparison with independent satellite temperature measurements derived from the microwave sounding unit (MSU) instruments for 1979–97. The various analyses are performed using monthly mean temperatures from a near–globally distributed network of 87 radiosonde stations. The severity of instrument-related problems, which varies markedly by geographic region, was found, in general, to increase from the lower troposphere to the lower stratosphere, although surface data were found to be as problematic as data from the stratosphere. Ex...