An objective determination of optimal site locations for detecting expected trends in upper-air temperature and total column ozone

Abstract

Abstract. In the first study reported on here, requirements on random uncertainty of instantaneous temperature measurements, sampling frequency, season and pressure, required to ensure a minimum random uncertainty of monthly mean temperatures, have been explored. These results then inform analyses conducted in a second study which seeks to identify the optimal location of sites for detecting projected trends in upper-air temperatures in the shortest possible time. The third part of the paper presents a similar analysis for the optimal locations of sites to detect projected trends in total column ozone. Results from the first study show that only for individual measurement random uncertainties > 0.2 K does the measurement random uncertainty start to contribute significantly to the random uncertainty of the monthly mean. Analysis of the effects of the individual measurement random uncertainty and sampling strategy on the ability to detect upper-air temperature trends shows that only when the measurement random uncertainty exceeds 2 K, and measurements are made just once or twice a month, is the quality of the trend determination compromised. The time to detect a trend in some upper-air climate variable is a function of the unforced variance in the signal, the degree of autocorrelation, and the expected magnitude of the trend. For middle tropospheric and lower stratospheric temperatures, the first two quantities were derived from Microwave Sounding Unit (MSU) and Advanced Microwave Sounding Unit (AMSU) measurements while projected trends were obtained by averaging 21st century trends from simulations made by 11 chemistry–climate models (CCMs). For total column ozone, variance and autocorrelation were derived from the Bodeker Scientific total column ozone database with projected trends obtained from median values from 21 CCM simulations of total column ozone changes over the 21st century. While the optimal sites identified in this analysis for detecting temperature and total column ozone trends in the shortest time possible result from our use of only one of a wide range of objective strategies, these results provide additional incentives for initiating measurement programmes at these sites or, if already in operation, to continue to be supported.