that actually admits the data used to come to a conclusion is not very accurate. Read on.
RMNP officials seeing early signs of warming climate
BY DOUGLAS CROWL
Loveland Connection
Colorado's north central Rocky Mountains - from Interstate 70 to Steamboat Springs - may have seen a temperature increase of 3.5 degrees over the past 50 years, the most dramatic warming in the state, according to a presentation Monday at the Rocky Mountain National Park Research Conference.
Klaus Wolter, a climate researcher for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in Boulder, presented the information at the conference on temperature change in Colorado from a study he wrote with state climatologist, Nolan Doesken.
Wolter said a 3.5-degree warming trend, an average of low and high temperature data, is a huge change, though he also clarified there's a 30 percent error rate in that number.
Statewide warming averages match global trends of 1 degree warming in the same period.
Wolter said it's difficult to pinpoint good temperature data in Colorado and draw broad assumptions because of the state's varied climate zones and growth, resulting in a higher percentage of error and misinformation.
Not one of the 200 temperature stations in Colorado are considered "pristine." Instead, they have outside factors causing unnatural changes in temperature, he said.
Stations could have been moved, while stations near irrigated fields may show unnatural cooling - or warming if the irrigation stopped. Stations now in urban areas that were once rural also could show unnatural warming trends.
Wolter and Doesken weeded out the worst stations and used just 34 for the statewide study, but past studies about temperature change in Colorado have not considered such factors, Wolter said.
He also said that averaging 75 years of data to include the 1930s Dust Bowl shows less dramatic warming trends in Colorado. In fact, 75-year averages of temperatures statewide show a cooling trend.
Judy Visty, natural resource specialist at Rocky Mountain National Park, said warming in the park could increase diseases in mammals and trees; shrink the alpine and sub-alpine zones; and possibly result in new vegetation in the park.
Still, some species would do better in a warmer climate.
Elk would likely be more successful in a warmer environment, though that could require the park to be more heavy handed in its efforts to control herd sizes, Visty said.
The greenback trout also would do better in warmer water, but the protected fish could also be more vulnerable to new diseases as chemistry in lakes change, Visty said.
"I think one of the most difficult changes will be in maintaining balance," she said.
It's Bush's fault!!!
RMNP officials seeing early signs of warming climate
BY DOUGLAS CROWL
Loveland Connection
Colorado's north central Rocky Mountains - from Interstate 70 to Steamboat Springs - may have seen a temperature increase of 3.5 degrees over the past 50 years, the most dramatic warming in the state, according to a presentation Monday at the Rocky Mountain National Park Research Conference.
Klaus Wolter, a climate researcher for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in Boulder, presented the information at the conference on temperature change in Colorado from a study he wrote with state climatologist, Nolan Doesken.
Wolter said a 3.5-degree warming trend, an average of low and high temperature data, is a huge change, though he also clarified there's a 30 percent error rate in that number.
Statewide warming averages match global trends of 1 degree warming in the same period.
Wolter said it's difficult to pinpoint good temperature data in Colorado and draw broad assumptions because of the state's varied climate zones and growth, resulting in a higher percentage of error and misinformation.
Not one of the 200 temperature stations in Colorado are considered "pristine." Instead, they have outside factors causing unnatural changes in temperature, he said.
Stations could have been moved, while stations near irrigated fields may show unnatural cooling - or warming if the irrigation stopped. Stations now in urban areas that were once rural also could show unnatural warming trends.
Wolter and Doesken weeded out the worst stations and used just 34 for the statewide study, but past studies about temperature change in Colorado have not considered such factors, Wolter said.
He also said that averaging 75 years of data to include the 1930s Dust Bowl shows less dramatic warming trends in Colorado. In fact, 75-year averages of temperatures statewide show a cooling trend.
Judy Visty, natural resource specialist at Rocky Mountain National Park, said warming in the park could increase diseases in mammals and trees; shrink the alpine and sub-alpine zones; and possibly result in new vegetation in the park.
Still, some species would do better in a warmer climate.
Elk would likely be more successful in a warmer environment, though that could require the park to be more heavy handed in its efforts to control herd sizes, Visty said.
The greenback trout also would do better in warmer water, but the protected fish could also be more vulnerable to new diseases as chemistry in lakes change, Visty said.
"I think one of the most difficult changes will be in maintaining balance," she said.
It's Bush's fault!!!
