Possible Impact of Spatial and Temporal Non-Uniformity in Land Surface Temperature Data on Trend Estimation

Abstract

The present work investigates possible impact of the non-uniformity in observed land surface temperature on trend estimation, based on Climatic Research Unit (CRU) Temperature Version 4 (CRUTEM4) monthly temperature datasets from 1900 to 2012. The CRU land temperature data exhibit remarkable non-uniformity in spatial and temporal features. The data are characterized by an uneven spatial distribution of missing records and station density, and display a significant increase of available sites around 1950. Considering the impact of missing data, the trends seem to be more stable and reliable when estimated based on data with < 40% missing percent, compared to the data with above 40% missing percent. Mean absolute error (MAE) between data with < 40% missing percent and global data is only 0.011°C (0.014°C) for 1900–50 (1951–2012). The associated trend estimated by reliable data is 0.087°C decade–1 (0.186°C decade–1) for 1900–50 (1951–2012), almost the same as the trend of the global data. However, due to non-uniform spatial distribution of missing data, the global signal seems mainly coming from the regions with good data coverage, especially for the period 1900–50. This is also confirmed by an extreme test conducted with the records in the United States and Africa. In addition, the influences of spatial and temporal non-uniform features in observation data on trend estimation are significant for the areas with poor data coverage, such as Africa, while insignificant for the countries with good data coverage, such as the United States.