Yahoo Answers is shutting down on May 4th, 2021 (Eastern Time) and the Yahoo Answers website is now in read-only mode. There will be no changes to other Yahoo properties or services, or your Yahoo account. You can find more information about the Yahoo Answers shutdown and how to download your data on this help page.

Jeff M
Lv 7
Jeff M asked in EnvironmentGlobal Warming · 7 years ago

Regarding the tropospheric hot spot?

It has been questioned if the tropospheric hot spot exists or if it does not. The tropospheric hot spot is a consequence of increasing condensation at higher heights in the tropics. If the tropospheric hot spot exists, then, this would act as a negative feedback. If it does not exist this means that the additional water vapour in the troposphere is staying there providing an increasing greenhouse effect. There are comments on it here: http://www.climatedialogue.org/the-missing-tropica...

So, using your understanding with links to accredited educational sites such as universities, NOAA, NASA, and so on, are there any problems with my comments or the comments on the link provided above by the scientists in the debate?

Update:

Mike: The tropospheric hot spot has little to do with AGW. It has more to do with the moist adiabatic lapse rate compared to the dry adiabatic lapse rate and so on. It would, supposedly, occur under any warming.

Update 2:

Kano: All parts of the troposphere are warming: http://images.remss.com/msu/msu_time_series.html

While these layers are controlled by the ENSO cycle, the overall trend continues to increase.

4 Answers

Relevance
  • ?
    Lv 7
    7 years ago
    Favorite Answer

    Mike --

    >>Edit: Fair enough. But if it didn't exist, something that is supposed to show up under any warming, then you are faced with a contradiction. Either the warming does not exist, or your hotspot is in the deep ocean.<<

    The hotspot provides, we think, information on the lapse rate; and while the lapse rate responds to surface warming, it does not distinguish between warming caused by greenhouse gases and natural forcing variables such as the sun.

    Therefore, there is no contradiction - unless you are claiming that no hotspot also means that there is no sun.

  • ?
    Lv 7
    7 years ago

    If it doesn't exist, then it means existing theory is wrong, and you need to reevaluate the theory, not expand the theory to produce even more warming.

    Edit: Fair enough. But if it didn't exist, something that is supposed to show up under any warming, then you are faced with a contradiction. Either the warming does not exist, or your hotspot is in the deep ocean.

    Kudos on the question. I have been thinking about asking both this and your cloud question for awhile.

  • Kano
    Lv 7
    7 years ago

    Yes they did see a hot spot in 1998 caused by the big El Nino, that we don't see one now means that there is not much warming (from any means) going on.

  • Anonymous
    7 years ago

    Skeptics and "skeptics" exaggerate the importance of the supposed lack of the hot spot. Since we do not live at 40,000 ft, what matters isn't the hot spot, missing or not. It is surface temperatures in the polar regions that cause ice to melt.

Still have questions? Get your answers by asking now.