A spatiotemporal analysis of U.S. station temperature trends over the last century. Issue 14 (16th July 2013)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Capparelli, V.; Franzke, C.; Vecchio, A.; Freeman, M. P.; Watkins, N. W.; Carbone, V.
• Is Part Of: Journal of geophysical research. Volume 118:Issue 14(2013)
• Page Start: 7427
• Page End: 7434
• Publication Date: 2013-07-16
• Subjects: global change -- atmospheric processes -- nonlinear geophysics; Atmospheric physics -- Periodicals; Geophysics -- Periodicals; 551.5
• DOI: 10.1002/jgrd.50551
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2169-897X

Abstract

Abstract : [1] This study presents a nonlinear spatiotemporal analysis of 1167 station temperature records from the United States Historical Climatology Network covering the period from 1898 through 2008. We use the empirical mode decomposition method to extract the generally nonlinear trends of each station. The statistical significance of each trend is assessed against three null models of the background climate variability, represented by stochastic processes of increasing temporal correlation length. We find strong evidence that more than 50% of all stations experienced a significant trend over the last century with respect to all three null models. A spatiotemporal analysis reveals a significant cooling trend in the South‐East and significant warming trends in the rest of the contiguous U.S. It also shows that the warming trend appears to have migrated equatorward. This shows the complex spatiotemporal evolution of climate change at local scales. Key Points: Nonlinear spatio‐temporal analysis of temperature trends The statistical significance of each trend is assessed against three nullmodels The warming trend appears to have geographic relationships