Global Surface Air Temperature

GloSAT will develop and analyse an extended and consistent global surface temperature climate record back to the 1780s, based on air temperature observations recorded across land, ocean and ice. This will be achieved through the production of a new, longer, and more reliable record of global surface temperature change. Existing estimates of global mean surface temperature combine air temperature over land and terrestrial ice-covered regions with sea surface temperature readings and take varying approaches for regions with sea-ice. The use of sea surface temperature measurements restricts the start date of the temperature record to around 1850, and the inconsistency of combining water and air temperatures limits confidence in estimates of climate sensitivity (an estimate of the temperature change that will result from a doubling of atmospheric CO2 concentration). The new GloSAT temperature record will give a longer and more consistent picture of global surface air temperature change, and its analysis will improve our understanding of climate change since the late 18th century.

Website: https://glosat.org/

PI: Elizabeth Kent, NOC,

Email: eck@noc.ac.uk

Project Dates: 
October 2019 to April 2025
Funding: 

NERC – Discovery Science

Project

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