Global Dimming & Storage
25/10/2012 3 Comments
Well now I have a scientific alibi for the dearth of recent photos that I blamed on poor weather and light conditions.
Latest scientific research shows that even though the last decade has been the hottest on record*, the surface has been getting less sunlight.
Global Dimming and Global Brightening describes the variation in solar radiation reaching the Earth’s surface. This has nothing to do with changes in the intensity of sunlight emitted by the sun, but rather with changes in the transparency of the Earth’s atmosphere.
Worryingly, this means that the noughties could have been even hotter than they were. A useful round up is here.
Given the prevelance of AGW deniers on the internet, I do wonder however, if there should be research into the dumbing down (dimming) of the intelligence levels of humans.
Happily (?) today is a bit brighter, and rather than just the field behind my house, I can now see as far as the next village !
Wow, light-tastic.
In hte meantime, I’ve been painting but also ordering some nice new comfy trays for those pesky Dark Elf Chariots – the ones with all the scythes, and crew waving spears and whips:
Again from Kaiser Rushforth, they didn’t fit into any of the other trays I had, so I had a long conversation with the very helpful lady who fronts the company these days and we found the right tray for me:
Its 70mm deep, its the GWV5T tray. I saved some of the foam I plucked out to cushion the upper side of the chariots. I have two of these trays and they should more than accommodate the 6 chariot models I have once they are all fully built. (Byakhee Richard gets some more spare foam)
KR cases delivered very quickly as usual, and are proving to be a winner with the flock of Byakhees, Anthony and Jim also using them extensively. We’ve also taken to just having the foam trays, and mixing and matching what goes into the cases depending on what armies we field. I’ve no hesitation in recommending their products.
* Yup, the hottest on record, the Daily Fail’s article claiming that global temperatures have not increased is deeply flawed.
The Lost City of Carcosa 
Global dimming is a bit of a complicated one, because the aerosols that cause it are nowhere near being evenly distributed in the atmosphere, unlike CO2.
My understanding is that the air pollution legislation of the ~1970s meant that there is now a lot less aerosol-related dimming over Europe and North America, but that economic growth in China has lead to large growth in aerosol emissions there. Any change in the global average is a relatively small residual of these two much larger changes.
In that case, assuming that you are enjoying the typically fine weather of a British autumn, you can not blame global dimming for the lamentable lack of sunshine we are enjoying at present.
Yup, my comment was somewhat tongue in cheek !
The publication of the paper, and its commentary were simply a coincidence with low light levels here.
Of course, today its bright and sunny, but the sun is low on the horizon, so the light is not evenly distributed as you will see from the forthcoming photos.
I can’t think of any excuse for that given the time of year.
😉
PS: Of course we should also not forget the changes in aerosol emissions that were made in the ’50’s and ’60’s when they halted the infamous London pea-soupers. A rather dramatic example of how Environmental legislation can make profound differences to our atmosphere.