Michael Mann in his own words on the stolen CRU emails

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Kevin Grandia, Desmogblog.com

With all the wild accusations flying around over the illegally obtained email correspondence from the University of East Anglia Climate Research Unit, I thought I would ask one of the scientists in the middle of the issue to provide some context.

Penn State University climate scientist, Dr. Michael Mann, whose name appears in some of the stolen emails, provided me with a run-down of the emails that involve him. His responses provide some much needed context and give you an idea of just how wildly some people have blown this story out of proportion.

What follows is quotes taken directly from the stolen emails, followed by Dr. Mann's response:

1. "I've just completed Mike's Nature trick of adding in the real temps to each series for the last 20 years (i. e. from 1981 onwards) and from 1961 for Keith's to hide the decline." (from Phil Jones).

Phil Jones has publicly gone on record indicating that he was using the term "trick" in the sense often used by people, as in "bag of tricks", or "a trick to solving this problem ...", or "trick of the trade".

In referring to our 1998 Nature article, he was pointing out simply the following: our proxy record ended in 1980 (when the proxy data set we were using terminates) so, it didn't include the warming of the past two decades.

In our Nature-article we therefore also showed the post-1980 instrumental data that was then available through 1995, so that the reconstruction could be viewed in the context of recent instrumental temperatures. The separate curves for the reconstructed temperature series and for the instrumental data were clearly labeled.

The reference to "hide the decline" is referring to work that I am not directly associated with, but instead work by Keith Briffa and colleagues.

The "decline" refers to a well-known decline in the response of only a certain type of tree-ring data (high-latitude tree-ring density measurements collected by Briffa and colleagues) to temperatures after about 1960.

In their original article in Nature in 1998, Briffa and colleagues are very clear that the post-1960 data in their tree-ring dataset should not be used in reconstructing temperatures due to a problem known as the "divergence problem" where their tree-ring data decline in their response to warming temperatures after about 1960.

"Hide" was therefore a poor word choice, since the existence of this decline, and the reason not to use the post 1960 data because of it, was not only known, but was indeed the point emphasized in the original Briffa et al Nature article. There is a summary of that article available on this NOAA site.

There have been many articles since then trying to understand the reason for this problem, which applies largely to only one very specific type of proxy data (tree-ring wood density data from higher latitudes).

As for my research in this area more generally, there was a study commissioned by the National Academies of Science back in 2006 to assess the validity of paleoclimate reconstructions in general, and my own work in specific. A summary of that report, and link to it, is available here.

The New York Times (6/22/06), in an article about the report entitled "Science Panel Backs Study on Warming Climate" had the following things to say:

"A controversial paper asserting that recent warming in the Northern Hemisphere was probably unrivaled for 1,000 years was endorsed today, with a few reservations, by a panel convened by the nation's preeminent scientific body...At a news conference at the headquarters of the National Academies, several members of the panel reviewing the study said they saw no sign that its authors had intentionally chosen data sets or methods to get a desired result. "I saw nothing that spoke to me of any manipulation," said one member, Peter Bloomfield, a statistics professor at North Carolina State University. He added that his impression was the study was "an honest attempt to construct a data analysis procedure."

<h3 style="margin: 0pt;">2. "Perhaps we'll do a simple update to the Yamal post. As we all know, this isn't about truth at all, its about plausibly deniable accusations." (from me)</h3>

This refers to a particular tree-ring reconstruction of Keith Briffa's.

These tree-ring data are just one of numerous tree-ring records used to reconstruct past climate. Briffa and collaborators were criticized (unfairly in the view of many of my colleagues and me) by a contrarian climate change website based on what we felt to be a misrepresentation of their work.

A further discussion can be found on the site "RealClimate.org" that I co-founded and help run. It is quite clear from the context of my comments that what I was saying was that the attacks against Briffa and colleagues were not about truth but instead about making plausibly deniable accusations against him and his colleagues.

We attempted to correct the misrepresentations of Keith's work in the RealClimate article mentioned above, and we invited him and his co-author Tim Osborn to participate actively in responding to any issues raised in the comment thread of the article which he did.

<h3 style="margin: 0pt;">3. "Can you delete any emails you may have had with Keith re AR4? Keith will do likewise. He's not in at the moment -minor family crisis. Can you also email Gene and get him to do the same? I don't have his new email address. We will be getting Caspar to do likewise." (from Phil Jones)</h3>

This was simply an email that was sent to me, and can in no way be taken to indicate approval of, let alone compliance with, the request. I did not delete any such email correspondences.

<h3 style="margin: 0pt;">4. "I think we have to stop considering Climate Research as a legitimate peer-reviewed journal. Perhaps we should encourage our colleagues in the climate research community to no longer submit to, or cite papers in, this journal" (from me)</h3>

This comment was in response to a very specific incident regarding a paper by Soon and Baliunas published in the journal "Climate Research".

An editor of the journal, with rather contrarian views on climate change, appeared to several of us to be gaming the system to let through papers that clearly did not meet the standards of quality for the journal. The chief editor (Hans von Storch), and half of the editorial board, resigned in protest of the publication of the paper, after the publisher refused to allow von Storch the opportunity to write an editorial about how the peer review process had failed in this instance. [editor note: DeSmogBlog has a full rundown of this story here]

Please see e.g. this post at RealClimate. (3rd bullet item--see the various links, which lead to letters from chief editor Von Storch, and an article by the journalist Chris Mooney about the incident).

Scientists all choose journals in which we publish and we all recommend to each other and our students which journals they should publish in.

People are free to publish wherever they can and are free to recommend some journals over others.

For an example of this behavior in daily life, people make choices and recommendations all the time in their purchasing habits. It is highly unusual for a chief editor and half of an editorial board to resign and that indicates a journal in turmoil that should possibly be avoided. Similarly, authors are allowed to cite any papers they want, although usually the editor will note incorrect or insufficient citing.

I support the publication of "skeptical" papers that meet the basic standards of scientific quality and merit.

I myself have published scientific work that has been considered by some as representing a skeptical point of view on matters relating to climate change (for example, my work demonstrating the importance of natural oscillations of the climate on multidecadal timescales).

Skepticism in the truest scientific sense of the word is good and is indeed essential to science. Skepticism should not be confused, however, with contrarianism that does not meet the basic standards of scientific inquiry.

<h3 style="margin: 0pt;">5 "'It would be nice to try to contain the putative "MWP" (from me)</h3>

In this email, I was discussing the importance of extending paleoclimate reconstructions far enough back in time that we could determine the onset and duration of the putative "Medieval Warm Period".

Since this describes an interval in time, it has to have both a beginning and end. But reconstructions that only go back 1000 years, as most reconstructions did at the time, didn't reach far enough back to isolate the beginning of this period, i.e. they are not long enough to "contain" the interval in question.

In more recent work, such as the IPCC Fourth Assessment Report published in 2007, the paleoclimate reconstructions stretch nearly 2000 years back in time, which is indeed far enough back in time to "contain" or "isolate" this period in time.

-----

For political and financial reasons, a handful of very vocal critics have been using these e-mails to create the impression that they somehow refute the decades of research by thousands of scientists finding that climate change is a serious issue caused by our over reliance on fossil fuels like oil and coal.

That's an unfair claim, as many of the more rational media outlets have pointed out.

From the context Dr. Mann has provided above, it is clear that these emails are being used as political weapons in a last ditch effort to stop the world from taking the necessary action to reduce fossil fuel dependency and minimize the devastating effects of climate change.

http://www.desmogblog.com/michael-mann-his...olen-cru-emails

[mawilson 2,133]

Damage control?

[HAL 9000 96]

Well he's just a liar.

Speaking of political opposition... it really does seem that the hysterically ignorant are getting more stubborn. Or is it more vocal? Repetitive indeed... but we knew that.

[Ban Hammer 14,665]

Damage control?

he sees his funding in danger.

[Joseph & Ana 0]

yes damage control. Too bad its weak "poor wording"

Give me a break. It wasn't just one e-mail.

[HAL 9000 96]

Can the naysayers explain the actual content of the emails that show GW is a hoax?

[Ban Hammer 14,665]

Can the naysayers explain the actual content of the emails that show GW is a hoax?

i'm sure if joe posted them like his own writings, there would be a host of people bashing him on the language used.

[HAL 9000 96]

Can the naysayers explain the actual content of the emails that show GW is a hoax?

i'm sure if joe posted them like his own writings, there would be a host of people bashing him on the language used.

Heck I'm waiting for him to explain to me, in the easy language he claims, that its a hoax. Never mind the ignorance typing on his keyboard... but seriously...

[SMR 368]

Can the naysayers explain the actual content of the emails that show GW is a hoax?

Prove that a meteor isn't going to hit the earth if you don't send me $1 million. If I want money, I should probably be the one doing the proving.

Considering the naysayers aren't asking anyone to do anything and the GW supporters are asking for major government and lifestyle changes, it should be the GW supporters that bring forth conclusive evidence. The point is that they can't because they deleted the raw data. Why would they do that if the data really proved climate change conclusively?

Edited December 2, 2009 by SMR

[Darnell 8,480]

Fudging Stats.

Geez.

When ya get monies as a result, should be clear case of fraud.

#### the 'intentions'..

[HAL 9000 96]

Can the naysayers explain the actual content of the emails that show GW is a hoax?

I think you have the burden of proof wrong. Considering the naysayers aren't asking anyone to do anything and the GW supporters are asking for major government and lifestyle changes, it should be the GW supporters that bring forth conclusive evidence. The point is that they can't because they deleted the raw data. Why would they do that if the data really proved the conclusion conclusively?

I've explained how data is processed under statistical control. You should check it out before crying conspiracy.

I agree that the data likely should not have been deleted at this ONE institution. Hardly a worldwide conspiracy going on... and the hysterics are coming from those naysayers, not the scientific community save a low amount of doubters.

[Joseph & Ana 0]

Can the naysayers explain the actual content of the emails that show GW is a hoax?

i'm sure if joe posted them like his own writings, there would be a host of people bashing him on the language used.

Heck I'm waiting for him to explain to me, in the easy language he claims, that its a hoax. Never mind the ignorance typing on his keyboard... but seriously...

Watermelons are actually neon blue on the inside until they are cut open. If you penetrate the outer skin, they instantly turn the typical red or pinkish. Prove me wrong.

[HAL 9000 96]

Can the naysayers explain the actual content of the emails that show GW is a hoax?

i'm sure if joe posted them like his own writings, there would be a host of people bashing him on the language used.

Heck I'm waiting for him to explain to me, in the easy language he claims, that its a hoax. Never mind the ignorance typing on his keyboard... but seriously...

Watermelons are actually neon blue on the inside until they are cut open. If you penetrate the outer skin, they instantly turn the typical red or pinkish. Prove me wrong.

Oh I see... hearsay. Joe you're sharp!

The problem with your premise is that 1) There is irrefutable scientific evidence that supports man-made GW and 2) even an instant color shift from neon blue to red, pink, or yellow would indicate a chemical within the watermelon that would indicate such a visual spectrum shift by its physical and chemical properties.

So... once again you show ignorance in how science operates.

[Joseph & Ana 0]

Can the naysayers explain the actual content of the emails that show GW is a hoax?

i'm sure if joe posted them like his own writings, there would be a host of people bashing him on the language used.

Heck I'm waiting for him to explain to me, in the easy language he claims, that its a hoax. Never mind the ignorance typing on his keyboard... but seriously...

Watermelons are actually neon blue on the inside until they are cut open. If you penetrate the outer skin, they instantly turn the typical red or pinkish. Prove me wrong.

Oh I see... hearsay. Joe you're sharp!

The problem with your premise is that 1) There is irrefutable scientific evidence that supports man-made GW and 2) even an instant color shift from neon blue to red, pink, or yellow would indicate a chemical within the watermelon that would indicate such a visual spectrum shift by its physical and chemical properties.

So... once again you show ignorance in how science operates.

Wrong. It happens so fast that its not detectable. There's ample proof of that. The fact that no one has seen it, proves i'm right.

What do watermelons have to do with GW?

[HAL 9000 96]

Can the naysayers explain the actual content of the emails that show GW is a hoax?

i'm sure if joe posted them like his own writings, there would be a host of people bashing him on the language used.

Heck I'm waiting for him to explain to me, in the easy language he claims, that its a hoax. Never mind the ignorance typing on his keyboard... but seriously...

Watermelons are actually neon blue on the inside until they are cut open. If you penetrate the outer skin, they instantly turn the typical red or pinkish. Prove me wrong.

Oh I see... hearsay. Joe you're sharp!

The problem with your premise is that 1) There is irrefutable scientific evidence that supports man-made GW and 2) even an instant color shift from neon blue to red, pink, or yellow would indicate a chemical within the watermelon that would indicate such a visual spectrum shift by its physical and chemical properties.

So... once again you show ignorance in how science operates.

Wrong. It happens so fast that its not detectable. There's ample proof of that. The fact that no one has seen it, proves i'm right.

What do watermelons have to do with GW?

Its your analogy, hence, your premise.

So if you say there's ample proof of something, and don't show it... then that means the volumes of proof published every month in multiple scientific journals, from multiple institutions the world over, are all based on faith.

Indeed, if you think that unprocessed raw data from one place represents an entire scientific community then you really are *ahem*... more ignorant than I give you credit for.

But back to the watermelon. Everything that is qualitatively observable has a quantitative aspect that can be measured. As is the parallel with GW. FAIL again. If you want to make sh!t up, and think you can draw parallels to communicated, published work, then at least have the scientific reasoning to show in processed quantitative form how things transpire.