Carl Mears
Encyclopedia
Carl Mears is a Senior Scientist, at Remote Sensing Systems
, since 1998. He has worked on validation of SSM/I derived winds, and rain-flagging algorithm for the QuikScat
scatterometer
. He is best known for his work with Frank Wentz
in developing a satellite temperature record from MSU and AMSU
. Intercomparison of this record with the earlier UAH
satellite temperature record, developed by John Christy
and Roy Spencer, revealed deficiencies in the earlier work; specifically, the warming trend in the RSS version is larger than the UAH one.
Mears was a major contributor to Temperature Trends in the Lower Atmosphere: Steps for Understanding and Reconciling Differences, the first released report from the US Climate Change Science Program. He also contributed to the IPCC Fourth Assessment Report
Working Group one report, Climate Change 2007 - The Physical Science Basis.
Remote Sensing Systems
Remote Sensing Systems is a private research company founded in 1974 by Frank Wentz. It processes microwave data from a variety of NASA satellites. Most of their research is supported by the Earth Science Enterprise program. The company is based in Santa Rosa, California.They are a widely cited...
, since 1998. He has worked on validation of SSM/I derived winds, and rain-flagging algorithm for the QuikScat
QuikSCAT
The QuikSCAT is an earth-observing satellite that provided estimates of wind speed and direction over the oceans to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and others. This "quick recovery" mission intended to replace the NASA Scatterometer , which failed in June 1997...
scatterometer
Scatterometer
A radar scatterometer is designed to determine the normalized radar cross section of the surface. Scatterometers operate by transmitting a pulse of microwave energy towards the Earth's surface and measuring the reflected energy. A separate measurement of the noise-only power is made and...
. He is best known for his work with Frank Wentz
Frank Wentz
Frank Wentz is the director and founder of Remote Sensing Systems a company specializing in research in satellite microwave remote sensing in 1974. With Carl Mears he is best known for developing a satellite temperature record from MSU and AMSU...
in developing a satellite temperature record from MSU and AMSU
Advanced Microwave Sounding Unit
The Advanced microwave sounding unit is a multi-channel microwave radiometer installed on meteorological satellites. The instrument examines several bands of microwave radiation from the atmosphere to perform atmospheric sounding of temperature and moisture levels.-Products:Level-1 radiance data...
. Intercomparison of this record with the earlier UAH
UAH satellite temperature dataset
The UAH satellite temperature dataset, developed at the University of Alabama in Huntsville, attempts to infer the temperature of the atmosphere at various levels from satellite measurements of radiance....
satellite temperature record, developed by John Christy
John Christy
John R. Christy is a climate scientist at the University of Alabama in Huntsville whose chief interests are satellite remote sensing of global climate and global climate change. He is best known, jointly with Roy Spencer, for the first successful development of a satellite temperature...
and Roy Spencer, revealed deficiencies in the earlier work; specifically, the warming trend in the RSS version is larger than the UAH one.
Mears was a major contributor to Temperature Trends in the Lower Atmosphere: Steps for Understanding and Reconciling Differences, the first released report from the US Climate Change Science Program. He also contributed to the IPCC Fourth Assessment Report
IPCC Fourth Assessment Report
Climate Change 2007, the Fourth Assessment Report of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change , is the fourth in a series of reports intended to assess scientific, technical and socio-economic information concerning climate change, its potential effects, and options for...
Working Group one report, Climate Change 2007 - The Physical Science Basis.
Education
- B.S. in Physics from the University of WashingtonUniversity of WashingtonUniversity of Washington is a public research university, founded in 1861 in Seattle, Washington, United States. The UW is the largest university in the Northwest and the oldest public university on the West Coast. The university has three campuses, with its largest campus in the University...
(1985) - PhD. in Physics from the University of California, BerkeleyUniversity of California, BerkeleyThe University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
(1991)
Service
- convening lead author for the U.S. Climate Change Science Program Sythesis and Assessment product 1.1
- contributing author to the IPCCIPCCIPCC may refer to:*Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, of the United Nations*Independent Police Complaints Commission, of England and Wales*Irish Peatland Conservation Council...
4th assessment report, chapter 3 Observations: Surface and Atmospheric Climate Change http://www.cru.uea.ac.uk/cru/about/history/ar4authors.htm. - member of the Global Climate Observing SystemGlobal Climate Observing SystemThe Global Climate Observing System is an international institution co-sponsored by the World Meteorological Organization , the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO, the United Nations Environment Programme , and the International Council for Science...
Working Group on Atmospheric Reference Observations - member of the WCRPWorld Climate Research ProgrammeThe World Climate Research Programme was established in 1980, under the joint sponsorship of International Council for Science and the World Meteorological Organization, and has also been sponsored by the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO since 1993. It is a component of the...
Stratospheric Trends Working Group, part of the Stratospheric Processes And their Role in ClimateStratospheric Processes And their Role in ClimateStratospheric Processes And their Role in Climate is a core project of the World Climate Research Programme.Because of the important role, which stratospheric processes play for the earth's climate system the World Climate Research Programme established this research project...
(SPARC) project.
Selected publications
- Mears, C. A. and F. J. Wentz, (2009) Construction of the Remote Sensing Systems V3.2 Atmospheric Temperature Records From the MSU and AMSU Microwave Sounders, Journal of Atmospheric and Oceanic Technology, published online, DOI: 10.1175/2008JTECHA1176.1.
- Mears, C. A. and F. J. Wentz, (2005) The Effect of Drifting Measurement Time on Satellite-Derived Lower Tropospheric Temperature, Science, 309, 1548-1551.
- Mears, C. A., M. C. Schabel and F. J. Wentz, (2003) A Reanalysis of the MSU Channel 2 Tropospheric Temperature Record, Journal of Climate, 16(22), 3650-3664.
- Santer, B. D., T. M. L. Wigley, C. A. Mears, F. J. Wentz, S. A. Klein, D. J. Seidel, K. E. Taylor, P. W. Thorne, M. F. Wehner, P. J. Gleckler, J. S. Boyle, W. D. Collins, K. W. Dixon, C. Doutriaux, M. Free, Q. Fu, J. E. Hansen, G. S. Jones, R. Ruedy, T. R. Karl, J. R. Lanzante, G. A. Meehl, V. Ramaswamy, G. Russell and G. A. Schmidt, (2005) Amplification of Surface Temperature Trends and Variability in the Tropical Atmosphere, Science, 309(5740), 1511-1556.