query: The Greenland ice sheet is at least 400,000 years old and warming was not global when Europeans settled in Greeland 1,000 years ago

positive: Climate change in the Arctic The effects of global warming in the Arctic , or climate change in the Arctic include rising temperatures , loss of sea ice , and melting of the Greenland ice sheet with a related cold temperature anomaly , observed in recent years . Potential methane release from the region , especially through the thawing of permafrost and methane clathrates , is also a concern . The Arctic warms twice as fast compared to the rest of the world . The pronounced warming signal , the amplified response of the Arctic to global warming , it is often seen as a leading indicator of global warming . The melting of Greenland 's ice sheet is linked to polar amplification . According to a study published in 2016 , about 0.5 ◦ C of the warming in the Arctic has been attributed to reductions in sulfate aerosols in Europe since 1980 .

positive: Sea level rise A sea level rise is an increase in the volume of water in the world 's oceans , resulting in an increase in global mean sea level . Sea level rise is usually attributed to global climate change by thermal expansion of the water in the oceans and by melting of Ice sheets and glaciers on land . Melting of floating ice shelves or icebergs at sea raises sea levels only slightly .   Sea level rise at specific locations may be more or less than the global average . Local factors might include tectonic effects , subsidence of the land , tides , currents , storms , etc. .  Sea level rise is expected to continue for centuries . Because of the slow inertia , long response time for parts of the climate system , it has been estimated that we are already committed to a sea-level rise of approximately 2.3 m for each degree Celsius of temperature rise within the next 2,000 years . IPCC Summary for Policymakers , AR5 , 2014 , indicated that the global mean sea level rise will continue during the 21st century , very likely at a faster rate than observed from 1971 to 2010 . Projected rates and amounts vary . A January 2017 NOAA report suggests a range of GMSL rise of 0.3 -- 2.5 m possible during the 21st century .   Sea level rises can considerably influence human populations in coastal and island regions and natural environments like marine ecosystems .

positive: Greenland ice sheet The Greenland ice sheet ( Grønlands indlandsis , Sermersuaq ) is a vast body of ice covering 1710000 km ² , roughly 80 % of the surface of Greenland .   It is the second largest ice body in the world , after the Antarctic ice sheet . The ice sheet is almost 2400 km long in a north-south direction , and its greatest width is 1100 km at a latitude of 77 ° N , near its northern margin . The mean altitude of the ice is 2135 m . The thickness is generally more than 2 km and over 3 km at its thickest point . It is not the only ice mass of Greenland -- isolated glaciers and small ice caps cover between 76000 and around the periphery . If the entire 2850000 km3 of ice were to melt , it would lead to a global sea level rise of 7.2 m . The Greenland Ice Sheet is sometimes referred to under the term inland ice , or its Danish equivalent , indlandsis . It is also sometimes referred to as an ice cap .

positive: North America North America is a continent entirely within the Northern Hemisphere and almost all within the Western Hemisphere . It can also be considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas . It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean , to the east by the Atlantic Ocean , to the west and south by the Pacific Ocean , and to the southeast by South America and the Caribbean Sea .   North America covers an area of about 24,709,000 square kilometers ( 9,540,000 square miles ) , about 16.5 % of the earth 's land area and about 4.8 % of its total surface .  North America is the third largest continent by area , following Asia and Africa , and the fourth by population after Asia , Africa , and Europe .   In 2013 , its population was estimated at nearly 565 million people in 23 independent states , or about 7.5 % of the world 's population , if nearby islands ( most notably the Caribbean ) are included .   North America was reached by its first human populations during the last glacial period , via crossing the Bering land bridge approximately 40,000 to 17,000 years ago . The so-called Paleo-Indian period is taken to have lasted until about 10,000 years ago ( the beginning of the Archaic or Meso-Indian period ) . The Classic stage spans roughly the 6th to 13th centuries . The Pre-Columbian era ended with the transatlantic migrations and the arrival of European settlers during the Age of Discovery and the Early Modern period . Present-day cultural and ethnic patterns reflect different kind of interactions between European colonists , indigenous peoples , African slaves and their descendants . European influences are strongest in the northern parts of the continent while indigenous and African influences are relatively stronger in the south . Because of the history of colonialism , most North Americans speak English , Spanish or French and societies and states commonly reflect Western traditions .

negative: Gunz glaciation The Gunz or Günz glaciation ( Günz-Kaltzeit , also Günz-Glazial , Günz-Komplex or ( obs . ) Günz-Eiszeit ) , also sometimes the Günz , Gunzian glaciation or Günz glacial stage , is a glacial stage of the Pleistocene epoch . It is the oldest glaciation of the Pleistocene in the traditional , quadripartite glacial classification of the Alps , although there are signs of even older glaciations in the Alpine Foreland , so that today it is reckoned that there were at least eight to 15 glacial periods . The name goes back to Albrecht Penck and Eduard Brückner , who named this ice age after the River Günz in their multi-volume work , Die Alpen im Eiszeitalter ( `` The Alps in the Ice Age Period '' ) which was published between 1901 and 1909 . Its type region is the Iller-Lech Plateau . The Günz followed the Danube-Günz interglacial and was ended by the Günz-Haslach interglacial .   The corresponding stage in North Europe was the Elbe glaciation ( Elbe-Kaltzeit or , obsolete , Elbe-Eiszeit ) .   The Günz is thought to have run from 800 000 to 600 000 years ago . Possible geological correlations suggest it may have begun 900 000 years ago .

negative: Laguna Caldera Laguna Caldera is located southeast of Manila . It has a summit elevation of 743m or 2,438 feet . The caldera , whose lake surface is only 1m above sea level , may have formed at least two major eruptions of about 1 million and 27,000-29 ,000 years ago .

negative: Termination (geomorphology) Termination , as used by Quaternary geologists , oceanographers , and paleoclimatologists is the period of time during an glacial cycle when there is a relatively rapid transition from full glacial climates to full interglacial climates . For the Quaternary period , terminations are numbered using Roman numerals from the most recent termination as `` I '' and with increasing value , e.g. `` II '' , `` III '' , and so forth , into the past . Termination I , also known as the Last Glacial Termination , is the end of Marine isotope stage 2 ; Termination II is the end of Marine Isotope Stage 6 ; Termination III is the end of Marine Isotope Stage 8 ; Termination IV is the end of Marine Isotope Stage 10 , and so forth .   During the Quaternary , global climate experienced a recurring pattern of ice-sheet growth and decay . The length of Late Quaternary cycles varied between 80,000 and 120,000 years , with an average recurrence interval of about 100,000 years . The typical Late Quaternary glacial cycle was asymmetric having a long cooling interval that was characterized by an oscillating buildup of ice sheets to maximum volume . The long cooling interval was then followed by a relatively short warming period . During this warming period , called a termination , huge Northern hemisphere ice sheets melted away ; sea level rose about 120 m ; and interglacial climate emerged across the planet in a few thousand years . In case of the termination of the last glacial cycle , the retreat of continental ice sheets in the Northern hemisphere began about 20,000 calendar years ago . By about 7,000 calemdar years ago , a small ice cap on Baffin Island was all that was left of the great Laurentide Ice Sheet that had once covered northern North America . In Antarctica , the last termination began about 18,000 years ago and interglacial climate was attained close to 11,000 years ago .

negative: Death rates in the 20th century Death Rates in the 20th century is the ratio of deaths compared to the population around the world throughout the 20th century . When giving these ratios , they are most commonly expressed by number of deaths per 1,000 people per year . Many factors contribute to death rates such as cause of death , increasing the death rate , an aging population , which could increase and decrease the death rates by birth rates , and improvements in public health , decreasing the death rate .   According to the CIA World Factbook , as of July 2012 , the global crude death rate is 7.99 deaths/1 ,000 population . The crude death rate represents the total number of deaths per year per thousand people . Comparatively , the crude death rate in the year 1900 was 17.2 deaths/1 ,000 population and 9.6 deaths/1 ,000 population in 1950 in America .

negative: Konrad Steffen Konrad `` Koni '' Steffen ( born 1952 ) is a glaciologist and the former director of the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences at the University of Colorado Boulder , a position he held from 2005 until he took office as the director of the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest , Snow and Landscape Research on July 1 , 2012 . He is known for his research into Arctic sea ice and the glaciers of Greenland , and how they are affected by global warming . He has often traveled to Greenland to study these glaciers firsthand ; for example , when studying Petermann Glacier for three weeks in 2004 , Steffen did so from a camp set up 4,000 feet up the flanks of the glacier 's ice cap . He also operates a network of 20 weather stations on the Greenland ice sheet , the first of which , Swiss Camp , he established in 1990 . He has argued that due to this ice sheet melting faster than anticipated , sea levels could rise by about 3 feet by 2100 , considerably higher than the IPCC 's upper limit of 59 cm , and that Greenland might lose all its ice in 10,000 years , but Antarctica would take considerably longer , since it is so much bigger .

negative: Der Alte Schwede Der Alte Schwede or Alter Schwede ( meaning ( The ) Old Swede in German ) is a glacial erratic , found during dredging of the river Elbe near Hamburg in 1999 , at a depth of 15 m . The rock has a circumference of 19.7 m , a height of 4.5 m and weighs 217 tons . During the Elster maximum glaciation of the ice age 400 000 years ago , it was carried from Småland to the site where it was found . In June 2000 , it was given its current name . It is Germany 's oldest glacial erratic .

negative: Cold blob (North Atlantic) The cold blob in the North Atlantic describes a cold temperature anomaly of ocean surface waters , affecting the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation ( AMOC ) which is part of the thermohaline circulation , possibly related to global warming-induced melting of the Greenland ice sheet .

negative: Gutmanis Cave Gutman 's Cave ( Gūtmaņa ala ) is the widest and highest cave in the Baltic countries , located on the Gauja River in the National Park of Sigulda , Latvia . It started forming more than 10 000 years ago when meltwater eroded the sandstone rock after the Ice Age . It is the oldest tourist attraction in Latvia . On the walls of the cave are inscriptions from the 17th century . The legend of the Rose of Turaida began in this cave .

negative: Norge 1:50000 Norge 1:50 000 ( Norway 1:50 000 ) is the main series of 727 topographical maps in 1:50,000 scale that cover the entire mainland area of Norway and proximate islands . The civilian designation is Norway 1:50 000 and the military designation is M711 .   The military series includes 727 maps . The production of the map series was begun in 1952 , and the series was completed for whole Norway in 1988 . The maps are subject to ongoing revision , and about 60 maps are issued in new release each year . From 2012 , a civilian series printed on plastic sheets on both sides and in a larger format were produced . Each map sheet is now equivalent to four different maps in the military series . The civilian series include 212 different maps .   Statens kartverk ( Norwegian Mapping Authority ) , the governmental cartography office , is responsible for updating and maintaining the maps . The geodetic datum of the series is EUREF89 ( European Reference Frame 1989 ) , which is approximately equal to WGS84 ( World Geodetic System 1984 ) . The maps are in full color , complete with place names and political boundaries . Contour line spacing is 20 meters ( 66 ft ) , and the maps are usable for hiking and other navigation .   The maps are available for sale in most bookstores , though it may vary how complete their collection is .

negative: Abrupt climate change An abrupt climate change occurs when the climate system is forced to transition to a new climate state at a rate that is determined by the climate system energy-balance , and which is more rapid than the rate of change of the external forcing . Past events include the end of the Carboniferous Rainforest Collapse , Younger Dryas , Dansgaard-Oeschger events , Heinrich events and possibly also the Paleocene-Eocene thermal maximum . The term is also used within the context of global warming to describe sudden climate change that is detectable over the time-scale of a human lifetime . One proposed reason for the observed abrupt climate change is that feedback loops within the climate system both enhance small perturbations and cause a variety of stable states .   Timescales of events described as ` abrupt ' may vary dramatically . Changes recorded in the climate of Greenland at the end of the Younger Dryas , as measured by ice-cores , imply a sudden warming of + 10 C-change within a timescale of a few years . Other abrupt changes are the + 4 C-change on Greenland 11,270 years ago or the abrupt + 6 C-change warming 22,000 years ago on Antarctica . By contrast , the Paleocene-Eocene thermal maximum may have initiated anywhere between a few decades and several thousand years . Finally , Earth Systems models project that under ongoing greenhouse gas emissions as early as 2047 , the Earth 's near surface temperature could depart from the range of variability in the last 150 years , affecting over 3 billion people and most places of great species diversity on Earth .

negative: Maritsa Municipality Maritsa Municipality ( obshtina ) is located in the Plovdiv Province , southern Bulgaria on the northern bank of the Maritsa River . It has 30,676 inhabitants and consists only of villages . The municipality has thriving industry with around $ 400 000 000 invested in the recent years . Its administrative center is Plovdiv but the city is not part of the municipality .

negative: Setergrotta Setergrotta ( or Setergrotten ) is a karst cave in Røvassdalen in the municipality of Rana in Nordland , Norway . It has a total depth of 50 meters and explored length of 2.4 kilometers . It is probably connected to the nearby Grønligrotta . The cave contains large galleries and sediments from the latest ice age and younger . It was created 2-300 ,000 years ago .

negative: Hartmut Heinrich Hartmut Heinrich ( born March 5 , 1952 in Northeim , Lower Saxony ) is a German marine geologist and climatologist . Dr. Heinrich is Head of the Physics Department at the Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency ( BSH ) in Hamburg . He is actively involved in GOOS ( Global Ocean Observing System ) . In 1988 he described the suddenly occurring climate changes in the history of the earth , which have since been named after him , Heinrich events .   Heinrich studied geology at the University of Göttingen and attained a doctorate at the University of Kiel in marine geology . The discovery which was named for him , Heinrich events -- periods of substantial ice output of the continental ice sheets , by which the global climate is strongly affected -- were subsequently confirmed by investigations of ice core samples from the Greenland ice sheet by the Greenland ice core project ( GRIP ) . Dr. Heinrich warns of the global warming consequences which could occur precipitously and of far larger effects on navigation and population .

negative: Energy consumption measurement Energy consumption measurement is done in varying units .   In List of countries by energy consumption per capita , the data is given in kilogrammes of oil equivalent per year -LSB- kgoe/a -RSB- , and gigajoules per year , and in watts , as average equivalent power .   1000 kgoe = 42 GJ  W per capita ( 1 GJ/a = 31.7 W ) ( multiply by 8.766 to get kWh/year )  Megawatt hours per year can be written as Watt :  1 MW · h/yr = 1 000 kWh/yr = 1 000 000 Wh / ( 365.25 · 24 ) h = 114.077116 Watt  Category : Energy measurement  Category : Energy consumption

negative: Nioghalvfjerdsbrae Nioghalvfjerdsbrae , sometimes referred to as `` 79 N Glacier '' , is a large glacier located in northeast Greenland . It drains an area of 103,314 km2 of the Greenland Ice Sheet with a flux ( quantity of ice moved from the land to the sea ) of 14.3 km3 per year , as measured for 1996 .

negative: Peopling of China The ancestry of the present-day Chinese is complex and incompletely known . Genetic evidence indicates that groups of humans began to enter the region 50-60 ,000 years ago , probably from Africa , settling mainly in coastal areas and river valleys . After the last ice age China became cut off from neighboring island groups , but settlement became more widespread with the more favorable climate and the development of agriculture about 10,000 years ago . However , much detail about prehistoric cultures and languages remains conjectural .   The historical period saw the absorption of many local cultures by the Han Chinese as the Chinese empire spread . Influences from outside included contact with nomads from the steppe and with Arab traders , and later the conquest of the empire successively by the Mongols and the Manchu .

negative: Zhoukoudian Zhoukoudian or Choukoutien is a cave system in Beijing , China . It has yielded many archaeological discoveries , including one of the first specimens of Homo erectus , dubbed Peking Man , and a fine assemblage of bones of the gigantic hyena Pachycrocuta brevirostris .   Dates of when Peking Man inhabited this site vary greatly : 700,000-200 ,000 years ago , 670,000-470 ,000 years ago and no earlier than 530,000 years ago .   The Peking Man Site was first discovered by Johan Gunnar Andersson in 1921 and was first excavated by Otto Zdansky in 1921 and 1923 unearthing two human teeth . These were later identified by Davidson Black as belonging to a previously unknown species and extensive excavations followed . Fissures in the limestone containing middle Pleistocene deposits have yielded the remains of about 45 individuals as well as animal remains and stone flake and chopping tools .   The oldest animal remains date from as early as 690,000 years ago and tools from 670,000 years ago while another authority dates the tools found from no earlier than 530,000 years ago . During the Upper Palaeolithic , the site was re-occupied and remains of Homo sapiens and its stone and bone tools have also been recovered from the Upper Cave .   The crater Choukoutien on asteroid 243 Ida was named after the location . The caves are located in Fangshan District , southwest of central Beijing .

negative: Orsugissap Qaqqarsua Orsugissap Qaqqarsua ( old spelling : Orssugissap Qaqqarssua ) is a nunatak ( nunataq ) of the Greenland ice sheet in the Qaasuitsup municipality in northwestern Greenland .

negative: West Greenland Current The West Greenland Current is a weak cold water current that flows to the north along the west coast of Greenland . The current results from the movement of water flowing around the southernmost point of Greenland caused by the East Greenland Current .   According to Lloyd et al. , 2007 , the WGC is a WARM current connected to a broader scale North Atlantic climate via the combined influences of Atlantic water from the Irminger Current ( IC ) and polar water from the East Greenland Current .   Paleoclimatology records derived from foraminifera abundance show that periodic influxes of warm subsurface temperatures and near-bottom temperatures occurred throughout the Late Holocene epoch , particularly during the Holocene climatic optimum . The increased flow from the nearby East Greenland Current was associated with increased glacial iceberg calving from the large Jakobshavn Isbrae glacial outlet within the western Greenland Ice Sheet , causing rapid melting and destabilization events . Following the Neoglaciation , the Jakobshavn outlet formed a floating ice tongue around 2000 years before present .

negative: Dye 3 Dye 3 is an ice core site and previously part of the Distant Early Warning ( DEW ) line , located at ( , 2480 masl ) in Greenland . As a DEW line base , it was disbanded in years 1990/1991 .   An ice core is a core sample from the accumulation of snow and ice that has re-crystallized and trapped air bubbles over many years . The composition of these ice cores , especially the presence of hydrogen and oxygen isotopes , provides a picture of the climate at the time . Ice cores contain an abundance of climate information .   Inclusions in the snow , such as wind-blown dust , ash , bubbles of atmospheric gas and radioactive substances , remain in the ice . The variety of climatic proxies is greater than in any other natural recorder of climate , such as tree rings or sediment layers . These include ( proxies for ) temperature , ocean volume , precipitation , chemistry and gas composition of the lower atmosphere , volcanic eruptions , solar variability , sea-surface productivity , desert extent and forest fires .   Typical ice cores are removed from an ice sheet such as the ice cap internal to Greenland . Greenland is , by area , the world 's largest island . The Greenland ice sheet covers about 1.71 million km2 and contains about 2.6 million km3 of ice .

negative: Tipping points in the climate system A tipping point in the climate system is a threshold that, when exceeded, can lead to large changes in the state of the system. Potential tipping points have been identified in the physical climate system, in impacted ecosystems, and sometimes in both. For instance, feedback from the global carbon cycle is a driver for the transition between glacial and interglacial periods, with orbital forcing providing the initial trigger. Earth's geologic temperature record includes many more examples of geologically rapid transitions between different climate states.Climate tipping points are of particular interest in reference to concerns about global warming in the modern era. Possible tipping point behaviour has been identified for the global mean surface temperature by studying self-reinforcing feedbacks and the past behavior of Earth's climate system. Self-reinforcing feedbacks in the carbon cycle and planetary reflectivity could trigger a cascading set of tipping points that lead the world into a hothouse climate state.Large-scale components of the Earth system that may pass a tipping point have been referred to as tipping elements. Tipping elements are found in the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets, possibly causing tens of meters of sea level rise. These tipping points are not always abrupt. For example, at some level of temperature rise the melt of a large part of the Greenland ice sheet and/or West Antarctic Ice Sheet will become inevitable; but the ice sheet itself may persist for many centuries. Some tipping elements, like the collapse of ecosystems, are irreversible.

negative: Médaille militaire The Médaille militaire ( Military Medal ) is a military decoration of the French Republic for other ranks for meritorious service and acts of bravery in action against an enemy force . It is the third highest award of the French Republic , after the Légion d'honneur , a civil and military order , and the ordre de la Libération , a second world war-only order . The Médaille militaire is therefore the most senior entirely military active French decoration .   During World War One , 230 000 médailles were awarded , when 1 400 000 French Army soldiers were killed and 3 000 000 wounded . For comparison , the UK Military Medal was awarded on 115 000 occasions in World War One , when 673 375 British Army soldiers were killed and 1 643 469 wounded .   The award was first established in 1852 by the first President of the French Republic , Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte who may have taken his inspiration from a medal established and awarded by his father , Louis Bonaparte , King of Holland .   After the First World War , the Military Medal was also temporarily awarded for wounds received in combat .

negative: List of glaciers in Glacier National Park (U.S.) There are at least 35 named glaciers in Glacier National Park ( U.S. ) . In 1850 , the area now comprising the national park had 150 glaciers . There are 25 active glaciers remaining in the park today . Since the ice ages stopped 10,000 years ago , there have been many slight climate shifts causing periods of glacier growth or melt-back . The glaciers are currently being studied to see the effect of global warming It is estimated that if current warming trends continue , there will be no glaciers left in the park by 2030 .

negative: Climate inertia Climate inertia describes the widespread inherent characteristic of the climate , ecological , and socio-economic systems . Inertia from anthropogenic impacts may be slow to become apparent , or could be irreversible if climate change crosses associated thresholds . Melting ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica take time to respond to the emissions of fossil fuel carbon in the climate system . The global warming also causes thermal inertia , thermal expansion of the oceans , which contributes to sea level rise . It has been estimated that we are already committed to a sea-level rise of approximately 2.3 meters for each degree of temperature rise within the next 2,000 years .

negative: List of Greenlandic films A list of films produced in the Greenlandic language either by Greelandic or Danish producers , sorted in alphabetical order .

negative: Thue Christiansen Thue Christiansen ( born 25 February 1940 Maamorilik , Greenland ) is a Greenlandic Inuit teacher , artist and politician . Christiansen is best known as the designer of the flag of Greenland , which was adopted on 21 June 1985 . Christiansen also served as the Greelandic Minister of Culture and Education from 1979 , when Greenland was granted home rule , until 1983 .

negative: Eutatus Eutatus is an extinct genus of large insectivorous armadillo of the family Dasypodidae . It was endemic to South America during the middle to Late Pleistocene , living from 1.2 Ma-11 ,000 years ago and existing for approximately .

negative: Greenlands Guest House Greelands Guest House is a government-owned guest house located in Hyderabad , India . It is located in Greelands , Begumpet . It is a notified heritage structure in Hyderabad . It is used as a state guest house .

negative: Glacial earthquake Glacial earthquakes are earthquakes as large as magnitude 5.1 that occur in glaciated areas where the glacier moves faster than one kilometer per year .   The number of glacial earthquakes in Greenland shows a peak every year in July , August and September , and the number is increasing over time . In a study using data from January 1993 through October 2005 , more events were detected every year since 2002 , and twice as many events were recorded in 2005 as there were in any other year . This increase in the numbers of glacial earthquakes in Greenland may be a response to global warming .   Seismic waves are also generated by the Whillans Ice Stream , a large , fast-moving river of ice pouring from the West Antarctic Ice Sheet into the Ross Ice Shelf . Two bursts of seismic waves are released every day , each one equivalent to a magnitude 7 earthquake , and are seemingly related to the tidal action of the Ross Sea . During each event a 96 by 193 kilometer ( 60 by 120 mile ) region of the glacier moves as much as .67 meters ( 2.2 feet ) over about 25 minutes , remains still for 12 hours , then moves another half-meter . The seismic waves are recorded at seismographs around Antarctica , and even as far away as Australia , a distance of more than 6,400 kilometers . Because the motion takes place of such a long period of time 10 to 25 minutes , it can not be felt by scientists standing on the moving glacier . It is not known if these events are related to global warming .

negative: Paf (company) Ålands Penningautomatförening or Paf is a Finnish company that operates a legal gambling monopoly on the Åland Islands , Finland . Paf also has an Internet-based gambling and gaming operation , in addition to operating and maintaining casino and gaming activities on a large number of cruise ferries . The purpose of Paf is to generate funds for humanitarian and social causes on the Åland Islands . Paf serves players from countries including Finland , Sweden , Estonia , Spain and Italy . Paf is licensed and controlled by the local Åland government .   An independent allocation board distributes all the Paf profit to non-profit associations , organizations and good causes on the Åland Islands . In 2015 , Paf distributed a total of 20,7 million euros in different grants and loans .  Social activities : 3 260 000  Environmental activities : 450 000  Youth work : 385 000  Sport : 1 575 000  Arts and culture activities : 1 681 000  Leadership contributions : 169 000  Event contributions : 100 000  Other contributions : 2 125 000  Project contributions : 790 000  Social development and employment : 6 555 000  Loans and investments  Geriatric clinic : 2 000 0000  Other loans : 1 610 000  Paf 's counterpart in Mainland Finland is the not-for-profit gambling company Veikkaus . Disputes over jurisdiction between the two associations are ongoing .   Paf is going to start a four-year research cooperation with the Department of Psychology at Stockholm University . The study focus on setting limits , customer contact and feedback on gaming habits . The research project is led by Professor of Psychology Per Carlbring , and Paf is funding the study with 320 000 euros .   Paf arrange every other year a multi-national Responsible Gaming Summit . Purpose of the conference is to increase awareness about responsible gaming . The conference is aimed to gaming operators , partners , academics and decision makers to learn from each other and share best practices . The conference arranged at 29 September 2015 . The first conference was arranged in 2013 .

negative: Maarten Swings Maarten Swings ( born 2 November 1988 ) is the brother of Bart Swings . Like his brother , he is a Belgian speed skater ( inline skating & ice ) and multiple European and world Champion . Together with his brother and their mutual friend Ferre Spruyt they form ` Team Stressless ' . It is the first Belgian professional top speed skating team .   Inline speedskating Top results  2011 European Champion men 's speed inline skating ( on the road ) 5 000 m relay race  2010 European Champion men 's speed inline skating ( on the road ) 5 000 m relay race  2009 European Champion men 's speed inline skating ( on the road ) 3 000 m relay race

negative: Tremarctos Tremarctos is a genus of the family Ursidae , subfamily Tremarctinae endemic to Americas from the Pliocene to recent . The northern species , the Florida short-faced bear , was extinct 11 000 years ago . The sole living Tremarctos species is the South American spectacled bear .


query: the satellite sensors show less warming in the lower troposphere (approximately 10,000 feet above the earth’s surface) than is reported by surface temperature readings.

positive: Earth Earth ( from Eorðe -LSB- Γαῖα , Gaia -RSB- Terra ) , otherwise known as the World or the Globe , is the third planet from the Sun and the only object in the Universe known to harbor life . It is the densest planet in the Solar System and the largest of the four terrestrial planets .   According to radiometric dating and other sources of evidence , Earth formed about 4.54 billion years ago . Earth 's gravity interacts with other objects in space , especially the Sun and the Moon , Earth 's only natural satellite . During one orbit around the Sun , Earth rotates about its axis over 365 times ; thus , an Earth year is about 365.26 days long . Earth 's axis of rotation is tilted , producing seasonal variations on the planet 's surface . The gravitational interaction between the Earth and Moon causes ocean tides , stabilizes the Earth 's orientation on its axis , and gradually slows its rotation .   Earth 's lithosphere is divided into several rigid tectonic plates that migrate across the surface over periods of many millions of years . About 71 % of Earth 's surface is covered with water , mostly by its oceans . The remaining 29 % is land consisting of continents and islands that together have many lakes , rivers and other sources of water that contribute to the hydrosphere . The majority of Earth 's polar regions are covered in ice , including the Antarctic ice sheet and the sea ice of the Arctic ice pack . Earth 's interior remains active with a solid iron inner core , a liquid outer core that generates the Earth 's magnetic field , and a convecting mantle that drives plate tectonics .   Within the first billion years of Earth 's history , life appeared in the oceans and began to affect the Earth 's atmosphere and surface , leading to the proliferation of aerobic and anaerobic organisms . Some geological evidence indicates that life may have arisen as much as 4.1 billion years ago . Since then , the combination of Earth 's distance from the Sun , physical properties , and geological history have allowed life to evolve and thrive . In the history of the Earth , biodiversity has gone through long periods of expansion , occasionally punctuated by mass extinction events . Over 99 % of all species that ever lived on Earth are extinct . Estimates of the number of species on Earth today vary widely ; most species have not been described . Over 7.4 billion humans live on Earth and depend on its biosphere and minerals for their survival . Humans have developed diverse societies and cultures ; politically , the world has about 200 sovereign states .

positive: Atmosphere of Earth The atmosphere of Earth is the layer of gases , commonly known as air , that surrounds the planet Earth and is retained by Earth 's gravity . The atmosphere of Earth protects life on Earth by absorbing ultraviolet solar radiation , warming the surface through heat retention ( greenhouse effect ) , and reducing temperature extremes between day and night ( the diurnal temperature variation ) .   By volume , dry air contains 78.09 % nitrogen , 20.95 % oxygen , 0.93 % argon , 0.04 % carbon dioxide , and small amounts of other gases . Air also contains a variable amount of water vapor , on average around 1 % at sea level , and 0.4 % over the entire atmosphere . Air content and atmospheric pressure vary at different layers , and air suitable for use in photosynthesis by terrestrial plants and breathing of terrestrial animals is found only in Earth 's troposphere and in artificial atmospheres .   The atmosphere has a mass of about 5.15 kg , three quarters of which is within about 11 km of the surface . The atmosphere becomes thinner and thinner with increasing altitude , with no definite boundary between the atmosphere and outer space . The Kármán line , at 100 km , or 1.57 % of Earth 's radius , is often used as the border between the atmosphere and outer space . Atmospheric effects become noticeable during atmospheric reentry of spacecraft at an altitude of around 120 km . Several layers can be distinguished in the atmosphere , based on characteristics such as temperature and composition .   The study of Earth 's atmosphere and its processes is called atmospheric science ( aerology ) . Early pioneers in the field include Léon Teisserenc de Bort and Richard Assmann .

positive: Global warming Global warming , also referred to as climate change , is the observed century-scale rise in the average temperature of the Earth 's climate system and its related effects . Multiple lines of scientific evidence show that the climate system is warming . Many of the observed changes since the 1950s are unprecedented in the instrumental temperature record which extends back to the mid 19th century , and in paleoclimate proxy records over thousands of years .   In 2013 , the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change ( IPCC ) Fifth Assessment Report concluded that `` It is extremely likely that human influence has been the dominant cause of the observed warming since the mid-20th century . '' The largest human influence has been emission of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide , methane and nitrous oxide . Climate model projections summarized in the report indicated that during the 21st century the global surface temperature is likely to rise a further 0.3 to for their lowest emissions scenario and 2.6 to for the highest emissions scenario . These findings have been recognized by the national science academies of the major industrialized nations and are not disputed by any scientific body of national or international standing .   Future climate change and associated impacts will differ from region to region around the globe . Anticipated effects include warming global temperature , rising sea levels , changing precipitation , and expansion of deserts in the subtropics . Warming is expected to be greater over land than over the oceans and greatest in the Arctic , with the continuing retreat of glaciers , permafrost and sea ice . Other likely changes include more frequent extreme weather events including heat waves , droughts , heavy rainfall with floods and heavy snowfall ; ocean acidification ; and species extinctions due to shifting temperature regimes . Effects significant to humans include the threat to food security from decreasing crop yields and the abandonment of populated areas due to rising sea levels . Because the climate system has a large `` inertia '' and greenhouse gases will stay in the atmosphere for a long time , many of these effects will not only exist for decades or centuries , but will persist for tens of thousands of years .   Possible societal responses to global warming include mitigation by emissions reduction , adaptation to its effects , building systems resilient to its effects , and possible future climate engineering . Most countries are parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change ( UNFCCC ) ,  whose ultimate objective is to prevent dangerous anthropogenic climate change . Parties to the UNFCCC have agreed that deep cuts in emissions are required and that global warming should be limited to well below 2.0 C-change relative to pre-industrial levels , with efforts made to limit warming to 1.5 C-change .   Public reactions to global warming and concern about its effects are also increasing . A global 2015 Pew Research Center report showed a median of 54 % consider it `` a very serious problem '' . There are significant regional differences , with Americans and Chinese ( whose economies are responsible for the greatest annual CO2 emissions ) among the least concerned .

positive: Climate of Antarctica The climate of Antarctica is the coldest on Earth . Antarctica 's lowest air temperature record was set on 21 July 1983 , with − 89.2 C at Vostok Station . Satellite measurements have identified even lower ground temperatures , down to − 93.2 C at the cloud free East Antarctic Plateau on 10 August 2010 . It is also extremely dry ( technically a desert ) , averaging 166 mm of precipitation per year . On most parts of the continent the snow rarely melts and is eventually compressed to become the glacier ice that makes up the ice sheet . Weather fronts rarely penetrate far into the continent , because of the katabatic winds . Most of Antarctica has an ice cap climate ( Köppen EF ) with very cold , generally extremely dry weather .

negative: Global warming hiatus A global warming hiatus , also sometimes referred to as a global warming pause or a global warming slowdown , is a period of relatively little change in globally averaged surface temperatures . In the current episode of global warming many such 15-year periods appear in the surface temperature record , along with robust evidence of the long-term warming trend ; climate is classically averaged over 30-year periods .   Publicity has surrounded claims of a global warming hiatus during the period 1998 -- 2013 . The exceptionally warm El Niño year of 1998 was an outlier from the continuing temperature trend , and so subsequent annual temperatures gave the appearance of a hiatus : by January 2006 , it appeared to some that global warming had stopped or paused . A 2009 study showed that decades without warming were not exceptional , and in 2011 a study showed that if allowances were made for known variability , the rising temperature trend continued unabated . There was increased public interest in 2013 in the run-up to publication of the IPCC Fifth Assessment Report , and despite concerns that a 15-year period was too short to determine a meaningful trend , the IPCC included a section on a hiatus , which it defined as a much smaller increasing linear trend over the 15 years from 1998 to 2012 , than over the 60 years from 1951 to 2012 . Various studies examined possible causes of the short-term slowdown . Even though the overall climate system has continued to accumulate energy due to Earth 's positive energy budget , the available temperature readings at the Earth 's surface indicate slower rates of increase in surface warming than in the prior decade . Since measurements at the top of the atmosphere show that Earth is receiving more energy than it is radiating back into space , the retained energy should be producing warming in the Earth 's climate system .   Research reported in July 2015 on an updated NOAA dataset casts doubt on the existence of a hiatus , and it finds no indication of a slowdown even in earlier years . Scientists working on other datasets welcomed this study , though they have expressed the view that the recent warming trend was less than in previous periods of the same length . Subsequently , a detailed study supports the conclusion that warming is continuing , but it also find there was less warming between 2001 and 2010 than climate models had predicted , and that this slowdown might be attributed to short-term variations in the Pacific decadal oscillation ( PDO ) , which was negative during that period . Another review finds `` no substantive evidence '' of a pause in global warming . A statistical study of global temperature data since 1970 concludes that the term ` hiatus ' or ` pause ' is not justified .   Independent of these discussions about data and measurements for earlier years , 2015 turned out to be much warmer than any of the earlier years , already before El Niño conditions started . The warmth of 2015 largely ended any remaining scientific credibility of claims that the supposed `` hiatus '' since 1998 had any significance for the long-term warming trend . In January 2017 , a study published in the journal Science Advances cast further doubt on the existence of a recent pause , with more evidence that ocean temperatures have been underestimated . An April 2017 study found the data consistent with a steady warming trend globally since the 1970s , with fluctuations within the expected range of short term variability .

negative: Upsalite Upsalite is an anhydrous form of magnesium carbonate first reported in July 2013 . With a surface area of 800 m ² per gram , Upsalite is reported to have the highest surface area measured for an alkali earth metal carbonate ever created . It is found to adsorb more water at low relative humidities better than the best materials previously available -- the hygroscopic zeolites . Further , upsalite can release that water at lower temperatures than zeolites , requiring less energy .

negative: Atmosphere of Triton The atmosphere of Triton is the layer of gases surrounding Triton . The surface pressure is only 14 microbars , 1/70 ,000 th of the surface pressure on Earth , and it is composed of nitrogen , similar to those of Titan and Earth . It extends 800 kilometers above its surface . Recent observations have shown an increase in temperature .

negative: Highest temperature recorded on Earth The standard measuring conditions for temperature are in the air , 1.5 meters above the ground , and shielded from direct sunlight . The highest confirmed temperature on Earth recorded according to these measures was 56.7 C in Furnace Creek Ranch , California , located in the Death Valley desert in the United States , on July 10 , 1913 .   The former highest official temperature on Earth , held for 90 years by ` Aziziya , Libya , was de-certified by the WMO ( World Meteorological Organization ) in January 2012 as the record for the world 's highest surface temperature ( this temperature of 57.8 ° C ( 136 ° F ) , registered on 13 September 1922 , is currently considered to have been a recorder 's error ) . Christopher C. Burt , the weather historian writing for Weather Underground who shepherded the Libya reading 's 2012 disqualification , believes that the 1913 Death Valley reading is `` a myth '' , and is at least four or five degrees Fahrenheit too high , as do other weather historians Dr. Arnold Court and William Taylor Reid . Burt proposes that the highest reliably recorded temperature on Earth is still at Death Valley , but is instead 53.9 C recorded five times : 20 July 1960 , 18 July 1998 , 20 July 2005 , 7 July 2007 , and 30 June 2013 .   Temperatures measured directly on the ground may exceed air temperatures by 30 to 50 ° C . A ground temperature of 84 ° C ( 183.2 ° F ) has been recorded in Port Sudan , Sudan . A ground temperature of 93.9 ° C ( 201 ° F ) was recorded also in Furnace Creek Ranch on 15 July 1972 ; this may be the highest natural ground surface temperature ever recorded . The theoretical maximum possible ground surface temperature has been estimated to be between 90 and 100 ° C for dry , darkish soils of low thermal conductivity .   Temperature measurements via satellite also tend to capture occurrence of higher records but are considered less reliable than ground-positioned thermometers . There is a satellite record of 66.8 C measured in the Flaming Mountains of China in 2008 . Other satellite measurements of ground temperature taken between 2003 and 2009 , taken with the MODIS infrared spectroradiometer on the Aqua satellite , found a maximum temperature of 70.7 ° C ( 159.3 ° F ) , which was recorded in 2005 in the Lut Desert , Iran . The Lut Desert was also found to have the highest maximum temperature in 5 of the 7 years measured ( 2004 , 2005 , 2006 , 2007 and 2009 ) . These measurements reflect averages over a large region and so are lower than the maximum point surface temperature .

negative: Capping inversion A capping inversion is an elevated inversion layer that caps a convective boundary layer .   The boundary layer is the part of the atmosphere which is closest to the ground . Normally , the sun heats the ground , which in turn heats the air just above it . Thermals form when this warm air rises into the cold air ( warm air is less dense than cold air ) , a process described by convection . A convective layer such as this has the potential for cloud formation , since condensation occurs as the warm air rises and cools .   An inversion occurs when the normal temperature ( warm air below , cold air above ) profile is reversed , creating a stable configuration of dense , cold air sitting below lighter , warm air . An elevated inversion layer is thus a region of warm air above a region of cold air , but higher in the atmosphere ( generally not touching the surface ) .   A capping inversion occurs when there is a boundary layer with a normal temperature profile ( warm air rising into cooler air ) and the layer above that is an inversion layer ( cooler air below warm air ) . Cloud formation from the lower layer is `` capped '' by the inversion layer . If the capping inversion layer or `` cap '' is too strong ( too close to the surface ) , it will prevent thunderstorms from developing . A strong cap can result in foggy conditions .   However , if the air at the surface is unstable enough , strong updrafts can be forced through the capping inversion . This selective process of only allowing the strongest updrafts to form thunderstorms often results in outbreaks of severe weather .

negative: Tropical Warm Pool The Tropical Warm Pool ( TPW ) is a mass of ocean water located in the western Pacific Ocean and eastern Indian Ocean which exhibits the highest water temperatures over the largest expanse of the Earth 's surface .

negative: Atmosphere of Venus The atmosphere of Venus is the layer of gases surrounding Venus . It is composed primarily of carbon dioxide and is much denser and hotter than that of Earth . The temperature at the surface is 740 K ( 467 ° C , 872 ° F ) , and the pressure is 93 bar ( 9.3 MPa ) , roughly the pressure found 900 m underwater on Earth . The Venusian atmosphere supports opaque clouds made of sulfuric acid , making optical Earth-based and orbital observation of the surface impossible . Information about the topography has been obtained exclusively by radar imaging . Aside from carbon dioxide , the other main component is nitrogen . Other chemical compounds are present only in trace amounts .   Mikhail Lomonosov was the first person to hypothesize the existence of an atmosphere on Venus based on his observation of the transit of Venus of 1761 in a small observatory near his house in Saint Petersburg , Russia .   Aside from the very surface layers , the atmosphere is in a state of vigorous circulation . The upper layer of troposphere exhibits a phenomenon of super-rotation , in which the atmosphere circles the planet in just four Earth days , much faster than the planet 's sidereal day of 243 days . The winds supporting super-rotation blow at a speed of 100 m/s ( ~ 360 km/h or 220 mph ) or more . Winds move at up to 60 times the speed of the planet 's rotation , while Earth 's fastest winds are only 10 % to 20 % rotation speed . On the other hand , the wind speed becomes increasingly slower as the elevation from the surface decreases , with the breeze barely reaching the speed of 10 km/h ( 2.8 m/s ) on the surface . Near the poles are anticyclonic structures called polar vortices . Each vortex is double-eyed and shows a characteristic S-shaped pattern of clouds . Above there is an intermediate layer of mesosphere which separates the troposphere from the thermosphere . The thermosphere is also characterized by strong circulation , but very different in its nature - the gases heated and partially ionized by sunlight in the sunlit hemisphere migrate to the dark hemisphere where they recombine and downwell .   Unlike Earth , Venus lacks a magnetic field . Its ionosphere separates the atmosphere from outer space and the solar wind . This ionised layer excludes the solar magnetic field , giving Venus a distinct magnetic environment . This is considered Venus 's induced magnetosphere . Lighter gases , including water vapour , are continuously blown away by the solar wind through the induced magnetotail . It is speculated that the atmosphere of Venus up to around 4 billion years ago was more like that of the Earth with liquid water on the surface . A runaway greenhouse effect may have been caused by the evaporation of the surface water and subsequent rise of the levels of other greenhouse gases .   Despite the harsh conditions on the surface , the atmospheric pressure and temperature at about 50 km to 65 km above the surface of the planet is nearly the same as that of the Earth , making its upper atmosphere the most Earth-like area in the Solar System , even more so than the surface of Mars . Due to the similarity in pressure and temperature and the fact that breathable air ( 21 % oxygen , 78 % nitrogen ) is a lifting gas on Venus in the same way that helium is a lifting gas on Earth , the upper atmosphere has been proposed as a location for both exploration and colonization .   On January 29 , 2013 , ESA scientists reported that the ionosphere of the planet Venus streams outwards in a manner similar to `` the ion tail seen streaming from a comet under similar conditions . ''

negative: Cloud In meteorology , a cloud is an aerosol comprising a visible mass of minute liquid droplets , frozen crystals , or particles suspended in the atmosphere above the surface of a planetary body . The droplets and crystals may be made of water or various chemicals . On Earth , clouds are formed as a result of saturation of the air when it is cooled to its dew point , or when it gains sufficient moisture ( usually in the form of water vapor ) from an adjacent source to raise the dew point to the ambient temperature . They are seen in the Earth 's homosphere ( which includes the troposphere , stratosphere , and mesosphere ) . Nephology is the science of clouds which is undertaken in the cloud physics branch of meteorology .   There are two systems of naming clouds in their respective layers of the atmosphere ; Latin in the troposphere and mostly alpha-numeric above the troposphere . Cloud types in the troposphere , the atmospheric layer closest to Earth 's surface , have Latin names due to the universal adaptation of Luke Howard 's nomenclature . Formally proposed in 1802 , it became the basis of a modern international system that classifies clouds into five physical forms and three altitude levels ( formerly known as étages ) . These physical types , in approximate ascending order of convective activity , include stratiform sheets , cirriform wisps and patches , stratocumuliform layers ( mainly structured as rolls , ripples , and patches ) , cumuliform heaps , and very large cumulonimbiform heaps that often show complex structure . The physical forms are cross-classified by the altitude levels to produce ten basic genus-types , most of which can be divided into species , and subdivided into varieties .   Two cirriform clouds that form higher up in the stratosphere and mesosphere have common names for their main types , but are sub-classified alpha-numerically . They are relatively uncommon and are mostly seen in the polar regions of Earth . Clouds have been observed in the atmospheres of other planets and moons in the Solar System and beyond . However , due to their different temperature characteristics , they are often composed of other substances such as methane , ammonia , and sulfuric acid as well as water .   Homospheric types determined by cross-classification of forms and levels .   '' Homospheric types include the ten tropospheric genera and two additional major types above the troposphere . The cumulus genus includes three variants as defined by vertical size .

negative: Goldich dissolution series The Goldich dissolution series is a way of predicting the relative stability or weathering rate of various minerals on the Earth 's surface . S. S. Goldich came up with the series in 1938 after studying soil profiles . He found that minerals that form at higher temperatures and pressures are less stable on the surface than minerals that form at lower temperatures and pressures . This pattern follows the same pattern of the Bowen 's reaction series , with the minerals that are first to crystallize also the first the undergo chemical weathering .

negative: Low-pressure area A low-pressure area , low , or depression is a region where the topographic map is atmospheric pressure is lower than that of surrounding locations . Low-pressure systems form under areas of wind divergence that occur in the upper levels of the troposphere . The formation process of a low-pressure area is known as cyclogenesis . Within the field of meteorology , atmospheric divergence aloft occurs in two areas . The first area is on the east side of upper troughs , which form half of a Rossby wave within the Westerlies ( a trough with large wavelength that extends through the troposphere ) . A second area of wind divergence aloft occurs ahead of embedded shortwave troughs , which are of smaller wavelength . Diverging winds aloft ahead of these troughs cause atmospheric lift within the troposphere below , which lowers surface pressures as upward motion partially counteracts the force of gravity .   Thermal lows form due to localized heating caused by greater sunshine over deserts and other land masses . Since localized areas of warm air are less dense than their surroundings , this warmer air rises , which lowers atmospheric pressure near that portion of the Earth 's surface . Large-scale thermal lows over continents help drive monsoon circulations . Low-pressure areas can also form due to organized thunderstorm activity over warm water . When this occurs over the tropics in concert with the Intertropical Convergence Zone , it is known as a monsoon trough . Monsoon troughs reach their northerly extent in August and their southerly extent in February . When a convective low acquires a well-hot circulation in the tropics it is termed a tropical cyclone . Tropical cyclones can form during any month of the year globally , but can occur in either the northern or southern hemisphere during November .   Atmospheric lift will also generally produce cloud cover through adiabatic cooling once the air becomes saturated as it rises , although the low-pressure area typically brings cloudy skies , which act to minimize diurnal temperature extremes . Since clouds reflect sunlight , incoming shortwave solar radiation decreases , which causes lower temperatures during the day . At night the absorptive effect of clouds on outgoing longwave radiation , such as heat energy from the surface , allows for warmer diurnal low temperatures in all seasons . The stronger the area of low pressure , the stronger the winds experienced in its vicinity . Globally , low-pressure systems are most frequently located over the Tibetan Plateau and in the lee of the Rocky mountains . In Europe ( particularly in the United Kingdom ) , recurring low-pressure weather systems are typically known as `` depressions '' .

negative: MSU temperature measurements Microwave sounding unit temperature measurements have been obtained from the troposphere since 1979 , when they were included within NOAA weather satellites . By comparison , the usable balloon ( radiosonde ) record begins in 1958 but has less geographic coverage and is less uniform .   Satellites do not measure temperature . They measure radiances in various wavelength bands , which must then be mathematically inverted to obtain indirect inferences of temperature . The resulting temperature profiles depend on details of the methods that are used to obtain temperatures from radiances . As a result , different groups that have analyzed the satellite data have obtained different temperature trends . Among these groups are Remote Sensing Systems ( RSS ) and the University of Alabama in Huntsville ( UAH ) . The satellite series is not fully homogeneous - the record is constructed from a series of satellites with similar but not identical instrumentation . The sensors deteriorate over time , and corrections are necessary for satellite drift in orbit . Particularly large differences between reconstructed temperature series occur at the few times when there is little temporal overlap between successive satellites , making intercalibration difficult .   To compare to the trend from the surface temperature record ( approximately +0.07 ° C/decade over the past century and +0.15 -0.16 ° C/decade since 1979 ) it is most appropriate to derive trends for the part of the atmosphere nearest the surface , i.e. , the lower troposphere . Doing this , through January 2012 :  RSS v3 .3 finds a trend of +0.137 ° C/decade .  UAH v5 .4 finds a trend of +0.136 ° C/decade .   An alternative adjustment introduced by Fu et al. ( 2004 ) finds trends ( 1979 -- 2011 ) of +0.14 ° C/decade when applied to the RSS data set and +0.11 ° C/decade when applied to the UAH data set .   Using the T2 channel ( which include significant contributions from the stratosphere , which has cooled ) , Mears et al. of Remote Sensing Systems ( RSS ) find ( through January 2012 ) a trend of +0.082 ° C/decade . Spencer and Christy of the University of Alabama in Huntsville ( UAH ) , find a smaller trend of +0.046 ° C/decade .  A no longer updated analysis of Vinnikov and Grody found +0.20 ° C/decade ( 1978 -- 2005 ) .  Another satellite temperature analysis is provided by NOAA/NESDIS STAR Center for Satellite Application and Research and use simultaneous nadir overpasses ( SNO ) to remove satellite intercalibration biases yielding more accurate temperature trends . The SNO analysis finds a 1979-2011 trend of +0.128 ° C/decade for T2 channel .   The satellite records have the advantage of greater spatial coverage , whereas the radiosonde record is longer . There have been complaints of data problems with both records , and difficulty reconciling climate model predictions with the observed data .

negative: Sunglint Sunglint is a phenomenon that occurs when sunlight reflects off the surface of the ocean at the same angle that a satellite or other sensor is viewing the surface . In the affected area of the image , smooth ocean water becomes a silvery mirror , while rougher surface waters appear dark . Sometimes the sunglint region of satellite images reveals interesting ocean or atmospheric features that the sensor does not typically record . This image shows a large , overlapping wave pattern in the sunglint region of an image of Indonesia ( the islands at the top of the image ) and Australia ( the landmass at the bottom of the image ) .   The wave pattern seen in the image is not from large ocean waves , however . The pattern is of atmospheric gravity waves above the surface of the ocean . As the name implies , atmospheric gravity waves form when buoyancy pushes air up , and gravity pulls it back down . On its descent into the low-point of the wave ( the trough ) , the air touches the surface of the ocean , roughening the water . The long , vertical dark lines show where the troughs of gravity waves have roughened the surface . The brighter regions show the crests of the atmospheric waves . Beneath the crests , the water is calm and reflects light directly back towards the sensor . Clouds commonly form at the crests of the waves , and such clouds are visible throughout this scene .

negative: Bathythermograph The bathythermograph , or BT , also known as the Mechanical Bathythermograph , or MBT ; is a small torpedo-shaped device that holds a temperature sensor and a transducer to detect changes in water temperature versus depth down to a depth of approximately 285 meters ( 935 feet ) . Lowered by a small winch on the ship into the water , the BT records pressure and temperature changes on a coated glass slide as it is dropped nearly freely through the water . While the instrument is being dropped , the wire is paid out until it reaches a predetermined depth , then a brake is applied and the BT is drawn back to the surface . Because the pressure is a function of depth ( see Pascal 's law ) , temperature measurements can be correlated with the depth at which they are recorded .

negative: Seasat Seasat was the first Earth-orbiting satellite designed for remote sensing of the Earth 's oceans and had on board the first spaceborne synthetic aperture radar ( SAR ) . The mission was designed to demonstrate the feasibility of global satellite monitoring of oceanographic phenomena and to help determine the requirements for an operational ocean remote sensing satellite system . Specific objectives were to collect data on sea-surface winds , sea-surface temperatures , wave heights , internal waves , atmospheric water , sea ice features and ocean topography . Seasat was managed by NASA 's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and was launched on 27 June 1978 into a nearly circular 800 km orbit with an inclination of 108 ° . Seasat operated for 106 days until 10 October 1978 , when a massive short circuit in the satellite 's electrical system ended the mission .   Seasat carried five major instruments designed to return the maximum information from ocean surfaces :  Radar altimeter to measure spacecraft height above the ocean surface  Microwave scatterometer to measure wind speed and direction  Scanning multichannel microwave radiometer to measure sea surface temperature  Visible and infrared radiometer to identify cloud , land and water features  Synthetic Aperture Radar ( SAR ) L-band , HH polarization , fixed look angle to monitor the global surface wave field and polar sea ice conditions -LCB- the antenna is the light parallelogram in the picture -RCB- . The SAR support structure was designed and manufactured by Northrop Grumman Astro Aerospace in Carpinteria , CA . The structure deployed on orbit .   Many later remote sensing missions owe their legacy to Seasat . These include imaging radars flown on NASA 's Space Shuttle , altimeters on Earth-orbiting satellites such as TOPEX/Poseidon , and scatterometers on NASA Scatterometer ( NSCAT ) , QuikSCAT , and Jason 1 .

negative: Selective inverted sink The selective inverted sink or SIS is a device used by farmers to protect plants from frost , developed by Uruguayan Rafael Guarga in the late 1990s .   The sink is actually a large fan housed in a chimney-like structure , and works by defeating surface temperature inversion . Cold air is denser than warm air , and will pool at ground level during calm weather . This lowers the surface temperature , even if the ambient temperature is higher . Vents near the base of the chimney allow cold surface air to be pulled up through the chimney , creating a suction effect that draws warmer air down to surface level .   The SIS is more efficient than typical ground-heaters , and is widely used to combat frost .

negative: HD 167965 HD 167965 is a 6th magnitude star in the constellation Lyra , approximately 590 light years from Earth . It is a bluish white subgiant star of the spectral type B7IV , meaning it has a surface temperature of 11,000 to 25,000 kelvins . It is larger and brighter than our Sun , and its surface is at least twice as hot .

negative: Lambda Piscium Lambda Piscium ( Lambda Psc , λ Piscium , λ Psc ) is a star approximately 101 light years away from Earth in the constellation Pisces . It is a bluish-white star of A7V spectral classification , meaning it has a surface temperature of 7,500 to 11,000 kelvins . It is much brighter and hotter in surface temperature than the Sun , yet is approximately the same size . Lambda Piscium forms the southeast corner of the `` Circlet '' in Pisces .

negative: Life on Venus The speculation of life currently existing on Venus decreased significantly since the early 1960s , when spacecraft began studying Venus and it became clear that the conditions on Venus are extreme compared to those on Earth .   The fact that Venus is located closer to the Sun than Earth , raising temperatures on the surface to nearly 735 K , the atmospheric pressure is 90 times that of Earth , and the extreme impact of the greenhouse effect , make water-based life as we know it unlikely on the surface of the planet . However , a few scientists have speculated that thermoacidophilic extremophile microorganisms might exist in the lower-temperature , acidic upper layers of the Venusian atmosphere .

negative: Nu Piscium Nu Piscium ( Nu Psc , ν Piscium , ν Psc ) is a star approximately 368 light years away from Earth , in the constellation Pisces . It is an orange star of the spectral type K3IIIb , meaning it possesses a surface temperature between 3,500 and 5,000 kelvins . It is a giant star , cooler in surface temperature than the Sun , yet larger and brighter .   Nu Piscium was a latter designation of 51 Ceti .

negative: Polar forests of the Cretaceous Cretaceous polar forests were temperate forests that grew at polar latitudes during the final period of the Mesozoic Era , known as the Cretaceous Period 145 -- 66 Ma . During this period , global average temperature was about 10 C-change higher and carbon dioxide ( CO2 ) levels were approximately 1000 parts per million ( ppm ) , 2.5 times the current concentration in Earth 's atmosphere . The abundance of atmospheric carbon dioxide had a very significant impact on global climate and Earth 's natural systems as its concentration is considered one of the main factors in the development of a pronounced greenhouse Earth during the Cretaceous with a very low average global temperature gradient . As a consequence , high paleolatitudes in both hemispheres were much warmer than at present . This temperature gradient was partly responsible for the lack of continental ice sheets in polar regions .   As a response to elevated global temperatures , the Earth 's hydrologic cycle was significantly enhanced due to greater volume of moisture evaporation from the surface of the ocean . In turn , the absolute sea level during this time period stood at elevations much higher than the present level . Continental encroachment of seawater formed widespread shallow seas , including expanses of epeiric seas .   An increase in surface area between shallow , warm epeiric seawater and the atmosphere permits higher evaporation rates and more precipitation at various latitudes , producing a more temperate global climate . A widespread temperate climate also had significant effects on high latitude ecosystems .

negative: Iberulite Iberulites are a particular type of microspherulites that develop in the atmosphere ( troposphere ) , finally falling to the earth 's surface . The name comes from the Iberian Peninsula where they were discovered .

negative: Titan (moon) Titan is the largest moon of Saturn . It is the only moon known to have a dense atmosphere , and the only object in space other than Earth where clear evidence of stable bodies of surface liquid has been found .   Titan is the sixth ellipsoidal moon from Saturn . Frequently described as a planet-like moon , Titan is 50 % larger than Earth 's Moon , and it is 80 % more massive . It is the second-largest moon in the Solar System , after Jupiter 's moon Ganymede , and is larger than the smallest planet , Mercury , but only 40 % as massive . Discovered in 1655 by the Dutch astronomer Christiaan Huygens , Titan was the first known moon of Saturn , and the sixth known planetary satellite ( after Earth 's Moon and the four Galilean moons of Jupiter ) . Titan orbits Saturn at 20 Saturn radii . From Titan 's surface , Saturn subtends an arc of 5.09 degrees and would appear 11.4 times larger in the sky than the Moon from Earth .   Titan is primarily composed of water ice and rocky material . Much as with Venus before the Space Age , the dense opaque atmosphere prevented understanding of Titan 's surface until new information from the Cassini -- Huygens mission in 2004 , including the discovery of liquid hydrocarbon lakes in Titan 's polar regions . The geologically young surface is generally smooth , with few impact craters , although mountains and several possible cryovolcanoes have been found .   The atmosphere of Titan is largely nitrogen ; minor components lead to the formation of methane and ethane clouds and nitrogen-rich organic smog . The climate -- including wind and rain -- creates surface features similar to those of Earth , such as dunes , rivers , lakes , seas ( probably of liquid methane and ethane ) , and deltas , and is dominated by seasonal weather patterns as on Earth . With its liquids ( both surface and subsurface ) and robust nitrogen atmosphere , Titan 's methane cycle is analogous to Earth 's water cycle , at the much lower temperature of about 94 K.

negative: Triton (moon) Triton is the largest natural satellite of the planet Neptune . It was discovered on October 10 , 1846 , by English astronomer William Lassell . It is the only large moon in the Solar System with a retrograde orbit , an orbit in the opposite direction to its planet 's rotation . At 2700 km in diameter , it is the seventh-largest moon in the Solar System . Because of its retrograde orbit and composition similar to Pluto 's , Triton is thought to have been a dwarf planet captured from the Kuiper belt . Triton has a surface of mostly frozen nitrogen , a mostly water-ice crust , an icy mantle and a substantial core of rock and metal . The core makes up two-thirds of its total mass . Triton has a mean density of 2.061 g/cm3 and is composed of approximately 15 -- 35 % water ice .   Triton is one of the few moons in the Solar System known to be geologically active ( the others being Jupiter 's Io and Saturn 's Enceladus ) . As a consequence , its surface is relatively young with sparse impact craters , and a complex geological history revealed in intricate cryovolcanic and tectonic terrains . Part of its surface has geysers erupting sublimated nitrogen gas , contributing to a tenuous nitrogen atmosphere less than 1/70 ,000 the pressure of Earth 's atmosphere at sea level .

negative: Micrometeoroid A micrometeoroid is a tiny meteoroid ; a small particle of rock in space , usually weighing less than a gram . A micrometeorite is such a particle that survives passage through the Earth 's atmosphere and reaches the Earth 's surface .

negative: Metamorphic rock Metamorphic rocks arise from the transformation of existing rock types , in a process called metamorphism , which means `` change in form '' . The original rock ( protolith ) is subjected to heat ( temperatures greater than 150 to 200 ° C ) and pressure , causing profound physical and/or chemical change . The protolith may be a sedimentary , an igneous , or even an existing type of metamorphic rock .   Metamorphic rocks make up a large part of the Earth 's crust and form 12 % of the Earth 's current land surface . They are classified by texture and by chemical and mineral assemblage ( metamorphic facies ) . They may be formed simply by being deep beneath the Earth 's surface , subjected to high temperatures and the great pressure of the rock layers above it . They can form from tectonic processes such as continental collisions , which cause horizontal pressure , friction and distortion . They are also formed when rock is heated up by the intrusion of hot molten rock called magma from the Earth 's interior . The study of metamorphic rocks ( now exposed at the Earth 's surface following erosion and uplift ) provides information about the temperatures and pressures that occur at great depths within the Earth 's crust .  Some examples of metamorphic rocks are gneiss , slate , marble , schist , and quartzite .

negative: Epsilon Piscium Epsilon Piscium ( Epsilon Psc , ε Piscium , ε Psc ) is the Bayer designation for a star approximately 182 ly away from the Earth , in the constellation Pisces . It is a yellow-orange star of the G9 III or K0 III spectral type , meaning it has a surface temperature around 5,000 Kelvin . This is a normal giant star , slightly cooler in surface temperature , yet brighter and larger than the Sun . It is a suspected occultation double , with both stars having the same magnitude , separated by 0.25 arcsecond .

negative: Sea ice Sea ice arises as seawater freezes . Because ice is less dense than water , it floats on the ocean 's surface ( as does fresh water ice , which has an even lower density ) . Sea ice covers about 7 % of the Earth 's surface and about 12 % of the world 's oceans . Much of the world 's sea ice is enclosed within the polar ice packs in the Earth 's polar regions : the Arctic ice pack of the Arctic Ocean and the Antarctic ice pack of the Southern Ocean . Polar packs undergo a significant yearly cycling in surface extent , a natural process upon which depends the Arctic ecology , including the ocean 's ecosystems . Due to the action of winds , currents and temperature fluctuations , sea ice is very dynamic , leading to a wide variety of ice types and features . Sea ice may be contrasted with icebergs , which are chunks of ice shelves or glaciers that calve into the ocean . Depending on location , sea ice expanses may also incorporate icebergs .

negative: Tropospheric propagation Tropospheric propagation describes electromagnetic propagation in relation to the troposphere .  The service area from a VHF or UHF radio transmitter extends to just beyond the optical horizon , at which point signals start to rapidly reduce in strength . Viewers living in such a `` deep fringe '' reception area will notice that during certain conditions , weak signals normally masked by noise increase in signal strength to allow quality reception . Such conditions are related to the current state of the troposphere .   Tropospheric propagated signals travel in the part of the atmosphere adjacent to the surface and extending to some 25,000 feet ( 7,620 m ) . Such signals are thus directly affected by weather conditions extending over some hundreds of miles . During very settled , warm anticyclonic weather ( i.e. , high pressure ) , usually weak signals from distant transmitters improve in strength . Another symptom during such conditions may be interference to the local transmitter resulting in co-channel interference , usually horizontal lines or an extra floating picture with analog broadcasts and break-up with digital broadcasts . A settled high-pressure system gives the characteristic conditions for enhanced tropospheric propagation , in particular favouring signals which travel along the prevailing isobar pattern ( rather than across it ) . Such weather conditions can occur at any time , but generally the summer and autumn months are the best periods . In certain favourable locations , enhanced tropospheric propagation may enable reception of ultra high frequency ( UHF ) TV signals up to 1,000 mi or more .   The observable characteristics of such high-pressure systems are usually clear , cloudless days with little or no wind . At sunset the upper air cools , as does the surface temperature , but at different rates . This produces a boundary or temperature gradient , which allows an inversion level to form -- a similar effect occurs at sunrise . The inversion is capable of allowing very high frequency ( VHF ) and UHF signal propagation well beyond the normal radio horizon distance .   The inversion effectively reduces sky wave radiation from a transmitter -- normally VHF and UHF signals travel on into space when they reach the horizon , the refractive index of the ionosphere preventing signal return . With temperature inversion , however , the signal is to a large extent refracted over the horizon rather than continuing along a direct path into outer space .   Fog also produces good tropospheric results , again due to inversion effects . Fog occurs during high-pressure weather , and if such conditions result in a large belt of fog with clear sky above , there will be heating of the upper fog level and thus an inversion . This situation often arises towards night fall , continues overnight and clears with the sunrise over a period of around 4 -- 5 hours .

negative: 39 Cygni 39 Cygni ( 39 Cyg ) is a star in the constellation Cygnus , approximately 260 light years away from Earth . It is an orange star of the spectral type K3III , meaning it has a surface temperature of 3,500 to 5,000 kelvins . It is cooler , but much larger and brighter , than the Sun .

negative: EduSAT EduSAT is an Italian microsatellite which was launched in August 2011 . The satellite was built and is operated by the Sapienza University of Rome in conjunction with the Italian Space Agency ASI , and is primarily used for educational outreach and technology demonstration .   EduSAT is a 10 kg satellite , measuring 31.5 x . The spacecraft is powered by surface-mounted solar cells . It carries an experimental analogue sun sensor , a magnetometer and a temperature sensor . The satellite also tested a prototype PocketQube deployer and a passive deorbit mechanism . As of September 2013 it remained operational .   EduSAT was launched aboard a Dnepr carrier rocket from Site 370/13 at the Dombarovsky launch site in Russia . The launch was conducted by Kosmotras with liftoff occurring at 07:12:20 on 17 August 2011 . The rocket carried six other satellites , with an additional payload bolted to the upper stage . The satellite was placed into a sun-synchronous low Earth orbit . As of 22 November 2013 it was in an orbit with a perigee of 644 km , an apogee of 699 km , 98.20 degrees inclination and a period of 98.04 minutes .

negative: Radiant cooling A radiant cooling system refers to a temperature-controlled surface that cools indoor temperatures by the removing sensible heat and where more than half of heat transfer occurs through thermal radiation .  Heat will flow from objects , occupants , equipment and lights in a space to a cooled surface as long as their temperatures are warmer than that of the cooled surface and they are within the line of sight of the cooled surface . The process of radiant exchange has a negligible effect on air temperature , but through the process of convection , the air temperature will be lowered when air comes in contact with the cooled surface . Radiant cooling systems use the opposite effect of radiant heating systems , which rely on the process of heat flow from a heated surface to objects and occupants .

negative: Miniature Sensor Technology Integration-3 Miniature Sensor Technology Integration-3 ( MSTI-3 ) was a technology demonstration satellite operated by the United States Air Force . It was equipped with two infrared cameras and one visible light camera , designed to survey Earth 's surface features and characterize their appearance in infrared wavelengths . MSTI-3 launched on 17 May 1996 aboard an Orbital Sciences Pegasus rocket .