MSU data are precise and hence ideal for global studies. Presents examples of how temperatures measured by surface thermometers are unrepresentative of average trends over broad regions. The global temperature trend of the lower troposphere measured by the MSU, from January 1979 to March 1994, is -0.06 C per decade. Geog., Indiana Univ. Illustrates the general problem of how spatially variable station networks can influence estimates of climatic change, using the example of the air temperature anomalies experienced in much of the Northern Hemisphere in 1988.
Results illustrate the importance of free and open exchange of data worldwide.
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