Bad Definitions? – Negligent climate science?

Post: 15th April 2018; Reference: http://www.whatisclimate.com/

A clear language matters. Meaningful definitions are essential in science. Climatic science seems a hopeless case in this respect. They brought themselves to prominence three decades ago, but for them “Climate in a narrow sense is usually defined as the average weather”. It follows a few abstracts from current definitions:

„weather“ (AMS) =
___The state of the atmosphere, mainly with respect to its effects upon life and human activities.
___Popularly, weather is thought of in terms of temperature, humidity, precipitation, cloudiness, visibility, and wind.
___The “present weather” table consists of 100 possible conditions, with 10 possibilities for “past weather”

climate (AMS) =
_ The slowly varying aspects of the atmosphere–hydrosphere–land surface system.
__…suitable averages of the climate system

climate  (IPPC) =
­­­__relevant quantities over a period of time ranging from months to thousands or millions of years
­__relevant quantities are most often surface variables such as temperature, precipitation and wind

(more on climatology, climate system and climate sensibility, see below)

Meanwhile they talk big, about statistics from months to millions of years. But weather data may comprise hundreds if not much more types of data, which too often are merely roughly defined.

They not recognize that statistics from months to millions of years do not explain anything, but opens a wide spectrum for manipulation. In a recent post by PH.D. Roy W. Spencer [February 16th, 2018] about: “Diagnosing Climate Sensitivity Assuming Some Natural Warming”, the used terms should raise alarm. Can statistics be “sensitive”? At best only if the type of statistic and duration versus “what” is named! Particular worst it gets if climate science refers to “natural”. In essence the atmospheric weather (and its statistical mean) depends on the thermodynamic state. Heat and water are the main ingredients. It is all about physics. “Natural” whether natural warming or natural climate sensibility is hoax, meaning actually “I do not know”. Fairness to oneself and the general public requires to say so: I do not know. Fantasy terms reflects either ignorance, dumbness or cheating. Roy Spencer uses both in this post as it follows (bold added):

What if a Portion of Recent Warming Was Natural?
As you might recall, the IPCC is quite certain that the dominant cause of warming since the mid-20th Century was due to anthropogenic forcing.
What does “dominant” mean? Well, I’m sure it means over 50%. This implies that they are leaving the door open to the possibility that some of the recent warming has been natural, right?
Well, we can use the above equation to do a first-cut estimate of what the diagnosed climate sensitivity would be if some fraction of the surface and deep-ocean warming was natural.  (Full Spencer text HERE)

Throughout climate science many meaningless terms are used. This is particularly problematic because it prevents to look at what matters most in climate and climate change issues: the oceans. Look at all the references attached to this post, you will find nothing.  Instead you can read at Roy Spencer the sentence:

I have heard some IPCC-type folks claim that recent anthropogenic warming could have been damped by some natural cooling mechanism.

Admitting, as long as the IPCC is superficial and is talking nonsense, any reply is difficult, also for a serious researcher as Roy Spencer. But not reflecting in any climate relevant term and definition the vastness and influence of the oceans and their low temperatures of mere + 4°Celsius, renders any discussion on man-made climate change  into a general bland chatter. That is not only sad and a great pity, but dangerous, because climate cooling is the by far more serious threat to mankind.

More about the climate definition: http://www.whatisclimate.com/

„weather“ (AMS) =
___The state of the atmosphere, mainly with respect to its effects upon life and human activities.
___Popularly, weather is thought of in terms of temperature, humidity, precipitation, cloudiness, visibility, and wind.
___The “present weather” table consists of 100 possible conditions, with 10 possibilities for “past weather”

climate (AMS) =
_ The slowly varying aspects of the atmosphere–hydrosphere–land surface system.
__…suitable averages of the climate system

climate  (IPPC) =
­­­__relevant quantities over a period of time ranging from months to thousands or millions of years
­__relevant quantities are most often surface variables such as temperature, precipitation and wind

climatology (AMS)   =
___Descriptive climatology deals with the observed geographic or temporal distribution of meteorological observations
___meteorological observations over a specified period of time

climate system (AMS)  =
__ The system, consisting of the atmosphere, hydrosphere, lithosphere, and biosphere, determining the earth’s climate as the result of mutual interactions and responses to external influences (forcing).
___ Physical, chemical, and biological processes are involved in the interactions among the components of the climate system.

climate sensitivity (AMS) =
___The magnitude of a climatic response to a perturbing influence.
___In mathematical modeling of the climate, the difference between simulations when the magnitude of a given parameter is changed.
___In the context of global climate change, the equilibrium change in global mean surface temperature following a unit change in radiative forcing.