UPDATE Feb ruary 6 2012: I was informed by Hilary Ostrov of The View From Here that my answers in the tables using yes and no could be misleading. Thus I have changed to an X.

I was alerted by Marc Morano to a survey that NOAA is sending out to its employees. The first e-mail is to Marc apparently from a NOAA employee

Mr. Morano: NOAA employees today were asked to participate in a Climate Knowledge Survey. I have included the inviting email below. In order to take the survey, however, you must have a valid NOAA email account, so I have cut and pasted the Survey itself and the key to the ‘correct’ answers below for your reading pleasure. As you can see, there are certain assumptions larded throughout this survey, such as what many climate scientists believe is ‘true.’ Thought you might be interested. Regards,

The e-mail referred to from NOAA appears below

All, Climate has connections to many scientific and societal issues. To characterize NOAA’s level of climate literacy and assess interest in climate training materials and other resources, a NOAA climate capacity-building team has been established. The team’s overall goal is to enhance the ability of NOAA staff to effectively communicate about climate science. As part of this process, I encourage you to consider completing the team’s Climate Knowledge and Needs Assessment Surveys by February 15. The first survey characterizes the current level of climate literacy among respondents, and the second assesses the need for climate-related professional development resources or opportunities. Each survey should take approximately 10 minutes to complete, and your responses will be completely anonymous. You can access the surveys by clicking here: Climate Knowledge Survey Needs Assessment Survey The capacity-building team will use the survey results to identify and provide opportunities for NOAA staff to become more conversant about NOAA’s climate products, information, and services. Your participation in these surveys will greatly assist with this NOAA-wide effort. Participation in these surveys and taking advantage of future opportunities is voluntary. If you have any questions or comments about the surveys or the goals of this climate team, please contact Diane Stanitski at 301-427-2465 or diane.stanitski@noaa.gov. Thank you.

I have reproduced it below with my comments inserted.

[NOAA’s] Climate Knowledge Survey This voluntary survey should take about 10 minutes to complete. It is designed to gauge the current level of climate knowledge among NOAA personnel and partners who respond to the survey. Your answers will be completely anonymous. For questions that you don’t know the answer, please choose the “Don’t Know” option rather than guessing. If you choose “Other” to answer any question, you can enter text directly in the small box, or paste a response of up to 300 characters into the field. With which NOAA office are you associated? National Weather Service (NWS) National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) National Ocean Service (NOS) National Environmental Satellite Information Service (NESDIS) Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR) Office of Marine and Aviation Operations (OMAO) Headquarters (HQ) (i.e., Communications, Leg. Affairs, Policy, Education, International, etc.) Other: To improve our ability to draw valid conclusions from the survey without identifying individuals, please enter a unique five digit number that you will remember and use again on related surveys (for instance, you might choose the last five numbers of your personal phone number). No attempt will be made to identify you. Your number will be used only to match results to related surveys or pair before and after scores if you take this survey again.

My Comment: I doubt most responders really conclude they are anonymous.

1. Which of the following statements about global climate change is true? Note: the phrase “global climate change” refers to observations such as increased global temperature, decreased presence of ice, and changes in precipitation patterns. Most climate scientists agree that global climate change is happening Most climate scientists are undecided if global climate change is happening Most climate scientists agree that global climate change is not happening Don’t know Other:

My Comment: This is a very poorly worded question (perhaps deliberately so). The question implicitly equates global warming (i.e. “increased global temperature, decreased presence of ice” with the term “climate change”. Most all climate scientists accept that humans are altering the climate system, but it is much more than the narrow focus on changes in the global average heat content of the climate system. By checking “Most climate scientists agree that global climate change is happening”, the users of this survey will claim an agreement with the IPCC viewpoint.

A robust question would be with respect to which of the hypotheses below have not been refuted?

Hypothesis 1: Human influence on climate variability and change is of minimal importance, and natural causes dominate climate variations and changes on all time scales. In coming decades, the human influence will continue to be minimal.

Hypothesis 2a: Although the natural causes of climate variations and changes are undoubtedly important, the human influences are significant and involve a diverse range of first-order climate forcings, including, but not limited to, the human input of carbon dioxide (CO2). Most, if not all, of these human influences on regional and global climate will continue to be of concern during the coming decades.

Hypothesis 2b: Although the natural causes of climate variations and changes are undoubtedly important, the human influences are significant and are dominated by the emissions into the atmosphere of greenhouse gases, the most important of which is CO2. The adverse impact of these gases on regional and global climate constitutes the primary climate issue for the coming decades.

as was discussed on my weblog most recently in the post

The Reason We Need To Agree Which Of Three Fundamentally Different Hypotheses Regarding The Role Of Human In The Climate System Is Correct

The survey continues

2. Most scientific studies that have looked into the cause behind the increase in global temperature over the last 50 years indicate that it is… Caused mostly by human activities Caused equally by human activities and natural changes Caused mostly by natural changes Random, so it cannot be attributed to a specific cause Don’t know Other:

My Comment: The focus again is on the global average heating. The survey ignores the finding from the NRC report

National Research Council, 2005: Radiative forcing of climate change: Expanding the concept and addressing uncertainties. Committee on Radiative Forcing Effects on Climate Change, Climate Research Committee, Board on Atmospheric Sciences and Climate, Division on Earth and Life Studies, The National Academies Press, Washington,D.C., 208 pp

that

“…..the traditional global mean TOA radiative forcing concept……diagnoses only one measure of climate change—global mean surface temperature response—while offering little information on regional climate change or precipitation.”

The survey continues

3. Which of the following best describes the relationship between climate and weather? Climate and weather are different words for the same thing Normal high and low temperatures of climate control a region’s daily weather Weather occurs on a local to regional scale; climate occurs at the global scale Weather describes short-term conditions; climate describes long-term conditions Weather that occurs across a region is not necessarily related to the region’s climate Don’t know Other:

My Comment: Whoever prepared this survey is not knowledgeable in climate science. Climate is a system of physical, biological and chemical processes involving land, the ocean, the atmosphere and continental ice sheets. The figure below accurately illustrates this system (which is not one of the possible answers above unless you click “other”.

with the figure caption –

“The climate system, consisting of the atmosphere, oceans, land, and cryosphere. Important state variables for each sphere of the climate system are listed in the boxes. For the purposes of this report, the Sun, volcanic emissions, and human-caused emissions of greenhouse gases and changes to the land surface are considered external to the climate system.”

The survey continues

4. Studies of natural records such as tree rings and layers of ice in glaciers: give a precise and consistent record of how global temperature has changed over time provide a relatively consistent picture of how global temperature has changed over time show relatively inconsistent results, so they are unreliable for estimating past temperatures provide estimates for precipitation over time, but they don’t reveal anything about past temperatures Don’t know Other:

My Comment: Trees respond to their immediate environment. Glaciers respond to their local region’s weather. In aggregate they can be used to infer climate conditions over regions, but their use to quantify a global average temperature to tenths of a degree is not robust. Indeed, if it were, we could use that in 2012 to inform us quantitatively what is the global average temperature and this would, if it was robust, agree with the in-situ surface observations of temperature. However, the proxy temperature data computed in this manner are actually diverging from the thermometer based measurement approach! (e.g. see)

The survey continues

5. Over the last 10,000 years, during the time humans developed the ability to raise crops, global climate has been: colder than any other time in Earth’s history warmer than any other time in Earth’s history more stable than previous periods more variable than previous periods Don’t know Other:

My Comment: This is a ridiculous question! The Earth’s history spans billions of years.

This survey continues with

6. Which of the following processes has been identified as the most significant cause of increasing global temperatures over the last century?

Volcanic eruptions The hole in the ozone layer Clearing forested / vegetated land Livestock and ranching operations Exhaust from gasoline- and diesel-powered vehicles An increase in the amount of energy emitted by the Sun Burning of coal, oil, and natural gas to produce electricity and heat buildings Regular changes in Earth’s orbit that change the amount of energy it receives from the Sun Don’t know Other:

My Comment: The questions again focus on a global average temperatures.

The survey continues with a table

7. Indicate if the following statements are True, False, or you Don’t Know.

True False Don’t know A. If the amount of energy put out by the Sun decreased, Earth would get cooler. X B. Global climate change will eventually eliminate the differences between summer and winter. X C. Climate scientists have a good understanding of the basic physical processes that control Earth’s climate system. X D. Today’s computer-based climate models have successfully projected the trend and magnitude of observed global temperature for the last century. X E. As the ocean warms, its waters expand, raising the elevation of the sea’s surface. X F. Melting of glaciers and ice sheets on land has little or no effect on global sea level. X G. Temperature measurements of Earth made from satellites are generally consistent with temperatures measured by ground based instruments. X

My Comment: This is a question in the survey which has some substance. It needs, however, further detail. What needs to be added, of course, is references to each answer that supports the answers given by the person

8. Climate scientists’ concern about rising levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere relates to carbon dioxide’s potential to damage Earth’s ozone layer potential to poison humans and wildlife ability to absorb and release heat energy ability to produce heat in reactions with other gases Don’t know

My Comment: This illustrates that the focus of the survey is on carbon dioxide. It also is a simple question that would be one of many a student might have in high school multiple choice test!

9. Since 1750, when the Industrial Revolution began, the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has increased slightly – a change of about 1% moderately – a change of about 10% significantly – a change of about 40% drastically – a change of about 100% Don’t know

My Comment: Another high school science question that can be answered just by looking at a data set such as from Mauna Loa and elsewhere (e.g. see).

The survey continues

10. Which country listed below currently emits the most carbon dioxide per person? Note: This question is about per person emissions rather than total emissions. United States Germany China Japan India Don’t know

My Comment: Yet more focus on CO2.

The survey then asks

11. Which of the following are among the expected impacts of global climate change? Check all that apply Shorter growing seasons Cooler nighttime temperatures Heavier downpours when it rains Decrease in area affected by drought Changes in the ranges of wildlife and plants Increase in coastal flooding due to sea level rise Don’t know

My Comment: This question is to lead the NOAA employee from the CO2 levels directly into impacts. A more biased survey would be hard to write.

The survey continues with

12. Indicate if the following statements are True, False, or you Don’t know

True False Don’t know A. As a result of global climate change, the warmest places on Earth are likely to see the greatest increases in temperature. Here the question inaccurately equates global warming with climate change! They are not the same. B. Over the last decade, the U.S. has experienced about twice as many record-breaking hot days as record-breaking cold days. The surface temperature data is biased by siting quality. C. Most of the heat added to Earth’s climate system over the last five decades has been absorbed by the ocean. X D. Federal agencies are currently working with communities to help them prepare for extreme weather and climate impacts. The federal agenices are not properly preparing communities if they rely on the limited scenarios provided by NOAA for climate in the coming decades. E. Corals in warm, tropical seas around the world are thriving as the ocean waters around them get warmer. Tropical seas are not warming in all coral regions. This is a nonsensical survey statement.

My Comment: These are more questions intended to “educate” the person being surveyed rather than seek objective input from those being surveyed.

The next question is

13. Recent research shows that the acidity of ocean waters is increasing. This phenomenon, called ocean acidification, is due to chemicals such as fertilizers washing off land into the ocean a result of increased average temperature of the atmosphere a result of carbon dioxide being absorbed by the ocean a consequence of changes in sea surface temperature All of the above Don’t know

My Comment: The person(s) who create this survey question apparently do not even know the ocean is alkaline.

The final survey question is

14. By monitoring conditions within and above the Pacific Ocean, climate scientists have identified a pattern called the El-Niño Southern Oscillation. This phenomenon: can influence global weather patterns for several seasons is an example of an expected impact of global climate change is a result of increased average temperature of the atmosphere is a regular, seasonal change that occurs in the Southern Hemisphere All of the above Don’t know

My Comment: The role of human climate forcings in altering atmospheric/ocean circulations such as ENSO is an important research question. The survey question, however, continues the narrow focus on “global climate change” which they use as a synonym for “global warming” due to added CO2.

The survey ends with

15. Please share any comments or recommendations you have regarding this survey. Thank you for your time

My Comment: For the readers of this weblog post who are NOAA employees, I hope you communicate the failure of this survey to add to our knowledge of climate science. The survey is actually a policy advocacy document, as well as an evaluation of the loyalty of NOAA employees to the perspective of individuals such as Tom Karl and Tom Peterson.

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