New Zealand legal challenge to NIWA adjusted data

[marchesarosa]

New Zealand’s NIWA sued over climate data adjustments
Posted on August 16, 2010 by Anthony Watts

NIWA is being sued by the NZ Climate Coalition, mainly due to the differences in data in this graph:




Niwa sued over data accuracy

The country’s state-owned weather and atmospheric research body is being taken to court in a challenge
over the accuracy of its data used to calculate global warming.
The New Zealand Climate Science Coalition said it had lodged papers with the
High Court asking the court
to invalidate the official temperatures record of the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (Niwa).
The lobby of climate sceptics and ACT Party have long criticised Niwa over its temperature data, which Niwa says
is mainstream science and not controversial, and the raw data publicly available.
Coalition spokesman Bryan Leyland said many scientists believed although the earth had been
warming for 150 years, it had not heated as much as Government archives claimed.

He said the New Zealand Meteorological Service had shown no warming during the past century but Niwa had adjusted
its records to show a warming trend of 1degC. The warming figure was high and
almost 50 percent above the global average, said Mr Leyland.

Full story here:

www.stuff.co.nz/national/4026330/Niwa-sued-over-data-accuracy


--------

NIWA sued over data accuracy

15/08/2010


The country's state-owned weather and atmospheric research body is being taken to court
in a challenge over the accuracy of its data used to calculate global warming.

The New Zealand Climate Science Coalition said it had lodged papers with the High Court asking the court
to invalidate the official temperatures record of the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (Niwa).

The lobby of climate sceptics and ACT Party have long criticised Niwa over its temperature data, which Niwa says
is mainstream science and not controversial, and the raw data publicly available.
The coalition said the New Zealand Temperature Records (NZTR) were the historical base of NIWA's advice
to the Government on issues relating to climate change.

Coalition spokesman Bryan Leyland said many scientists believed although the earth had been warming for 150 years,
it had not heated as much as Government archives claimed. He said the New Zealand Meteorological Service
had shown no warming during the past century but Niwa had adjusted its records to show a warming trend of 1degC.
The warming figure was high and almost 50 percent above the global average, said Mr Leyland.

The coalition said the 1degC warming during the 20th century was based on adjustments taken by Niwa from
a 1981 student thesis by then student Jim Salinger, a Niwa employee who was later sacked after talking
to the media without permission.

The Salinger thesis was subjective and untested and meteorologists more senior to Dr Salinger did not consider
the temperature data should be adjusted, it said.
The coalition would ask the court to find Niwa's New Zealand Temperature Record invalid.

It would also seek a court declaration preventing Niwa from using the NZTR when it advised the Government or
any other body on global climate issues. It would also ask the court to order Niwa to produce a full and accurate NZTR.

Mr Leyland said Niwa was refusing to repudiate the NZTR to avoid political embarrassment and loss of public confidence.
A substantive hearing was expected later this year.

www.stuff.co.nz/national/4026330/Niwa-sued-over-data-accuracy

-------------------


This anomally chart reckons to show that NewZealand temperature has been rising at an unprecedented rate lately.
It is based on what climatologists call "value-added" data




The anomaly chart below shows the "raw" temperatures. Eyeballing it I don't think one can perceive anything
much at all happening to New Zealands temperature.
The trend of 0.06 degree centigrade per century since 1850 is statistically insignificant.




New Zealand's chief Scientist (Climate) Dr David Wratt of NIWA is an IPCC hack, too - coordinating Lead Author
of the “Australia and New Zealand” chapter of the IPCC Third Assessment Report. How cosy this tiny group which
we are supposd to believe is representative of a world-wide consensus of thousands of scientists is proving to be.

I think those thousands must include, wives, children, domestic servants and pets, too, don't you?

[marchesarosa]

Back before Climategate even began Dr. Phil Jones at one point stated that the CRU had “lost” the “raw” data
they had collected during the move into their new building back in the 1980’s. This spawned the story the
“Dog ate the Data” across the Blogosphere and turned up again when Climategate broke.

At that time a New Zealand group called the New Zealand Climate Science Coalition (NZCSC) looked at the
raw temperature records for their country and found that the temperatures were flat and that the warming
trend shown in the graphs published by the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA)
was all due to adjustments NIWA did.

At that time a FOI request was put in to see why and when these “adjustments” were made. Now two months later
the NZCSC states that NIWA has been forced to admit they lost the records of how and when the adjustments were made.
You can get the details and the NZCSC press release here:

TBR.cc: BREAKING NEWS: NIWA reveals NZ original climate data missing.
briefingroom.typepad.com/the_briefing_room/2010/02/breaking-news-niwa-reveals-nz-original-climate-data-missing.html

What makes this story even more interesting is that until this year (April) the head of NIWA was a Dr. Jim Salinger
who was let go by NIWA for repeatedly violating NIWA policy. Goodness me! Whatever did he do to get sacked?
I guess the sacking of a chief climatologist is virtually unheard of.

www.niwa.co.nz/news-and-publications/news/all/2009/niwa-welcomes-jim-salinger-employment-decision

The interesting thing about Dr. Salinger is that prior to going to work for NIWA he was a member of Dr. Joneses CRU
and he appears in the Climategate emails. Strange how data goes missing where ever these CRU boys work.

Thanks to boballab here
boballab.wordpress.com/2010/02/01/the-goat-ate-the-data/

[marchesarosa]

Salinger sacking

He is reported to have been sacked for ignoring a new Niwa policy against speaking publicly without prior approval.

"I can't understand it, it's not as though I'm doing bad science, it's not as though I'm under-performing,
so I'm really astounded," Dr Salinger said on TV One News tonight.

TV One said Niwa had accused Dr Salinger of serious misconduct after he took part in a programme
the channel produced about glaciers.

The Green Party said Dr Salinger was dismissed earlier this week for helping TVNZ weatherman Jim Hickey
with climate-related inquiries.

The scientist has frequently appeared in TV climate reports and has spoken in the media about climate change.

Greenpeace said it wanted answers from Niwa and the Government.

"Dr Salinger has done some amazing work to educate New Zealanders about climate change and he is highly
respected internationally," said Greenpeace senior climate campaigner Simon Boxer.

"He was very clear about the need for urgent climate action in New Zealand."

April 2009
www.stuff.co.nz/science/2361900/Niwa-sacks-Jim-Salinger



One must be grateful for every small victory over the IPCC juggernaut.

[marchesarosa]

NIWA Unable To Justify Official Temperature Record


Monday, 1 February 2010, 4:02 pm
Press Release: New Zealand Climate Science Coalition

www.scoop.co.nz/stories/SC1002/S00004.htm



Now, a news release from the Climate Science Coalition is blowing the NIWA climate scientists out of the water.

The National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) has been urged by the New Zealand
Climate Science Coalition (NZCSC) to abandon all of its in-house adjustments to temperature records.
This follows an admission by NIWA that it no longer holds the records that would support its in-house
manipulation of official temperature readings.

In December, NZCSC issued a formal request for the schedule of adjustments under the Official Information Act 1982,
specifically seeking copies of “the original worksheets and/or computer records used for the calculations”. On 29 January,
NIWA responded that they no longer held any internal records, and merely referred to the scientific literature.

“The only inference that can be drawn from this is that NIWA has casually altered its temperature series
from time to time, without ever taking the trouble to maintain a continuous record. The result is that the
official temperature record has been adjusted on unknown dates for unknown reasons, so that its probative
value is little above that of guesswork. In such a case, the only appropriate action would be reversion to the
raw data record, perhaps accompanied by a statement of any known issues,” said Terry Dunleavy,
secretary of NZCSC.

“NIWA’s website carries the raw data collected from representative temperature stations, which disclose
no measurable change in average temperature over a period of 150 years. But elsewhere on the same website,
NIWA displays a graph of the same 150-year period showing a sharp warming trend. The difference between
these two official records is a series of undisclosed NIWA-created ‘adjustments’.

“Late last year our coalition published a paper entitled ‘Are We Feeling Warmer Yet?’ and asked NIWA to
disclose the schedule detailing the dates and reasons for the adjustments. The expressed purpose of NZCSC
was to replicate the calculations, in the best traditions of peer-reviewed science.

“When NIWA did not respond, Hon Rodney Hide asked Oral and Written Questions in Parliament,
and attended a meeting with NIWA scientists. All to no avail, and the schedule of adjustments
remained a secret. We now know why NIWA was being so evasive - the requested schedule did not exist.

“Well qualified climate scientist members of our coalition believe that NIWA has forfeited confidence
in the credibility of its temperature recording procedures, and that it cannot be trusted to try to cover up
its own ineptitude by in-house adjustments. What is needed is open access in the public domain to all
of the known reasons for post-reading adjustments to enable independent climate analysts to make their own
comparative assessments of temperature variations throughout New Zealand since the middle of the
19th century,” said Mr Dunleavy.

I kid you not, you could write a book about these shenanigans.


NIWA - National Institute of Water & Atmospheric Research (NZ)

[rsmith77]

I see the Princess of pomposity, Speaker to animals has re-appeared on the BBC board. I'm starting to think of her as the establishment fireman - sent in to douse the flames when their little theory is in flames...again. Any theory is in poor shape when it needs a statistician to "prove" it's worth.
I notice she's avoided the subject of this thread - I wonder why.

I'm missing the missives of the charming sciencebiker. Has he been banned too?

During one of your exchanges on the rice thread, I think; one of the warmists was citing the increase in cattle farming as a GHG contributor. I'd have thought the huge herds of Bison/Wildebeeste/Yak etc of yore would have more than compensated.
What do I know - I'm just a fisherman

Keep up the good work!

[marchesarosa]

You should sympathise with them, Mr Smith. They run around dousing one fire and another springs up just behind them.
No wonder they get tetchy. Science Biker, mercifully, has disappeared. I don't know whether he was banned.
He certainly deserved to be for his persistently abusive and personal remarks, and Speaker, too. They have
not an ounce of wit or humour between them. True cadre mentality. They would not hesitate to imprison
or section wrong-thinkers.

[rsmith77]

Indeed...I often wondered how the Nazi's managed to get the normal everyday people to do their bidding. Groupthink and a bit of fear thrown in I guess.
Sound familiar?
Sorry to use your board to vent my spleen but that little establishment running dog, Lazarus is really irritating.
Give him a slap for me please

[marchesarosa]

that little establishment running dog, Lazarus is really irritating.
Give him a slap for me please

Ah, so you have noticed that recently we on the BBC Science Board, have been
the target of a somewhat unguided missile from hostile territory, called lazarus, Mr Smith.

Lazarus will have to up his game before "destroying" us, although he may have a good try before he gives up!
We have
far too long a lead in the AGW debate. He's fresh from Religion and Ethics and goodness knows where
before that - probably astrology and the occult!

He does so remind me of young Spir-an, though, who thought he could "destroy" opponents not by debate but
by allocating them to one of the “ten specifically named personality disorders”
he claimed to be able to identify!
Now HE would have fit in perfectly on the BBC Science Board with its own band of trick cyclists following
the School of Geo Monbiot and Ben Golding.

He thought he could detect "sock puppets", too. In fact he would probably think WE were a pair of socks, if you
were still around, Mr Smith. People who agreed to disagree with him were immediate suspects, of course.
He portrayed it as a sign of "multiple personality disorder", I kid you not!

He was an Asperger’s sufferer, (unsurprisingly ) who could not resist repetitive needling
e.g. with other boarders’ names - just like lazarus with ours, spookily enough!

He thought he was being witty -- don't they all?

You know the typical Asperger’s case, Mr Smith, sense of humour not a strong suit
- a sledge-hammer and nut effect.

But persistence? Oh, yes! Ten out of Ten for effort!

I’ve certainly come across lazarus’s template before. Spooky.

[rsmith77]

Ah yes, I recognise the traits indeed; whether it be aspergers or indoctrination into the cult of climatology (or both), the tics are unmistakable.
You should be proud of the following you've attracted. I count at least five cultists assigned to your threads. You'll notice how their numbers and zeal increases as we approach another climate summit. You should ask them directly what their affiliations are.
I notice StuartG has moved from the neutral sidelines to the right side of the track.
Speaks volumes.

[marchesarosa]

Have you notice we have acquired a spammer filling the climate blog up with rubbish borrowed from the BBC?
Spesh used to do that when s/he was banned from the BBC and used to sneak back at weekends when
the mods were away to fill the board up with rubbishy one-line posts. Don't ask me why? Just to show s/he could,
I suppose. Some people! Little things, little minds, Mr Smith.

Whatever! We are clearly entering a new era in the history of this board with the respect to the Cakeboard.
The gels are organisin' themselves to fight denialism! The honorary "gels", too!

Gird yer loins, Mr Smith, now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of the party!

[arealfarmer]

Aug 25, 2010 21:57:38 GMT marchesarosa said:

...

?

Do you mean " bump " MR ?

[marchesarosa]

www.thegwpf.org/climategate/1658-legal-defeat-for-global-warming-in-kiwigate-scandal-.html

Legal Defeat For Global Warming In Kiwigate Scandal

Thursday, 07 October 2010 08:48 John O'Sullivan, Suite 101

In the climate controversy dubbed Kiwigate New Zealand skeptics inflict shock courtroom defeat on climatologists
implicated in temperature data fraud.

New Zealand’s government via its National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) has announced it has
nothing to do with the country’s “official” climate record in what commentators are calling a capitulation from the tainted
climate reconstruction.

NIWA’s statement claims they were never responsible for the national temperature record (NZTR).The climb down is seen
as a dramatic legal triumph for skeptics of the New Zealand Climate Science Coalition (NZCSC) who had initiated
their challenge last August when petitioning the high court of New Zealand to invalidate the weather service’s reconstruction
of antipodean temperatures.

According to NZCSC, climate scientists cooked the books by using the same alleged ‘trick’ employed by British and American
doomsaying scientists. This involves subtly imposing a warming bias during what is known as the ‘homogenisation’
process that occurs when climate data needs to be adjusted.

The specific charge brought against the Kiwi government was that it’s climate scientists had taken the raw temperature
records of the country and then adjusted them artificially with the result that a steeper warming trend was created
than would otherwise exist by examination of the raw data alone.

Indeed, the original Kiwi records shows no warming during the 20th century, but after government sponsored climatologists had manipulated the data a warming trend of 1C appeared.

New Zealand Government Abandons ‘Official’ Climate Record

The NZCSC story reports that the NZ authorities, “formally stated that, in their opinion, they are not required to use the best
available information nor to apply the best scientific practices and techniques available at any given time. They don’t think
that forms any part of their statutory obligation to pursue “excellence.”

NIWA now denies there was any such thing as an “official” NZ Temperature Record, although there was an official acronym
for it (NZTR). However, the position now taken by the NZ government is that all such records are now to be
deemed as unofficial and strictly for internal research purposes.

The article urges that if the government will not affirm that their temperature reconstruction is official then,
“Nobody else should rely on it.”

Researcher from Climategate University Implicated in Data Fraud
As reported in a Suite101 article
by the same writer of April 2010 'Kiwigate is a Carbon Copy of Climategate' it was shown that the scientist who made the
controversial “bold adjustments” is none other than Jim Salinger who is also a lead author for the Intergovernmental Panel
on Climate Change (IPCC). Salinger was dismissed by NIWA earlier this year for speaking without authorization to the media.
The discredited researcher originally worked at Britain’s Climatic Research Unit (CRU), the institution at the center of the Climategate scandal.

Salinger was also among the inner circle of climate scientists whose leaked emails precipitated the original climate controversy
in November 2009. In an email (August 4, 2003) to fellow disgraced American climate professor, Michael Mann,
Salinger stated he was “extremely concerned about academic standards” among climate skeptics.

Bogus Data Destroyed before it could be independently verified
In circumstances strangely
similar to those witnessed in the Climategate controversy Kiwigate appears to match Climategate in three key
three facets. First, climate scientists declined to submit their data for independent analysis. Second, when backed
into a corner the scientists claimed their adjustments had been ‘lost’. Third, the raw data itself proves no warming trend.

References:

Treadgold, R., ‘Observations on NIWA’s Statement of Defence,’ (October 6, 2010), Climate Conversation Group
(www.climateconversation.wordshine.co.nz: accessed online: October 6, 2010)

Costa, A.C. and A. Soares, ‘Homogenization of Climate Data: Review and New Perspectives Using Geostatistics,
’ Mathematical Geoscience, Volume 41, Number 3 / April, 2009.

New Zealand Climate Science Coalition, ‘NIWA Challenged to Show Why and How Temperature Records Were Adjusted’
(February 7, 2010), accessed online April 26, 2010.

NZCSC & Climate Science Conversation Group; Press Statement of December 18, 2009; accessed online ( April 26, 2010).

Salinger, J. Climategate email Filename: 1060002347.txt. (August 4, 2003).

[visitor]

Oct 8, 2010 23:10:26 GMT marchesarosa said:

In the climate controversy dubbed Kiwigate New Zealand skeptics inflict shock courtroom defeat on climatologists
implicated in temperature data fraud.

Not true (and not just this sentence but the whole cut-n-paste blog post has been shown to be a huge distortion of the facts)

hot-topic.co.nz/niwa-v-cranks-4-shoot-out-at-the-fantasy-factory/

"The case hasn’t come before a judge, let alone reached a courtroom. "

[marchesarosa]

Just put your fingers in your ears and sing la-la, la-lala-lala, visitor, and all the nasty uncomfortable matters that sceptics are raising re the absence of evidence for Catastrophic Anthropogenic Global Warming, will melt like the snows in Spring!

[visitor]

You stated "New Zealand skeptics inflict shock courtroom defeat on climatologists implicated in temperature data fraud" when it can easily be shown that they haven't even made it to court yet.

Do you believe that repeating obvious lies that can be shown to be lies very easily actually helps make your case?

If you had a case to make, you wouldn't need to resort to lying.