‘Arbitrary’ adjustments exaggerate sea level rise, study finds
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A new study by Australian researchers says that data on how sea levels are rising, relied upon by the United Nations, was adjusted upward in “arbitrary” ways.
The researchers examined sea level measurements in three locations around the Indian Ocean dating back to the 1800s and found that the raw sea level measurements showed no clear rise in sea levels.
Their study was published in the journal Earth Systems and Environment, and it calls into question adjusted official data showing steadily rising sea levels – which most scientists say is caused by manmade global warming. The adjustments are done by the Permanent Service for Mean Sea Level (PSMSL), which is funded by the United Kingdom government.
The top graph in the following image shows the unadjusted sea level data in Mumbai, India, where each color represents a different set of measurements at the same location. The bottom graph shows the adjusted data:
The study’s authors say this is evidence that the adjustments are biased.
“The adjustments are always in the direction of increasing the alarm,” one of the study authors, Clifford Ollier, told Fox News. Ollier is a geologist and honorary research fellow at the University of Western Australia.
“If the raw data show no alarming rise, and you want to create an alarm, you have to alter the raw data,” he said.
The PSMSL did not immediately respond for a request for comment, but other scientists were critical of the study for citing too few locations and for being published in a low-tier journal.
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