regeneratia, on 03 October 2012 - 01:50 PM, said:
In a technical and research sense, facts cannot be found on this site. We can only get reports and opinions.
This is no surprise.
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A fact is something you can see, touch and expeience first person. I seriously doubt many of us here are positioned to be able to experience and ascertain facts.
That would depend on the "facts." I have physical possession of the entire core collection that produced the Ouachita Chronology (I was the one who wrote that "report;" publication pending.). My "report" is a peer-reviewed research article. I have personally examined the original cores from the McCurtain County, Lake Winona, Hot Springs and Drury House Chronologies, the data from which is available at NASA's tree ring website. The "facts" derived from these are lists of ring-width measurements and observations of microscopic wood anatomy, such as fire scars, frost rings and weather-induced false rings. My article is merely descriptive of the chronology. It summarizes the quality of the dataset and does not attempt any analyses. Are these "facts?"
Two additional papers I am now working on will analyze that data to determine a means of identifying major winter storms from the forest's growth response. That involves some statistical analyses and interpretation. The method I developed works with 85 to 100% accuracy, but does not actually get to 100% (almost, but not quite). Are these "facts?"
One of those papers will be a tree-ring record of severe storms and some droughts going back to 1750. This was Choctaw territory at that time. France still claimed it, but the Choctaws had possession of the land. Some of the storms I have identified match up with Indian legends, such as the "Resting Summer" of 1855, the "Noahkian Flood" of 1862, the "Snow Winter" of 1881 and the great storm of 1886. The more-recent ones match up with Weather Bureau and National Weather Service data. And there are many storms I cannot match to any record, mostly because that far back, there are no records. Are these "facts?" At any rate, my records are more complete and before 1959, more accurate than the National Weather Sevice. Again, these will be peer-reviewed papers and will be submitted for review this fall.
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However, reports are things that are said to have happened, said to be considered to be fact by someone else who may have or may not have experienced the original copy of pdfs, and so on.
I do not have direct experience of "the Mother of All El Ninos" which occurred in 1791 and 1792, but they show up in my tree-ring records. But I can look at the tree rings affected and see the result (The widest rings in the whole chronology.). The important thing in tree ring research is that somewhere somebody has the original cores and you can go back to those and double-check his work. Also, you can go into the woods, increment borer in hand, and collect your own sample. The work can be replicated if someone is so inclined.
Also, you can compare your results with what other people are getting. Don't put all your faith in one paper. Dave Stahle (tree ring and climate researher) reports that 1833 was the wettest year on record for the American South. That's not what my rings show: I show 1791 and 1792 tied for that honor; I show 1833 as a perfectly-ordinary year. Why the difference? Speculation: maybe it's because my datasets come from farther west, on the edge of the Great Plains. This location may be more sensitive to El Nino effects. Further research will be needed to determine the cause. Some graduate student has his work cut out for him.
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And of course, we all know what opinions are. Sometimes opinions are mistaken for fact or report, but that is not the case.
That's why we post our sources. In research, only peer-reviewed material is acceptable (Well, I once referred to a comment in an unjuried book by a distinguished researcher.). Not even a poster presented at a professional meeting is acceptable because it is not peer-reviewed (But a peer-reviewed extended abstract based on that poster is acceptable.).
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To be safe, I disclaim all things I write, with no pretense whatsoever that I am repeating facts. I do however link to reports.
The links you have posted are to popular-literature sites. Those don't cut it in research.
You will notice that most research articles are loaded with caveats. That's because we never know Absolute Truth. However tiny the risk of error, it is always there and something we must live with. This is so well known that even when it is not expressed, it is assumed.
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I think it is important with regards to anthropomorphic influences on the environment that we are only getting reports and opinions. They are not proof of fact.
Research papers are the best information available. Most are written in the format: This is what I did. This is what I observed. This is what I think is the cause. They do not actually say what Ultimate Truth may be. It is very obvious what the author's opinion is, but the reader must make up his own mind. If he's wrong, he then takes personal responsibility for the mistake; you can't blame it on the author you're quoting.
And there is no such thing as "proof" in science. All you will ever get is science's best current understanding. That understanding is tentative pending the outcome of future studies. THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS PROOF.
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Again, I contend that I sit on the fence regarding climate change and man's influence on it. I have always believed in the cycles of the sun. And the sun's influence on climate continues to be the heaviest. I do however agree with the remedies to anthropomorphic climate change for far different reasons.
http://www.redorbit....jection-092912/
Sun Unleashes Benign Coronal Mass Ejection,
http://www.redorbit....ves-sun-092812/
Shockwaves From Sun Helped To Shape Solar System
I keep up with the events of the sun here:
http://www.solarham.net/ They seem to be far faster at reporting than NOAA.
That's because they are more willing to accept mistakes than NOAA is. It takes time to check your material and some people aren't willing to take the time.
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For some reason, there is a lot of questionable need to convince me otherwise. I can not be influenced via this forum.
Junk these sites (the ones you posted, as well as UM). Read the research. Do your own research. Then make up your own mind. That's how it's supposed to be done.
Doug
Edited by Doug1o29, 03 October 2012 - 05:23 PM.
If I have seen farther than other men, it is because I stood on the shoulders of giants. --Albert Einstein
Do not meddle in the affairs of dragons for thou art crunchy and go good with ketchup.