Durham University Observatory and its meteorological record

Kenworthy, Joan M.; Burt, T. P.; Cox, Nicholas J.

doi:10.1002/wea.86

Cited by 5 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 12 publications

(9 reference statements)

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“…Few would dispute Speed's rueful observations on the local climate, but such thoughts are given substance by the region possessing the second‐oldest weather observatory in Britain, that of Durham University (Figure ), with data extending back to the early 1840s (Kenworthy, ) and the first writings on the Observatory's activities coming as long ago as the late nineteenth century (Plummer, ). Mention of Durham brings us inevitably to the work of Gordon Manley, famous for his Central England Temperature series (Manley, ) and his writings on the climate of the northeast: his studies of the weather at Moor House in upper Teesdale are regarded as a ‘classic’ (Manley, ).…”

Section: Historical Backgroundmentioning

confidence: 99%

Regional weather and climates of the British Isles - Part 4: North East England and Yorkshire

Wheeler

2013

Weather

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Section: Historical Backgroundmentioning

confidence: 99%

Regional weather and climates of the British Isles - Part 4: North East England and Yorkshire

Wheeler

2013

Weather

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“…The earliest meteorological records at Durham Observatory date from 1841 (Manley, 1941;Kenworthy et al, 2007). Most attention has been given to the temperature record, most notably by Gordon Manley (1941) who produced a homogenous mean air temperature record for the period .…”

Section: British Rainfall In the 1870smentioning

confidence: 99%

Homogenising the rainfall record at Durham for the 1870s

Burt

2009

Hydrological Sciences Journal

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The rainfall record from the Durham University Observatory (UK) in the 1870s is examined: this decade was a very wet one nationally, but the Durham totals seem too high. Comparison with data from nearby gauges in northeast England and with a more distant gauge at Edinburgh confirms that this is so. The cause is most likely related to a faulty raingauge in use from January 1872; the problem was apparently rectified by August 1879. Analysis confirms inhomogeneities in the original time series; corrections are applied based on nearby raingauges and a smaller 8-inch gauge in use at the Observatory. In the corrected record, 1872 remains the wettest year at Durham and 1877 ranks fifth. However, the 1870s no longer ranks as the wettest decade, the 1930s and 1960s both being slightly wetter.

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“…At Durham, Manley developed his interest in the collection and analysis of long‐term instrumental weather records for the UK, and his associated investigations of the people who created them. This work was shaped by his appointment as curator of the Durham Observatory between 1931 and 1937 and his interest in long series derived from historical sources at Durham and elsewhere. It is from such sources that Manley assembled the http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Central_England_temperature (CET) series of monthly mean temperatures, stretching back to 1659, with daily data available from 1772 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Gordon Valentine Manley and his contribution to the study of climate change: a review of his life and work

Endfield

Veale

Hall

2015

WIREs Climate Change

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British climatologist and geographer, Gordon Manley (1902Manley ( -1980, is perhaps best known for his pioneering work on climate variability in the UK, for establishing the Central England Temperature series and, for his pivotal role in demonstrating the powerful relationship between climate, weather, and culture in post-World War II Britain. Yet Manley made many contributions, both professional and popular, to climate change debates in the twentieth century, where climate change is broadly understood to be changes over a range of temporal and spatial scales rather than anthropogenic warming per se. This review first establishes how Manley's work, including that on snow and ice, was influenced by key figures in debates over climatic amelioration around the North Atlantic between 1920s and 1950s. His research exploring historical climate variability in the UK using documentary sources is then discussed. His perspectives on the relationship between climate changes and cultural history are reviewed, paying particular attention to his interpretation of this relationship as it played out in the UK. Throughout, the review aims to show Manley to be a fieldworker and an empiricist and reveals how he remained committed to rigorous scientific investigation despite changing trends within his academic discipline.

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Durham University Observatory and its meteorological record

Cited by 5 publications

References 12 publications

Regional weather and climates of the British Isles - Part 4: North East England and Yorkshire

Regional weather and climates of the British Isles - Part 4: North East England and Yorkshire

Homogenising the rainfall record at Durham for the 1870s

Gordon Valentine Manley and his contribution to the study of climate change: a review of his life and work

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