Archives
Vast amounts of weather data exist in archives around the world. Climate scientists recognise the value of this data for filling the gaps in the observation data they currently have available, which can help them to understand better changes in the climate over time.
Around the world people are working together through a project called ACRE to try and recover some of this data before it decays or is destroyed.
Read more about the ACRE project
We spoke to Clive Wilkinson [CRU_03], a climate historian who has a vast knowledge of shipping records and archives and who works with climate scientists such as [MO_3] and [MO_4] to get them the data they need.
Read the ‘Data journey’ and ‘Culture’ pages linked below, then continue your journey to the Old Weather project where you can find out how citizen scientists are helping to transcribe the recovered data and make it usable for climate scientists.
Archive sources
Transcript of interview with Clive William Wilkinson [CRU_03]
Audio recording of interview with Clive William Wilkinson [CRU_03]
Audio recording of interview with MO_4 (pending)
Transcript of interview with MO_3 (pending)
Reflection
We’d like you to take a minute to reflect on what you have read in this section.
Some questions to get you started:
Were you surprised to find out how much valuable climate data is stored in archives around the world?
How do you think the cultural values of the climate historian might impact upon the ability of climate scientists to find the data they need?
What value do you think collaboration between climate scientists, historians and archivists can bring to our understanding of climate change?
What are your thoughts about the difficulties climate historians such as Clive have finding funding for their data recovery and rescue work?