Andi Kolari
Professor Vejdemo-Johansson
HON 223 Seminar
11/08/2021
Research Description
The aim of this research was to develop an understanding of how climate change is impacting the height of the troposphere. From 1980 to 2000, the height of the tropopause increased, though it was unclear if these changes in height could be used as a benchmark to predict changes in height after 2000, as those changes were not consistent with models predicting change after 2000. The scientists completed their objective using meteorological balloons to measure the height of the troposphere in the northern hemisphere, ultimately concluding that changes in the height of the troposphere were consistent with changes from 1980 to 2000.
Abstract vs Article
The abstract is much more in depth than the article. The abstract is extremely brief. It describes the goal of the research article as analyzing the change in the earth’s tropopause height over a 20-year period. It very, very briefly describes how they did it. It describes what they found, and it describes what they believe to be a potential cause, and compares the data to pre-existing data from 20 years . In contrast, the article is somehow even more brief. All the article does is state that the tropopause is rising because of climate change and that is literally it. It says the tropopause has risen about 200 meters over 40 years, includes a few quotes from one of the researchers, and that is it. It’s an extremely brief article that only really restates the conclusion of the research, and a very shortened version at that.
Research vs Article
Unsurprisingly, the research is far more in depth than the article, as there is almost nothing to the article. The article really is just a restatement of the conclusion of the study, while the research is an actual report on the study. Every conclusion the researchers reached in the lead up to their primary conclusion is substantiated, weather that be through the findings of their research, complex mathematical analysis, etc. A research journal will be held to the upmost scrutiny. The researchers will exhaust every resource available to them to ensure that they conducted a proper scientific experiment and their findings are true and valid. The larger scientific community will hold their findings to extreme scrutiny to ensure that the science is ethical and accurate. They are actually conducting a scientific study, and reporting it to the scientific community. In contrast, the article really is just a restatement of the conclusion for wider audiences beyond academia.
Sources Cited
- Meng et al. Continuous rise of the tropopause in the Northern Hemisphere over 1980–2020. Science Advances. Published online November 5, 2021. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.abi8065.
- Kreier, Freda. “Earth’s Lower Atmosphere Is Rising Due to Climate Change.” Science News, 5 Nov. 2021, https://www.sciencenews.org/article/earth-lower-atmosphere-rising-climate-change-troposphere.
