The phrase
"divergence issue" refers to a problem or disagreement that occurs when two or more things or opinions start to move in different directions instead of staying similar or aligned.
Full definition
Maybe surprisingly, I recommend this by McIntyre as a review of the «hide the decline»
divergence issue as it went from AR3 to AR4.
Other tree ring datasets don't show the
same divergence issue, as summarized in Cook et al 2004 and as shown in the image below (note that the northern tree rings in dark blue diverge while the southern tree rings in red do not — and Briffa's rings are from northerly trees).
Probably much more than the other avenues (though
the divergence issue is rather hilarious, too).
The emails show that the concern with Briffa included
the divergence issue:
As to the question of whether
the divergence issue might affect the proxies in the past — prior to the instrumental record — we can look at the Salzer paper and see that they conclude from their data that periods equivalent to the past 60 years have not occurred during the past 2,000 + years.
The figure did, however, contain clear references to papers that discussed
the divergence issue.
Indeed, a graph of Northern Hemisphere temperature produced for the World Meteorological Organization in 2000 with Jones's help fails to make clear that instrumental records from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries were spliced onto proxy data for the past millennium because of
the divergence issue.
Still,
the divergence issue remains a source of debate within the scientific community.
(I'm discovering dozens of papers just on latewood density response to various factors, and
the divergence issue)
My argument is to do with commenters here saying, with absolute conviction, that the pre-1960 reconstructions are necessarily invalid due to
the divergence issue.
As far as I understand it,
the divergence issue affects certain groups of NH trees but not others.
I have had similar (but more benighted) conversations at WUWT, where people likewise insist no work has been attempted to address
the divergence issue WRT pre divergence fidelity.
On the other hand, Mann et al believe they have a sufficient handle on
the divergence issue, despite not knowing the cause / s, to have the confidence that they do (complete with caveats) about millennial reconstructions.
Severinghaus notices
the divergence issue as flat - lining and Mann replies, describing it more properly as a decrease.
D'Arrigo et al 2008 give a good overview of the literature on
the divergence issue.
The divergence issue is alluded to in that chapter, but not specifically regarding the graph.
I haven't come across any papers co-written by Mann specifically on
the divergence issue, but he has co-authored papers with people who have (and not just Briffa).
«These» is plural, referring thus to the «reasons» tree - ring based reconstructions «differ in their details», as well as
the divergence issue.