There are several factors that are important in monitoring global or U.S. temperature: quality
of raw observations, length of record of observations, and the analysis methods used to transform raw data into reliable climate data records by removing existing biases from the data.
The FDA's inspection report «is based on
raw observations and in some cases lack proper context,» Gene Grabowski, an outside spokesman for Rose Acre Farms, said in an email.
It includes
the raw observation of casualties by soldiers on the ground in Afghanistan, but the many unknowns surrounding those reports have left researchers puzzled about how to interpret them.
These data products are not just a function of
the raw observations, but also of the assumptions and the «model» (usually statistical) that go into building the synthesis.
They can't hindcast the past «bumps» without using major adjustments to make
the raw observations fit the models.
As a result
the raw observations can provide a misleading trend for short periods spanning the changeover, such as the last 15 years.