Merging medatlas data base and new monitoring programs. WMED warming from 1900 to 2008

Abstract

Data bases such as MEDATLAS [1] have proved to be an extremely valuable tool for assessing long term changes. Nevertheless, recent works have shown that the irregular time and spatial distribution of data can decrease the robustness of the analyses [2, 3]. Monitoring programs with systematic samplings are required in order improve the estimations of long term changes, but this arises the question of whether or not data from new monitoring programs and “old” data bases can be merged in order to construct long time series. In this work we check the homogeneity of time series constructed from MEDATLAS data base and the monitoring program RADMED in the Spanish Mediterranean. Time series extending from 1900 to 2008 show the warming and salting of the Western Mediterranean (WMED)