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A summer temperature bias in early alcohol thermometers

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  • Dario Camuffo

    (Institute of Atmospheric Sciences and Climate (ISAC))

  • Antonio della Valle

    (Institute of Atmospheric Sciences and Climate (ISAC))

Abstract

This paper analyses the response of alcohol thermometers in relation to the departure from linearity and the choice of the calibration points. The result is that alcohol thermometers are affected by large departures that reach a maximum (i.e. −6 °C) at 50 °C ambient temperature. This may have caused a severe bias in early records, when alcohol thermometers were popular, especially during the Little Ice Age. Choosing a lower temperature for the upper point, calibration may substantially reduce this bias. Examples are given with thermometers in use in the 17th and 18th centuries. A careful correction of long series is necessary to avoid misleading climate interpretations.

Suggested Citation

  • Dario Camuffo & Antonio della Valle, 2016. "A summer temperature bias in early alcohol thermometers," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 138(3), pages 633-640, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:climat:v:138:y:2016:i:3:d:10.1007_s10584-016-1760-8
    DOI: 10.1007/s10584-016-1760-8
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Dario Camuffo & Chiara Bertolin, 2012. "The earliest temperature observations in the world: the Medici Network (1654–1670)," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 111(2), pages 335-363, March.
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    Cited by:

    1. Dario Camuffo, 2020. "Key problems in early wine-spirit thermometers and the “true Réaumur” thermometer," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 163(2), pages 1083-1102, November.
    2. Dario Camuffo & Antonio della Valle & Francesca Becherini & Daniel Rousseau, 2020. "The earliest temperature record in Paris, 1658–1660, by Ismaël Boulliau, and a comparison with the contemporary series of the Medici Network (1654–1670) in Florence," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 162(2), pages 903-922, September.
    3. Dario Camuffo & Francesca Becherini & Antonio della Valle, 2020. "Temperature observations in Florence, Italy, after the end of the Medici Network (1654–1670): the Grifoni record (1751–1766)," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 162(2), pages 943-963, September.
    4. Dario Camuffo & Francesca Becherini & Antonio Valle, 2021. "Daily temperature observations in Florence at the mid-eighteenth century: the Martini series (1756–1775)," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 164(3), pages 1-19, February.
    5. Dario Camuffo & Antonio della Valle & Chiara Bertolin & Elena Santorelli, 2017. "Temperature observations in Bologna, Italy, from 1715 to 1815: a comparison with other contemporary series and an overview of three centuries of changing climate," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 142(1), pages 7-22, May.

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