date: Tue, 3 Apr 2007 14:29:31 +0100
from: "Palmer Dave Mr \(LIB\)" <David.Palmer@uea.ac.uk>
subject: FW: FW: Freedom of Information Act / Environmental Information  
to: "Mcgarvie Michael Mr \(ACAD\) k364" <M.Mcgarvie@uea.ac.uk>, "Phil Jones" <p.jones@uea.ac.uk>

   Michael/Phil,

   Didn't sort until today that the attachment didn't go to you!  here it is....  for brief
   discussion this afternoon



   Cheers, Dave




     ______________________________________________________________________________________

   From: Palmer Dave Mr (LIB)
   Sent: Sunday, April 01, 2007 4:28 PM
   To: 'Phil Jones'; Mcgarvie Michael Mr (ACAD)
   Subject: RE: FW: Freedom of Information Act / Environmental Information Regulations request
   (FOI_07-13 ; EIR_07-03)

   Michael/Phil,

   Attached please find a response to Mr. McIntyre - you ok with this approach/wording?

   Will the information that Phil has uncovered be of any similar assistance to Mr. Eschenbach
   (wants a list of stations for the HadCRUT3 global temperature average)?

   As to a meeting, I can't find either of you in Outlook so would Tuesday at 2pm work for
   you?



   Cheers, Dave
     ______________________________________________________________________________________

   From: Phil Jones [mailto:p.jones@uea.ac.uk]
   Sent: Friday, March 30, 2007 9:55 AM
   To: Palmer Dave Mr (LIB); Mcgarvie Michael Mr (ACAD)
   Subject: RE: FW: Freedom of Information Act / Environmental Information Regulations request
   (FOI_07-13 ; EIR_07-03)

      Dave,
         I'll get onto putting the data on a web page. It should cover most
      of the requests. The sites and data used in the 1990 paper will be there.
      There won't be any info about why these sites were selected. I don't
      know how my collaborators did this. At the time I asked them for
      rural sites in their region.  I'll make this clear on the page.
        Suggest a time next week - I'm here all the time.
      Cheers
      Phil
     At 14:55 29/03/2007, Palmer Dave Mr \(LIB\) wrote:

     Phil,
     Good news re the locations data.  I would recommend putting the data on the website as
     any further requests could simply be referred to the website itself - in this case, we
     could provide the data itself; just from a political point of view, I would rather
     'give' the data directly than 'refuse' under s.21 and point them to a website.

     Just spoke to Doug Keenan on the phone and he seems a reasonable chap - I explained that
     I had received the below email from you and that the prognosis for his request was
     positive.  I hope that this might avoid the appeal situation we have with our other 2
     requesters.

     I have an obligation to try to sort the appeals informally but I'm not sure how to
     bridge the gap between us saying the data is on the US websites and the requesters
     saying that it isn't!  I note that Steve McIntyre in his note to me of 12 March talks
     about the identification of the stations for the 1990 study - would the input data files
     you have for the 1990 study cover the west Russian, Chinese and Australian networks he
     requests?

     It might be worth meeting next week to discuss anything I could say to McIntyre &
     Eschenbach to either (a) satisfy them, or (b) convince them that pursuing an appeal
     would be fruitless (assuming it would be!)

     Cheers, Dave
         _______________________________________________________________________________

          From: Phil Jones [[1]mailto:p.jones@uea.ac.uk]
          Sent: Tuesday, March 27, 2007 3:15 PM
          To: Palmer Dave Mr (LIB); Mcgarvie Michael Mr (ACAD)
          Subject: Re: FW: Freedom of Information Act / Environmental Information Regulations
          request (FOI_07-13 ; EIR_07-03)
           Dave,
              I have found all the input data for the paper from 1990. This includes the
           locations of the sites and the annual temperature values. If I were to get
           someone in CRU to put them on our web site, do you think that would
           keep them quiet, or just spur them into more requests?
              The 1990 paper data isn't that much,  just 6 small files, each of about a half
           an A4 page.
              My earlier email about the other request (the first one) for all our data still
          stands.
           See the same points below. If you feel another meeting may be useful,
           then let me know.
             I had a brief exchange with Alan Kendall of ENV, which I didn't find very useful.
           Cheers
           Phil
            1. CRU's monthly mean surface temperature dataset has been constructed
           principally from data available on the two websites we informed you about in
           early February. Our estimate is that >98% of the CRU data are on these
           sites.
           2. CRU has augmented this dataset with data collected from National
           Met Services (NMSs) in many countries of the world. In gaining access to
           these NMS data, we have signed agreements with many NMSs not to pass
           on the raw station data, but the NMSs concerned are happy for us to use the
           data in our gridding, and these station data are included in our gridded
           products, which are available from the CRU web site.  These NMS
           -supplied data may only form a very small percentage of the database, but
           we have to express their wishes. The World Meteorological Organization has
           a list of all NMSs.
           3. We would like to point out here that CRU is doing a service to the
           climatological community around the world, by making these and many
           other gridded datasets and products available. We are continually being thanked by
           scientists around the world (both personally and through acknowledgements
           within published papers). All these scientists are happy to use these
           gridded products, rather than deal with the raw station data.
           4. The CRU data have periodically been sent to NCDC (for inclusion in
           GHCN) . GHCN include these by having multiple versions of data for many sites.
           5. CRU has made homogeneity adjustments to many station records - see
           the most recent discussion in Brohan et al. (2006). Details of the homogeneity
           adjustments are given in the two publications from 1985 and 1986. These later
           two publications also give the sources of the data we had around those
           dates.
          References
          Brohan, P., Kennedy, J., Harris, I., Tett, S.F.B. and Jones, P.D., 2006: Uncertainty
          estimates in regional and global observed temperature changes: a new dataset from
          1850. J. Geophys. Res. 111, D12106, doi:10.1029/2005JD006548.
          Jones, P.D., Raper, S.C.B., Santer, B.D., Cherry, B.S.G., Goodess, C.M., Kelly,
          P.M., Wigley, T.M.L., Bradley, R.S. and Diaz, H.F., 1985:  A Grid Point Surface Air
          Temperature Data Set for the Northern Hemisphere, U.S. Dept. of Energy, Carbon
          Dioxide Research Division, Technical Report TRO22, 251 pp.

          Jones, P.D., Raper, S.C.B., Cherry, B.S.G., Goodess, C.M. and Wigley, T.M.L., 1986:
          A Grid Point Surface Air Temperature Data Set for the Southern Hemisphere,
          1851-1984, U.S. Dept. of Energy, Carbon Dioxide Research Division, Technical Report
          TR027, 73 pp.
          At 19:05 16/03/2007, Palmer Dave Mr \(LIB\) wrote:

          A response from our latest requester.  I will respond on Sunday noting that the use
          of EIR in no way is determinative of the resolution of his request and reinforcing
          our use of EIR - we have no option in the matter under s.39 FOIA, and the intention
          of the requester is irrelevant.

          Cheers, Dave
            _______________________________________________________________________________

          From: D.J. Keenan [[2]mailto:doug.keenan@informath.org]
          Sent: Thu 15/03/2007 22:32
          To: Palmer Dave Mr (LIB)
          Subject: Re: Freedom of Information Act / Environmental Information Regulations
          request (FOI_07-13 ; EIR_07-03)
          Dear Mr. Palmer,

          My request is to be processed under the FOI, not the EIR; this was made clear in my
          application.  I ask your office to formally accept or refuse my FOI request as
          made.  If your office fails in this, I intend file a complaint with the Information
          Commissioner's Office.

          If your office refuses my application on the grounds that the information I
          requested is "environmental information", then I ask that the refusal notice
          identify which part of the definition of "environmental information" (a-f) you
          believe applies.  This is in addition to adhering to your other obligations when
          issuing a refusal notice for an FOI application.

          Sincerely,
          Douglas J. Keenan



                ----- Original Message -----
                From: [3]Palmer Dave Mr (LIB)
                To: [4]doug.keenan@informath.org
                Sent: Thursday, 15 March, 2007 17:13
                Subject: Freedom of Information Act / Environmental Information Regulations
                request (FOI_07-13 ; EIR_07-03)
                Mr. Keenan,
                Attached please find a letter acknowledging your request of 12 March 2007. It
                also contains further information regarding the handling of this request.  I
                will be in contact with you further in due course.
                Cheers, Dave Palmer
                <<EIR_Referral_letter_final_070315.doc>>
                ____________________________
                David Palmer
                Information Policy Officer
                University of East Anglia
                Norwich, England
                NR4 7TJ

     Prof. Phil Jones

   Climatic Research Unit        Telephone +44 (0) 1603 592090
   School of Environmental Sciences    Fax +44 (0) 1603 507784
   University of East Anglia
   Norwich                          Email    p.jones@uea.ac.uk
   NR4 7TJ
   UK
   ----------------------------------------------------------------------------

   Prof. Phil Jones
   Climatic Research Unit        Telephone +44 (0) 1603 592090
   School of Environmental Sciences    Fax +44 (0) 1603 507784
   University of East Anglia
   Norwich                          Email    p.jones@uea.ac.uk
   NR4 7TJ
   UK
   ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
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