Fun with Statistics

Yes, yes, we all know the title is a tautology.  How can one not have fun with statistics!  Today's object d'art is one we are all familiar with: the Mindless Linear Trend (MLT).  This time, it is a graph of the top height of clouds

Scientists at the University of Auckland in New Zealand analyzed the first 10 years of global cloud-top height measurements (from March 2000 to February 2010) from the Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) instrument on NASA’s Terra spacecraft. The study, published recently in the journal Geophysical Research Letters, revealed an overall trend of decreasing cloud height. Global average cloud height declined by around one percent over the decade, or by around 100 to 130 feet (30 to 40 meters). Most of the reduction was due to fewer clouds occurring at very high altitudes.

which also illustrates the fact that once an instrument is available to measure something, it will be measured and analyzed and its entrails examined.  

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