Climate Depends On What??

Name: _________________________________________ Date: ________________
Climate Depends On What??
Introduction: The state of the atmosphere continually changes over time in response to the
uneven distribution of the energy in the atmosphere. The short-term changes in temperature and
humidity are fundamental controls of weather, and their long-term averages are called climate.
Since climate is averaged weather, we must take a look at the average temperature and average
humidity (precipitation) in a particular region.
There are large variations in average monthly temperature among cities located at the same
latitude. This suggests that factors, besides the angle of insolation and duration of insolation,
affect the rate (speed) of heating and cooling of any given location. Climographs which show the
average monthly temperature and precipitation of various locations can be used to compare these
rates.
Objectives: At the end of this activity, you should be able to determine factors that influence
climate.
Procedure:
1. There are 4 pairs of climate data. Each pair shows a different factor that can influence
climate.
2. Plot the following cities on the map at the end of the lab. Label each city accordingly.
Factor 1 - Eureka, California: Latitude: 40o 49’N
o
Lincoln, Nebraska: Latitude: 40 86’N
Longitude 124o 134’W and
Longitude 96o 75’W
Factor 2 - Dallas, Texas: Latitude: 32o 51’N
Longitude 96o 51’W and
o
Fargo, North Dakota: Latitude: 46 56’N
Longitude 96o 49’W
Factor 3 - Los Angeles, California: Latitude: 33o 56’N
Longitude 118o 24’W and
o
Savannah, Georgia: Latitude: 32 07’N
Longitude 81o 45’W
Factor 4 - Lake Tahoe, California: Latitude: 38o 94’N
Longitude 119o 99’W and
Reno, Nevada: Latitude: 39o 52’N
Longitude 119o 81’W
b. Have teacher check (initials in box) that each city is plotted correctly before
continuing.
3. Create a climograph for each city. Use line graphs for temperature and bar graphs for
precipitation. Make sure each climograph is titled and labeled correctly.
4. Answer the questions to see if you can determine the primary factor that influences
those cities climates.
5. Answer the conclusion.
Map is correctly
plotted
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Factor 1:
Eureka, California
Elevation: 10 feet
Latitude: 40o 49’N
Longitude 124o 134’W
Average Monthly Temperature
Jan
Feb
Mar
o
F
47.3
48.9
49.2
Apr
50.7
May
53.6
Jun
56.3
Jul
58.1
Aug
58.7
Sep
57.4
Oct
54.5
Nov
51.0
Dec
47.9
Average Monthly Precipitation
Jan
Feb
Mar
in
5.97
5.51
5.55
Apr
2.91
May
1.62
Jun
0.65
Jul
0.16
Aug
0.38
Sep
0.86
Oct
2.36
Nov
5.78
Dec
6.35
Lincoln, Nebraska
Elevation: 1184 feet
Latitude: 40o 86’N
Longitude 96o 75’W
Average Monthly Temperature
Jan
Feb
Mar
o
F
22.0
28.2
39.0
Apr
51.3
May
62.0
Jun
73.5
Jul
78.0
Aug
75.0
Sep
66.0
Oct
53.4
Nov
37.8
Dec
26.8
Average Monthly Precipitation
Jan
Feb
Mar
in
0.67
0.66
2.21
Apr
2.90
May
4.23
Jun
3.51
Jul
3.54
Aug
3.35
Sep
2.92
Oct
1.94
Nov
1.58
Dec
0.86
2
Factor 2
Dallas, Texas
Elevation: 440 feet
Latitude: 32o 51’N
Longitude 96o 51’W
Average Monthly Temperature
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
o
F
45.9 51.0 58.8 66.3
May
74.4
Jun
82.2
Jul
86.5
Aug
86.1
Sep
78.9
Oct
68.4
Nov
56.4
Dec
48.0
Average Monthly Precipitation
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
in
1.89 2.31 3.13 3.46
May
5.30
Jun
3.92
Jul
2.43
Aug
2.17
Sep
2.65
Oct
4.65
Nov
2.61
Dec
2.53
Fargo, North Dakota
Elevation: 900 feet
Latitude: 46o 56’N
Longitude 96o 49’W
Average Monthly Temperature
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
o
F
6.8
14.1 27.2 32.4
May
46.3
Jun
54.5
Jul
59.0
Aug
57.0
Sep
46.1
Oct
34.4
Nov
18.7
Dec
4.2
Average Monthly Precipitation
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
in
0.76 0.59 1.17 1.37
May
2.61
Jun
3.51
Jul
2.88
Aug
2.52
Sep
2.18
Oct
1.97
Nov
1.06
Dec
0.57
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Factor 3
Los Angeles, California
Elevation: 100 feet
Latitude: 33o 56’N
Longitude 118o 24’W
Average Monthly Temperature
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
o
F
57.1 58.0 58.3 60.8
May
63.1
Jun
66.4
Jul
69.3
Aug
70.7
Sep
70.1
Oct
66.9
Nov
61.6
Dec
57.6
Average Monthly Precipitation
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
in
2.98 3.11 2.40 0.63
May
0.24
Jun
0.08
Jul
0.03
Aug
0.14
Sep
0.26
Oct
0.36
Nov
1.13
Dec
1.79
Savannah, Georgia
Elevation: 46 feet
Latitude: 32o 07’N
Longitude 81o 45’W
Average Monthly Temperature
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
o
F
49.2 52.5 59.3 65.3
May
72.8
Jun
82.1
Jul
80.8
Aug
80.8
Sep
76.7
Oct
67.1
Nov
58.7
Dec
51.4
Average Monthly Precipitation
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
in
3.95 2.92 3.64 3.32
May
3.61
Jun
5.49
Jul
6.04
Aug
7.20
Sep
5.08
Oct
3.12
Nov
2.40
Dec
2.81
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Factor 4
Lake Tahoe, California
Elevation: 6291 feet
Latitude: 38o 94’N
Longitude 119o 99’W
Average Monthly Temperature
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
o
F
28.0 29.5 34.0 39.5
May
46.5
Jun
53.5
Jul
59.5
Aug
58.5
Sep
52.5
Oct
44.0
Nov
34.5
Dec
28.0
Average Monthly Precipitation
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
in
6.02 5.40 4.08 2.13
May
1.20
Jun
0.68
Jul
0.25
Aug
0.32
Sep
0.61
Oct
1.81
Nov
3.69
Dec
5.69
Reno, Nevada
Elevation: 4599 feet
Latitude: 39o 52’N
Longitude 119o 81’W
Average Monthly Temperature
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
o
F
33.7 38.6 43.3 48.7
May
56.4
Jun
64.7
Jul
71.3
Aug
69.9
Sep
62.4
Oct
52.0
Nov
40.9
Dec
33.6
Average Monthly Precipitation
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
in
1.06 1.06 0.86 0.35
May
0.62
Jun
0.47
Jul
0.24
Aug
0.27
Sep
0.45
Oct
0.42
Nov
0.80
Dec
0.88
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Questions:
1. Even if you did not know these cities were all cities in the United States, how could you tell
from the temperature curves that they were all in the Northern Hemisphere?
Factor 1 – Eureka vs. Lincoln
2. What is the yearly temperature range for Eureka? For Lincoln?
3. Using your map, describe where they are located in the United States (do not tell me which
state they are in).
4. Since both cities are located near the same latitude, why is there a difference between the
yearly temperature range?
5. Which city experiences the most precipitation during a year?
6. Since both are located near the same latitude, why is there a difference between the
amount of precipitation at each location?
Factor 2 – Dallas vs. Fargo
7. What is the yearly temperature range for Dallas? For Fargo?
8. Using your map, describe where they are located in the United States (do not tell me which
state they are in).
9. Which city is receiving the higher intensity of insolation?
10. What climate factor accounts for the difference in the temperature range?
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Factor 3 – Los Angeles vs. Savannah
11. What is the yearly temperature range for Los Angeles? For Savannah?
12. Using your map, describe where they are located in the United States (do not tell me which
state they are in).
13. What climate factor accounts for the difference in the temperature range?
Factor 4 – Lake Tahoe vs. Reno
14. How much precipitation does Lake Tahoe receive in a year? Reno?
15. Using your map, describe what geographical feature separates the two cities.
16. What climate factor accounts for the difference in the annual precipitation between the two
cities?
Conclusion
17. Which climate factor has the most influence on a city’s climate and why?
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