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 1 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 3 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 4 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 5 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? 6 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? 7 8
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