SES 123 Global and Regional Energy Lab Worksheet

Transcription

1 SES 123 Global and Regional Energy Lab Worksheet Introduction An important aspect to understand about our planet is global temperatures, including spatial variations, such as between oceans and continents or between different parts of a single continent. We are also interested in the temporal variations how global and regional temperatures have changed over time. Once we better understand the controlling factors of temperatures on Earth, we can begin to extrapolate these factors to consider what might be occurring on other planets, whether in our solar system or in another solar system, and how we might design spacecraft or sensors to study these distant objects. Therefore, one goal of this lab is to have you explore a series of global data, summarizing massive amounts of temperature data collected over more than a half century; such large databases are commonly called big data by scientists. This lab may represent your first incursion into the world of big data. To do this, you will use the NOAA Reanalysis Site at: The detailed step-by step instructions on following pages help you display the right type of data for the right time and region. This is a wonderful site to also explore on your own, after lab, to observe first-order patterns of temperatures, energy flux, clouds, and other aspects of our planet. As you read along on this PDF, imagine putting a check mark to indicate that you have completed an item in the lists below. Be sure to answer questions in the worksheet when instructed. 1

2 Part 1. Mean Global Temperatures We first examine the patterns of global temperature by plotting mean temperature, averaged over seven decades, to observe the overall patterns from region to region. Open a browser and go to the Reanalysis website: The page will look like the image shown here. Click on the Temperature link on the upper part of the menu bar along the left side of page. The next page will look like the image shown here. Click on the link for NOAA GHCN_CAMS Land Temperature Analysis, the 5 th item on the list. 2

3 The next page will look like the image shown here. Click on the colored map for Temperature and Long-Term Mean. The next page will look like the image shown here. Enter the variables as shown in the image to the right and explained below. Keep the lat (latitude) Begin and End settings as they are; this will let the data be displayed nearly from pole to pole. Keep the lon (longitude) Begin and End settings as they are; this will let the data be displayed from close to Greenwich, England (0 ) and all the way around the world and back to Greenwich (also 360 longitude). Make the time range go from January, in the first drop-down list to December in the second one, so that it averages data for a full year. To make a nice plot, chose to plot on a white background, Contour Fill, and 175%. 3

4 The resulting plot should look like the map shown here. Yes, my map looks like the one shown here. Note, the map displayed here is too small to use for the lab, so be sure to generate your own larger version on the website. Answer the questions in Part 1 in the worksheet. For now, it is easiest to stay on the page with the map for the next part of the lab. Part 2. Seasonal Variation in Global Temperatures Next, we examine how the patterns of global temperature vary between two months (January versus July), that represent two seasons (Winter and Summer in the Northern Hemisphere). We will use the same data set, but with different settings for the months. If you are still at the last map, click the back button to take you back to the settings pages. Choose the same settings as before, but have the time range show January in both the first and second drop-down lists, so it only shows the average temperatures for January. Enter 5 in the Override Default Contour Interval box and 250 to 310 in the Contour range in the lower right corner. This makes it easier to compare two maps if they use the same scale. The website doesn t do a perfect match between the scales of two maps, but it s close. Push the Create Plot button. 4

5 The resulting plot should look like the map shown here. Yes, my map for January looks like the one shown here. Note, the map displayed here is too small to use for the lab, so be sure to generate your own larger version on the website. Answer the questions in Part 2a in the worksheet. For now, it is easiest to stay on the page with the map for the next part of the lab. If you are still at the last map, click the back button to take you back to the settings pages. Highlight and Copy the URL (web address), using a Control C for Windows, open a new browser window, and paste the URL into that new window. Having two windows open will allow you to compare your two different maps in a later part of this exercise. In the new window, choose the same settings as before, but have the time range show July in both the first and second drop-down lists, so it only shows the average temperatures for July. Be sure to check the other settings. The resulting plot should look like the map shown here. Yes, my map for July looks like the one shown here. Note, the map displayed here is too small to use for the lab, so be sure to generate your own larger version on the website. Answer the questions in Part 2b in the worksheet. For now, it is easiest to stay on the page with the map for the next part of the lab. 5

6 Answer the questions in Part 2c on the worksheet. For this exercise, use the two maps below, for January and July (the same two you generated above). The versions below are larger than the images shown above, but you can compare the two maps if you followed the instructions to open two browser windows, and created a plot in each window, one for January and one for July. January Mean Air Temperatures July Mean Air Temperatures Part 3. Variations in Global Temperatures Over Time Next, we examine how the patterns of global temperatures have varied between three years. We use the oldest data on the website (1948), data for a year (1977) that marked the end of a cold decade and that is commonly used to as a starting point to track the episode of recent warming, and a more recent year (2010, one of the last ones with complete data). If you are still at the last map, click the back button twice to take you back to the temperature pages. If you need, to re-navigate to the site, follow the original instructions above to return to the temperature page. Click on the colored map for Temperature and Mean, as shown here. 6

7 Enter the variables as shown in the image to the right and explained below. Keep the lat (latitude) and lon (longitude) Begin and End settings as they are; this will show global data. Make the time range go from January 1948 in the first drop-down list to December 1948 in the second one, so that it averages data for a full year. To make a nice plot, chose plot on a white background, Contour Fill, and 175%. Enter 5 in the Override Default Contour Interval box and 250 to 310 in the Contour range in the lower right corner. Push the Create Plot button. The resulting plot should look like the map shown here. Yes, my map for 1948 looks like the one shown here. Note, the map displayed here is too small to use for the lab, so be sure to generate your own larger version on the website. After you have constructed and carefully observed the maps for all three years, answer the questions in Part 3 in the worksheet. For now, stay on the page with the map for the next part of the lab. 7

8 If you are still at the last map, click the back button to take you back to the settings pages. Use all the same settings, except go from January 1977 to December The resulting plot should look like the map shown here. Yes, my map for 1977 looks like the one shown here. After you have constructed and carefully observed the maps for all three years, answer the questions in Part 3 in the worksheet. For now, stay on the page with the map for the next part of the lab. If you are still at the last map, click the back button to take you back to the settings pages. Use all the same settings, except go from January 2010 to December The resulting plot should look like the map shown here. Yes, my map for 2010 looks like the one shown here. Now that you have constructed and carefully observed the maps for all three years, turn to the next page and answer the questions in Part 3 in the worksheet. For now, stay on the page with the map for the next part of the lab. 8

9 Answer the questions in Part 3 on the worksheet. For this exercise, use the three maps below for 1948, 1977, and 2010 (the same three maps you generated above). The versions below are larger than the images shown above, but you can compare the two maps if you open three browser windows, in a similar manner to the instructions presented earlier, one for each of the three maps

10 Part 4. Variations North American Temperatures Next, we examine how the patterns of temperatures in North America vary between the same three years (1948, 1977, 2010). We start by looking at patterns for the earliest of these three years, We will use the same data set, but with different settings for the locations (lat-lon). If you are still at the last map, click the map button to take you back to the settings pages. Enter the variables as shown in the image to the right and explained below. Set the lat (latitude) Begin setting to 0 (the equator) and the leave the End setting at 89.75N (close to the north pole). This will show only Northern Hemisphere data. Set the lon (longitude) Begin setting to 140W (a longitude in the Pacific, west of North America) and End settings to 60W (a longitude in the Atlantic, east of North America. This will show North America. Make the time range go from January 1948 in the first dropdown list to December 1948 in the second one, so that it averages data for a full year. Chose plot on a white background, Contour Fill, and 175%. 10

11 The resulting plot should look like the map shown here. Yes, my map for 1948 looks like the one shown here. Once again, the map displayed here is too small to use for the lab, so be sure to generate your own larger version on the website. After you have constructed and carefully observed the maps for all three years, answer the questions in Part 4 in the worksheet. For now, stay on the page with the map for the next part of the lab. If you are still at the last map, click the back button to take you back to the settings pages. Use all the same settings, except go from January 1977 to December The resulting plot should look like the map shown here. Yes, my map for 1977 looks like the one shown here. Answer the questions in Part 4b in the worksheet. For now, it is easiest to stay on the map for the next part of the lab. If you are still at the last map, click the back button to take you back to the settings pages. Use all the same settings, except go from January 2010 to December The resulting plot should look like the map shown here. Yes, my map for 2010 looks like the one shown here. After you have constructed and carefully observed the maps for all three years, answer the questions in Part 4 in the worksheet. For now, stay on the page with the map for the next part of the lab. 11

12 Answer the questions in Part 4 on the worksheet. For this exercise, use the three maps below for 1948, 1977, 2010 (the same three maps you generated above). The versions below are larger than the images shown above, but you can compare the two maps if you open three browser windows, in a similar manner to the instructions presented earlier, one for each of the three maps