GEOG 101 Physical Geography

 

Lab 4: Temperature, Climographs, and Large-Scale Temperature Processes

 

 

Name ___________________________________ Lab Section __________ Date __________

Materials and sources

· Color pencils

· Calculator

· Kestrel Weather Tracker

 

 

Introduction

 

Earth experiences an almost infinite variety of weather – conditions of the atmosphere at any given time and place. But if we consider the weather over many years, including its variability and extremes, a pattern emerges that constitutes climate . Think of climate patterns as dynamic rather than static. Climate is more than a consideration of simple averages of temperature and precipitation.

 

In this lab exercise we examine patterns of temperature that operate as a basis for climate. We also collect data at a micro scale (on campus) over a short period of time (during the lab period), and compare monthly climate data at two contrasting locations by the plotting of actual climate data for analysis of temperature and precipitation patterns. The last section will examine temperature mechanisms as they present themselves in California.

 

 

Key words:

Temperature

Climograph

Climatology

 

 

Section 1: Temperature Patterns

 

You will closely observe a temperature distribution over the Chico State campus core.

 

Form a small group of 4-5 people. Each group is assigned to take a specified route on campus (see map) and collect temperature data at designated locations (see map – stars) along the route using the Kestrel Weather Tracker. Review the contents of the last week’s lab. Notice how temperature values vary even within a small area like the Chico State campus.

 

Before your group starts walking on a designated route, one of the groups will be assigned to take temperature readings on different floors of the Butte Hall, while another group will take temperature readings around the Butte Hall.

 

Associate your temperature values for given locations to as the NET R equation, containing H (sensible heat) and LE (latent heat) as well as albedo and insolation values.

 

Butte Hall – vertical vs. positional

 

Campus Measures

 

 

 

 

3

 

Your route: __________

 

Location	Temperature (°C)	Albedo (high, medium, or low)	Daily Insolation Amount (high, medium, or low)	Predominant Energy Allocation (H or LE)
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

 

 

 

For route 3 ONLY

 

Floor	Temperature (°C)
7th
5th
3rd
1st

 

 

 

 

Section 2: Climographs – Creation and Interpretation (credit: Christopherson with modifications by D. Fairbanks)

 

A climograph is a graphical depiction of the monthly precipitation and temperature conditions for a selected place. Precipitation is shown by either a bar graph or a line. A line graph depicts temperature.

 

2a. Chose one city from each list on Page 8. Find the mean monthly temperature for each city (p. 9 – 11). Use this information to complete the data table (temp, precip) for each of the next two pages. Create climographs by graphing mean monthly temperature (TEMP; red line ), and precipitation (PRECIP; blue bar ).

 

Place: ____________________

 

Latitude: __________

Elevation: __________

 

Annual temperature range: __________

Distribution of temperature during the year: _____________________________________________

Distribution of precipitation during the year: _____________________________________________

 

 

 

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Annual

 

TEMP (°C) _____ take the average

 

PRECIP (cm) _____ total

 

 

 

Precipitation (cm)

Mean Monthly Temperature (°C)

 

 

Months

 

Place: ____________________

 

Latitude: __________

Elevation: __________

 

Annual temperature range: __________

Distribution of temperature during the year: _____________________________________________

Distribution of precipitation during the year: _____________________________________________

 

 

 

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Annual

 

TEMP (° C) _____ take the average

 

PRECIP (cm) _____ total

 

 

 

Precipitation (cm)

Mean Monthly Temperature (°C)

 

 

2b. What are some key differences and similarities between the climographs for your two cities?

Months

 

Section 3: Place, Temperature and Mechanisms

 

Location	Latitude	Elevation	Mean Temperature (°C)
	Degrees	Minutes	meters	Jan	July	Range
1. Eureka	40	45	24.4	8.8	14.0	5.2
2. Redding	40	34	152.4	7.6	27.9	20.3
3. Sacramento	38	31	5.2	7.3	24.0	17.0
4. Stockton	37	54	6.7	7.0	24.0	16.2
5. Fresno	36	44	100.6	8.4	28.0	19.6
6. Bakersfield	35	25	144.8	8.6	28.8	19.8
7. San Francisco	37	37	2.4	9.1	16.9	4.1
8. San Diego	32	44	3.9	12.9	20.9	18.4
9. Yosemite NP	37	45	1210.0	2.5	22.1	19.2
10. Bishop	37	22	1252.1	2.8	24.8	13.6
11. Needles	34	51	278.9	11.2	36.2	36.2
12. Los Angeles	34	03	82.3	14.0	22.6	8.6

 

 

 

 

1. What two locations are nearest to each other in latitude? Compare their mean winter temperature values (January). Read the chart carefully; look at both degrees and minutes.

 

City Latitude Mean Temperature (January) Elevation (meters)

_____________ ____________ _______________ _______________

_____________ ____________ _______________ _______________

 

Explain how elevation contributes to these differences in temperature.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2. What two locations along the coast have the lowest and highest mean temperatures in the winter (January)?

 

City Mean Temperature Latitude

_____________ ____________ (Lowest) _______________

_____________ ____________ (Highest) _______________

 

Explain how latitude contributes to these differences in temperature.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3. What two locations have the highest and lowest mean temperatures in the summer (July)?

 

City Mean Temperature

_____________ ____________ (Lowest)

_____________ ____________ (Highest)

 

Explain how land-water relationships contribute to these differences in temperature.

Climate data Information

 

CLIMATE DATA SET (GEOG101 Applied Science Paper) Data Source: www.worldclimate.com

Table variable definitions.

max = Monthly Average Maximum Temperature (ºC) min = Monthly Average Minimum Temperature (ºC) mn = Monthly Average Temperature (ºC)

precip = Monthly Average Precipitation (mm) pet = Potential Evapotranspiration (mm)

Only use the data that applies to the cities that have been assigned to you.

*****THIS DOCUMENT IS SEVERAL PAGES LONG. SCROLL DOWN FOR THE DATA.*****

List A

CITY	LATITUDE (Degrees, Minutes)	Elevation (Meters)
Baton Rouge, LA	30° 27’	17
Miami, FL	25° 47’	2
Olympia, WA	47° 2.27’	29
Palm Springs, CA	33° 50’	146
Phoenix, AZ	33° 26.9’	331
Portland, OR	45° 31’	15
San Diego, CA	32° 43	129
Tallahassee, FL	30° 27’	62

List B

CITY	LATITUDE (Degrees, Minutes)	Elevation (Meters)
Augusta, MN	44° 19’	20
Austin, TX	30° 15’	149
Bismark, ND	46° 49’	514
Charlotte, NC	35° 13.6’	229
Duluth, MN	46° 47’	214
Frankfurt, KY	38° 12’	155
Rutland, VT	43° 35’	165
St. Louis, MO	38° 37’	142
Witchita, KS	37° 41’	369

 

 

 

 

 

10

 

	Palm Spring, CA					Wichita, KS					Rutland, VT
	max	min	mn	precip	pet			max	min	mn	precip	pet			max	min	mn	precip	pet
Jan	21.2	5.8		28.1	10.2		Jan	-0.8	-7.1		18.8	0.0		Jan	-0.8	-12		56	0.0
Feb	24.2	7.7		27.8	15.2		Feb	0.7	-4.6		23.2	0.0		Feb	0.7	-11		52	0.0
Mar	26.4	9.3		14.5	33.0		Mar	6.7	0.8		56.9	22.9		Mar	6.7	-4.9		61.5	0.0
Apr	30.5	12		4.8	68.6		Apr	13.9	6.9		57.1	50.8		Apr	13.9	0.9		72.7	27.9
May	34.7	16		1.5	119.4		May	21.2	12		99.1	91.4		May	21.2	6.9		92.6	76.2
Jun	39.7	20		1.7	170.2		Jun	25.5	18		105.1	137.2		Jun	25.5	11.8		96.1	109.2
Jul	42.6	24		5.6	205.7		Jul	28	21		81.9	165.1		Jul	28	14.5		104.5	129.5
Aug	41.6	24		8.6	190.5		Aug	26.6	20		77.7	149.9		Aug	26.6	13.7		89.7	109.2
Sep	38.5	20		9.7	142.2		Sep	22.1	15		85.1	101.6		Sep	22.1	9.2		94.6	73.7
Oct	33	15		6.5	73.7		Oct	16	8.1		61.9	53.3		Oct	16	3.7		75.3	38.1
Nov	25.8	9.4		13.4	25.4		Nov	8.5	1		36.7	17.8		Nov	8.5	-0.8		80.6	5.1
Dec	21	5.5		26.3	12.7		Dec	1.2	-5		28.6	0.0		Dec	1.2	-8		62.1	0.0
Year							Year							Year

 

 

	Portland, OR					St. Louis, MO					Miami, FL
	max	min	mn	precip	pet			max	min	mn	precip	pet			max	min	mn	precip	pet
Jan	7.6	2.3		152.1	13		Jan	3.2	-7.2		58.7	0		Jan	24	15		51.9	52
Feb	10.7	3.9		121.2	17		Feb	5.7	-4.8		60.5	4		Feb	24.7	16		52.9	54
Mar	12.4	4.4		107.7	29		Mar	12.6	0.8		78.7	20		Mar	26.1	18		62.8	79
Apr	15.9	6.3		66.9	62		Apr	19.7	6.5		106.6	53		Apr	28	20		82.3	104
May	20.1	9.4		53.8	72		May	24.8	12		96.4	98		May	29.6	22		150	145
Jun	22.7	12		39.8	91		Jun	29.6	17		108.6	140		Jun	30.8	24		227.4	164
Jul	26.4	14		13.8	111		Jul	32	20		98.2	160		Jul	31.6	25		152.4	176
Aug	26	14		19.3	103		Aug	30.8	18		111.4	142		Aug	31.6	25		197.5	169
Sep	23.4	12		45.9	78		Sep	26.7	14		78.4	90		Sep	31	24		215.2	149
Oct	17.7	9.1		81.1	47		Oct	20.7	7.2		73.1	54		Oct	29.1	22		177.9	126
Nov	11.8	5.6		150.1	21		Nov	12.8	1.8		74.5	16		Nov	26.8	19		79.8	83
Dec	8.5	3.3		169.3	11		Dec	5.1	-4.6		56.1	2		Dec	24.8	16		47.3	59
Year							Year							Year

 

 

 

 

 

	San Diego, CA					Duluth, MN					Charlotte, NC
	max	min	mn	precip	pet			max	min	mn	precip	pet			max	min	mn	precip	pet
Jan	18.8	9.3		55.6	30		Jan	-8.7	-19	-13.9	30.5	0		Jan	10.3	-0.4	5.0	93.7	7
Feb	19.1	10		41.3	33		Feb	-5.7	-16	-11.0	20.5	0		Feb	12.5	0.7	6.6	85.7	11
Mar	19	12		49.9	42		Mar	0.5	-9	-4.3	44.4	0		Mar	16.8	4.2	10.5	110.7	30
Apr	20.2	13		19.8	54		Apr	9	-1.7	3.7	59.4	24		Apr	22.3	9.1	15.7	73.3	60
May	20.6	15		4.8	72		May	16.6	4.2	10.4	83.9	79		May	26.4	14	20.3	101.8	103
Jun	22	17		1.9	85		Jun	21.6	9.1	15.4	104.8	113		Jun	30	18	24.2	88	137
Jul	24.5	19		0.5	112		Jul	25	12.8	18.9	102.3	134		Jul	31.7	21	26.2	109.7	159
Aug	25.4	20		2.1	110		Aug	23.2	11.8	17.5	100.5	112		Aug	30.9	20	25.5	116.9	143
Sep	25	19		4.7	90		Sep	17.6	6.9	12.3	94.6	67		Sep	27.6	17	22.2	64	101
Oct	23.6	16		8.6	69		Oct	11.2	1.7	6.5	61.5	31		Oct	22.2	10	16.1	101.5	56
Nov	21	12		29.5	45		Nov	1.7	-5.8	-2.1	47.7	0		Nov	16.7	4.6	10.7	107.4	24
Dec	18.9	9.3		35.4	31		Dec	-6.2	-15	-10.6	31.7	0		Dec	11.6	0.7	6.2	74.3	10
Year							Year							Year
	Sacramento, CA					Austin, TX					Augusta, ME
	max	min	mn	precip	pet			max	min	mn	precip	pet			max	min	mn	precip	pet
Jan	11.5	4.5		105.6	12		Jan	14.9	3.6		44	15		Jan	-2.4	-12.0		88.1	0
Feb	15.5	6.6		82.6	22		Feb	17.4	5.6		62.4	22		Feb	-0.6	-10.8		78.3	0
Mar	17.7	7.7		65.9	36		Mar	22.1	10.6		51.5	49		Mar	4.5	-4.7		97.1	0
Apr	21.7	9.2		30.5	56		Apr	26.3	15.4		71.2	81		Apr	11.1	1.3		100.5	28
May	26.8	11.8		11.4	93		May	29.2	19.1		113.3	126		May	18.2	7		90.4	71
Jun	31.0	14.3		3.2	127		Jun	32.8	21.9		82.8	163		Jun	23.2	12.2		88.3	108
Jul	34.0	15.7		0.6	158		Jul	35	23.2		40.4	181		Jul	26.1	15.6		80.1	129
Aug	33.3	15.7		0.7	140		Aug	35.2	23.2		66.0	173		Aug	25.0	14.6		82.7	113
Sep	30.7	14.6		6.6	105		Sep	32.5	21		86.9	131		Sep	20.3	9.8		87.5	72
Oct	25.5	11.7		24.0	66		Oct	27.8	15.5		86	81		Oct	14.1	4.3		101.2	38
Nov	17.2	7.7		63.6	28		Nov	22.1	9.9		60.4	38		Nov	7.0	-0.8		118.8	9
Dec	11.5	4.5		78.1	12		Dec	16.6	5.1		62.8	21		Dec	-0.1	-8.7		104	0
Year							Year							Year

 

 

 

	Phoenix, AZ					Bismarck, ND					Tallahassee, FL
	max	min	mn	precip	pet			max	min	mn	precip	pet			max	min	mn	precip	pet
Jan	18.6	4.8		25.7	12		Jan	-6.5	-18.7		11.9	0		Jan	17.1	3.3		118.1	17
Feb	21.2	6.7		20.9	19		Feb	-3.1	-14.9		11.0	0		Feb	19.0	4.5		113.8	22
Mar	24.0	9		22.1	39		Mar	3.6	-7.8		20.3	0		Mar	23.0	8.2		153.0	46
Apr	29.2	12.9		7.4	76		Apr	12.7	-0.5		37.4	29		Apr	26.8	11.2		95.6	74
May	34.0	17.4		3.1	152		May	19.8	5.6		62.5	81		May	30.1	16.0		106.9	121
Jun	39.3	22.4		1.1	202		Jun	25.0	10.8		68.7	117		Jun	32.6	20.2		170.1	156
Jul	40.6	26.7		17.0	219		Jul	29.1	13.5		59.4	142		Jul	32.9	21.7		188.2	171
Aug	39.5	25.8		32.5	202		Aug	28.1	12.1		51.8	124		Aug	32.7	21.8		181.4	160
Sep	37.0	22.3		19.5	164		Sep	21.5	6.1		37.6	71		Sep	31.3	20.0		140.9	123
Oct	31.2	15.8		17.4	94		Oct	14.8	0.2		24.6	32		Oct	27.5	13.2		91.0	73
Nov	23.7	8.9		15.9	33		Nov	4.0	-7.8		14.5	0		Nov	22.7	7.9		89.7	36
Dec	19.1	5.1		22.9	13		Dec	-4.1	-15.9		12.8	0		Dec	18.8	4.6		109.0	20
Year							Year							Year
	Olympia, WA					Baton Rouge, LA					Frankfort, KY
	max	min	mn	precip	pet			max	min	mn	precip	pet			max	min	mn	precip	pet
Jan	7.2	1.7		366.8	0		Jan	16.8	5.5		129.7	8		Jan	4.5	-7.0		101.8	1
Feb	9.7	3.0		265.3	0		Feb	18.2	6.7		120.3	13		Feb	6.8	-5.6		91.4	4
Mar	11.5	3.6		224.8	0		Mar	22.1	10.3		145.1	27		Mar	13.1	-0.3		118.3	21
Apr	14.0	5.1		160.0	21		Apr	25.8	14.0		137.9	70		Apr	19.1	4.6		105.1	55
May	17.7	7.9		114.5	54		May	29.4	17.8		131.4	121		May	24.2	10.0		124.9	94
Jun	21.0	11.0		108.9	77		Jun	32.4	21.2		96.2	159		Jun	28.5	15.0		112.1	129
Jul	24.0	12.8		47.6	101		Jul	33.0	22.5		112.3	175		Jul	30.7	17.6		129.9	150
Aug	24.0	13.1		66.6	93		Aug	33.0	22.2		58.3	159		Aug	30.1	16.8		92.2	134
Sep	20.7	11.0		130.3	69		Sep	31.3	19.9		86.9	107		Sep	26.8	12.9		88.0	94
Oct	15.3	7.6		226.8	36		Oct	27.1	14.0		83.5	61		Oct	20.7	5.6		67.4	55
Nov	10.2	4.5		343.2	0		Nov	21.6	8.8		130.3	22		Nov	13.8	1.1		93.2	19
Dec	7.2	2.1		364.9	0		Dec	17.7	6.1		135.9	10		Dec	7.4	-3.8		103.4	4
Year							Year							Year

 

J F M A M J J A S O N D 2.0 4.0 6.0 8.0 10.0 12.0 14.0 16.0 18.0 20.0 25.0 30.0 0.0 1.0 2.0 3.0 4.0 5.0 6.0 7.0 8.0 9.0 12.0 15.0 J F M A M J J A S O N D 2.0 4.0 6.0 8.0 10.0 12.0 14.0 16.0 18.0 20.0 25.0 30.0 0.0 1.0 2.0 3.0 4.0 5.0 6.0 7.0 8.0 9.0 12.0 15.0

 

 

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