Biology and Environmental Science
The Arctic Oscillation (AO) has two distinct phases (positive and negative) that vary in intensity. The phase and intensity affect the weather patterns of North America and especially Eastern North America. There is some research that suggests the snow cover in the month of October in Siberia/ Eurasia is associated with the AO, and therefore, weather patterns in North America. The text website presents a data set of Eurasian snow cover (x, in sq km) and AO anomaly (y).19
a. Construct a scatter plot of these data. Describe the relationship between the variables x and y.
b. Compute the sample correlation coefficient. Interpret this value.
c. Suppose high AO anomalies are associated with fierce, cold winters. Find the estimated regression line and use it to predict the AO anomaly for this winter.