Assignment:
Radiation and Temperature
For this exercise, we will explore seasonal patterns in radiation and temperature. Our colleagues at the University of Oregon have put together a series of animations showing changes in radiation and temperature. For these exercises, visit the University of Oregon Geography Department at https://geography.uoregon.edu/envchange/clim_animations/ This exercise is due posted to HuskyCT by the beginning of class on Monday, February 15.
After reading the chapters on radiation and temperature in the textbook, read the section of the above website labeled "About Global Climate Animations". Once you have familiarized yourself with the radiation and temperature concepts from these readings, look at the animations in the website sections labeled Global Energy Balance and Temperature and answer the following questions. If you are unsure of geographic locations in these questions, I encourage you to use the online 3D Globe feature associated with the textbook website or look up an online atlas.
1) In the Global Energy Balance animation section, look at the January and July panels of the Net Short-Wave animation. Fill in the January and July values for the following general locations:
Location New England Northern Greenland The Horn of Africa (Somalia)
January
July
2) In the Global Energy Balance animation section, look at the January and July panels of the Net Radiation animation. Fill in the January and July values for the following general locations:
Location New England Northern Greenland The Horn of Africa (Somalia)
January
July
3) Which location has the largest difference in net radiation between January and July?
Which location has the smallest difference in net radiation between January and July?
Think about how these results fit with the seasonal insolation figures discussed in class (no need to write anything here, just think about how these animations illustrate the concept of energy balance).
4) In the non-radiative components section, play the animation for latent heat flux. If locations of high positive latent heat flux (orange and red) represent areas where a lot of evaporation is occurring, explain the following:
a. Why does the east coast of the United States have more latent heat flux in July than January?
b. Why does the east coast of the United States have more latent heat flux than the southwest?
c. Why do the oceans generally have more latent heat flux than land surfaces?
d. Why does the band of high latent heat flux in Africa move south to north and back again as you go from January to July and back to January?
5) In the Temperature animation section, look at the January and July panels. Fill in the January and July values for the following general locations:
Location New England Northern Greenland The Horn of Africa (Somalia)
January
July
What is the coldest location on the map in January?
What is the hottest location on the map in January?
(Note whether the coldest areas are on land or at sea)
What is the coldest location on the map in July?
What is the hottest location on the map in July?
Why is there a large cool area north of India in July?
6) In the temperature section, play the animation for temperature. How do the warmest surface temperatures in the Atlantic Ocean move as you go from January to March to June to September and back to January?
How is the Earth's tilt responsible for this annual cycle in surface temperatures?
Bonus: Why, in January, is Great Britain so much warmer than the northeast of the United States, even though it is further north? Use the temperature map for January to illustrate this.
7) Compare likely mean annual temperatures at the following locations based on the described latitude, elevation, and proximity to coast (i.e. which is warmer). Cusco, Peru (elevation = 10,860 ft, distance from coast = 700 miles) vs. Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea (elevation = 115 ft, distance from coast = 0 miles)
8) Compare the likely diurnal variation in temperature (difference between day and night) for Amman, Jordan (elevation = 2564 ft., distance from the coast = 69 miles) vs. Montevideo, Uruguay (elevation = 141 ft., distance from coast = 0 miles)