Local Weather Seasonal Change on Land and Water Drought
hello is me again. My location is San Jose, California America. this information might be useful to answer the question because I think the question ask lots of thing about the local weather. This is the geography homework that need to answer all the question, no words limit, but need to answer the question thoughtfully The writing requirement is the same as the previous one, do not need to be fancy, make it look like a college writing is good enough. Follow is the question: Seasonal Change on Land and Water, DroughtBackground for sections 1 and 2Why do we have seasons?The short answer for this is the tilt of the earth.The tilt causes an uneven distribution of sunlight energy (insolation) by latitude and time of year. Insolation, or INcoming SOLar radiATION is the focus of this lab. Insolation refers to the energy that is coming to Earth in the form of sunlight. This energy (or light) is measured in units of watts per meter squared or W/m2. One way to think about insolation is to consider that the average amount of energy coming to Earth in July is roughly 300 W/m2. Imagine this as hanging three 100-watt light bulbs over every square meter of the earth. It is this energy that provides the basis for all life on Earth. The amount that arrives each day dwarfs the amount of energy that people produce with power plants.In sections 1 and 2 we will visualize the insolation as a map. As you look at these visualizations of insolation consider the following:Why does the energy vary by latitude?The explanation for this has to do with how sunlight spreads over the spherical (and tilted) earth. Recall our discussion in lecture about the subsolar point and how it shifts with the seasons.Why is the energy evenly distributed across the lines of latitude?The answer is that the earth turning on its axis forms these lines, or this is averaged out over the day.The relationship between insolation and surface temperature is the next thing that we will focus on. One thing that may be immediately clear to you is that while two locations such as San Francisco, CA and Wichita, KS have the same insolation (and are at about the same latitude), their temperatures are very different on a given day.Why do two locations that receive the same insolation have different surface temperatures?The answer lies in the heat capacity of the surface materials. While insolation is the primary cause for surface temperature, the heat capacity of the surface materials have an effect as well. Recall from lecture that land and water have different heat capacities. In other words, water can absorb much more heat energy before it heats up, while land heats and cools very quickly as it absorbs incoming solar radiation (insolation). Recall the example we discussed in lecture where the concrete around a pool will often be very hot, while the water remains cool, yet both have been subject to the same amount of insolation and both have absorbed the same amount of insolation. The reason the water is cool is that it is much more resistant to change. So over a very large area, the amount of land and water can have a large affect on regional temperatures. Most of the land on Earth is located in the Northern Hemisphere. Therefore, seasonal change in the Northern Hemisphere is more extreme than in the Southern Hemisphere.Section 1: Understanding insolation distributionGo to the University of Nebraska Daylight Hours Explorer (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.. Under the Setting box on the right side of the screen, notice that you can adjust the latitude and the day of the year. Use this page to answer the following questions about the relationship between daylength, day of the year and latitude. Visually impaired students may instead use a screen-reader friendly page from US Naval obsevatory (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. Use form B on this page. (3 points each)1. 60 degrees North:How many hours of daylight are received at 60 North on the summer solstice (June 21)?How many hours of daylight are received at 60 North on the autumnal equinox (Sept. 23)?How many hours of daylight are received at 60 North on the winter solstice (Dec. 22)?2. 30 degrees North:How many hours of daylight are received at 30 North on the summer solstice (June 21)?How many hours of daylight are received at 30 North on the autumnal equinox (Sept. 23)?How many hours of daylight are received at 30 North on the winter solstice (Dec. 22)?3. Equator:How many hours of daylight are received at the equator on the summer solstice (June 21)?How many hours of daylight are received at the equator on the autumnal equinox (Sept. 23)?How many hours of daylight are received at the equator on the winter solstice (Dec. 22)?4. (4 points) Summarize the relationship between latitude, date and daylength that you observed in questions 1-3. Consider how daylength varies as you travel north from the equator at the equinox and solstices. Cite specific examples from your observations.Section 2: Understanding insolation and surface temperatureIn this section you will examine the relationship between insolation, seasons and surface temperature. We will look at three maps: January and July insolation, January and July surface temperature, and the seasonal change in surface temperature. I am first going to walk you through each visualization, then we will explore their relationships. The worksheets are based on the visualizations below. While you do not have to turn in the worksheets, I encourage you to color them as that often helps you to understand what they are showing.WorksheetsWorksheet 1 (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. shows the incoming solar energy in January and July. Color in the legend and the visualizations.Worksheet 2 (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. shows visualizations of earth surface temperature for January and July. Color in the legend and the visualizations.Worksheet 3 (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. shows the seasonal temperature change, or July minus January in worksheet #2. Color in the legend and the visualization.Insolation and surface temperatureClick on each visualization below to view a larger versionInsolation (worksheet 1)Surface Temperature (worksheet 2)Seasonal temperature differenceChange in Surface Temperature from January to July (worksheet 3)The following visualization was achieved by subtracting January from July (July-January). Click on it to see a larger version.Understanding seasonal temperature differenceThe worksheet 3 visualization has a lot of information in it. Let's look at it a little more closely. Think about each visualization as being made up of little cells. Each cell is assigned a color. The color corresponds with a value, in this case, temperature. The red areas represent a positive value, meaning that the temperature is warmer in July than in January. The blue areas represent a negative value, meaning that the temperature is cooler in July than in January. This type of visualization is useful to understand how areas change over time. What does a very dark red color mean? What does a color very close to white mean? Compare this figure to the 'Normal Annual Range in Temperature' figure on page 17 of Goode's World Atlas.Here is another way to understand what this visualization is showing. It was created by overlaying the January and July surface temperature visualizations (worksheet 2) and subtracting them. So, for given the following cell values:LocationJuly TemperatureJanuary TemperatureDifferenceColorSan Francisco3015+15redTierra del Fuego-510-15blueThe negative value for Tierra del Fuego would indicate that January is warmer than July, while a positive value for San Francisco indicates that July is warmer than January. Basically, you are looking at the net difference, but the value (positive or negative) tells you which month is warmer.Answer these questions using Worksheets 1, 2 & 3All answers must be in complete sentencesInsolation (Worksheet 1) (2 pts)5. The hemisphere getting the most energy is the one experiencing summer. Which hemisphere is experiencing summer in January? Which hemisphere is experiencing summer in July?6. Why are the incoming solar energy visualizations for January and July nearly opposite of each other?Surface Temperature (Worksheet 2) (2 pts)7. Why are the temperature patterns (worksheet 2) so much more complex than the incoming solar energy patterns (worksheet 1)?8. Look at the visualization of earth surface temperature for January and July (worksheet 2). Overall, which month is warmer? (Hint: look at the extremes -- where are the coldest areas? Where are the hottest areas?)Seasonal temperature difference (Worksheet 3)9. (4 pts) The visualization in worksheet 3 of seasonal difference is calculated by subtracting the January temperature from the July temperature. Given the January and July temperatures for the following cities, calculate the seasonal difference (July - January). What is the temperature difference and, based on the color bar in worksheet #3, what color would each be?CityJuly temp (C)January temp (C)Difference (C)ColorMonterey, CA2018Bismarck, ND21-12Honolulu, HI2224Sydney, Aust.102510. (2 pts) Why is the red mainly in the north and the blue mainly in the south (e.g. what do the colors red and blue mean in this visualization)?11. (2 pts) Contrast the changes on land with the changes on water. Which changes more, Land or Water?12. (2 pts) Using the land mass distribution graph in worksheet 3, which hemisphere has the most land, the Northern or the Southern?Putting it all together13. (4 pts) Look at the surface temperature by hemisphere graph in Worksheet 3. Why does the Northern hemisphere have a hotter summer and a colder winter than the Southern Hemisphere? Make sure to cite evidence from the worksheets and graphics.Section 3: Drought MonitorGo to the California Drought Monitor site: https://www.drought.gov/drought/states/california (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. and answer the questions below.14. What do the drought intensity levels D0-D4 represent? (2)15. Look at the drought map of California. Describe the current distribution of drought conditions in California. (3)16. What percent of the state is under a drought condition (D1-D4)? (2)17. How does the current drought condition compare to the situation three months ago? How does it compare to one year ago (3)
