This lab exercise provides students with activities utilizing vector operations within the …
This lab exercise provides students with activities utilizing vector operations within the context of the atmospheric and oceanic environments.
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"This undergraduate class is designed to introduce students to the physics that …
"This undergraduate class is designed to introduce students to the physics that govern the circulation of the ocean and atmosphere. The focus of the course is on the processes that control the climate of the planet.AcknowledgmentsProf. Ferrari wishes to acknowledge that this course was originally designed and taught by Prof. John Marshall."
This 15-panel interactive from NOVA Online describes some of the factors (such …
This 15-panel interactive from NOVA Online describes some of the factors (such as Earth's rotation and the sun's uneven heating of Earth's surface) contributing to the formation of the high-speed eastward flows of the jet streams, found near the top of the troposphere. These jet streams play a major role in guiding weather systems.
This homework assignment is given in the first two weeks of class. …
This homework assignment is given in the first two weeks of class. Students receive one or two lectures that cover the topics of atmospheric layers, temperature and pressure profiles, concepts of atmospheric mass and pressure and measuring (i.e. dropsonde) instrumentation. At the beginning of each lecture I briefly show them the tropical update from the NOAA National Hurricane Center web site; if there is an active storm, I show where I go to get more info, such as the projected storm track and storm history (for example, from Intellicast Hurricane Tracking). Then, for this assignment, I reintroduce them to these hurricane information web sites and demonstrate how to find the historical data on tropical storms (such as from the Unisys Hurricane Data Archive), and how to copy and paste text data into word and/or excel, as a tab- or space-delimited file. I point out some problem areas with this data-grabbing method, such as headers that get lost from their associated data column or date information that may not format as dates. I then hand out the assignment, which asks them to:
Find data on a current or recent (this year) tropical system, provide the name and year of the storm and the reference web site, and plot the wind speed and pressure variables against time. Students should label the axes and give a descriptive title to the chart. Describe what they notice in the graphed data and if it seems believable (this allows students to decide if they have done the task correctly by using their understanding of the data). Predict what will happen if the storm a) intensifies or b) weakens. I then provide another data set (of any long-duration tropical storm that formed, weakened and later re-intensified) and ask them to go through the same process of plotting and interpretation. I tell them that some future climate predictions are for more storms with lower central pressures and ask which of the two charts best represents that future scenario, and why.
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Students graph the relationship between air pressure and wind speed in 2005's …
Students graph the relationship between air pressure and wind speed in 2005's Hurricane Katrina and for the entire 2005 hurricane season. From their analyses, they come up with an estimate of the minimum air pressure that is likely to result in hurricane-force winds of 65 knots or higher.
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In this optional activity, students analyze maps of wind patterns from three …
In this optional activity, students analyze maps of wind patterns from three levels in the atmosphere in order to infer global atmospheric circulation patterns and their role in balancing the radiation budget they established in Units 4 and 5. The main activity is a jigsaw in which students explore a single map on their own prior to class, confer with their classmates in specialty groups, and then synthesize atmospheric circulation for an assigned latitudinal zone. In these synthesis groups, students create maps and cross-section concept sketches to use in a full class discussion at the end of class. A follow-up assignment asks students to infer the relationship between global atmospheric circulation patterns and precipitation and then predict possible consequences of changes in these patterns due to global warming.
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Modern oceanography has been built on a legacy of centuries of seagoing …
Modern oceanography has been built on a legacy of centuries of seagoing dating back to ancient times. Join distinguished Scripps Emeritus Professor Joe Reid as he describes what the earliest sailors knew about the oceans and how technical achievements through the ages have allowed ocean explorers to venture to the far reaches of the globe. (51 minutes)
Part 1 The SAGUARO Exploring GIS Investigations for Earth Science curriculum requries …
Part 1
The SAGUARO Exploring GIS Investigations for Earth Science curriculum requries the use of ESRI's ArcView GIS software version 3.0 for Macintosh or 3.2 and higher for PC. Use ArcGIS and data files from the SAGUARO Project's (http://pro.arcgis.com/en/pro-app/help/projects/supported-data-types-and-items.htm) Exploring Tropical Cyclones investigations. After the students are introduced to the program they are asked to determine what criteria are required for the formation of tropical cyclones. Exploring Tropical Cyclones Unit 1 has a great deal of data for the students to use. The data is presented as layers on a world map. Different features can be turned on and off at will, and layers can be brought in from other units if desired.
Features they can work with are:
August SST February SST tropical cyclone tracks locations of tropical cyclone formation for Jun-Sep locations of tropical cyclone formation for Dec-Mar
Part 2
Students are divided into small groups (3-4 students works well) where they compare their findings (including what evidence they used) with the findings of the other group members. Each group is then asked to determine the threshold temperature for tropical cyclone formation as well as to calculate the area of the ocean that has SST equal to or above this threshold temperature (you can have them calculate this for each season, or as a total area including both February and August data).
Part 3
Class discussion of what they have found so far. Introduce them to model predictions of SST for different atmospheric CO2 levels. Propose a 2 degree C increase in tropical SST and ask what they think that will mean. What other factors might influence the formation of tropical cyclones?
Part 4
Assign an article or two (ideally a published peer reviewed article - to introduce them to this type of scientific writing - that is if you can find one that you consider appropriate for your students) that introduces them to other factors required for tropical cyclone formation and predictions of how climate change might affect them. For example an article that discusses the role of wind speed near the surface of the ocean, or vertical wind shear, or one that shows that the threshold temperature is actually predicted to increase by the same magnitude as the SST increase. Have them write a report that summaries the criteria for cyclogenesis as well as explaining how they would go about predicting where tropical cyclones will form as a result of an increased SST. They do not need to perform all of the tests they propose! They should state what sort of information they would like to obtain and why.
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This game is suitable for play both within and outside of the …
This game is suitable for play both within and outside of the classroom, and although designed for children ages 9-13, it offers a fun, learning opportunity for the entire family. In addition to being a game, it is an eye-catching poster showing continents, oceans and all of the major ocean currents. On the reverse, there are black and white educational activities designed to be reproduced directly from the poster for use in the classroom.
This simulation from the National Center for Atmospheric Research portrays annual patterns …
This simulation from the National Center for Atmospheric Research portrays annual patterns in water vapor and precipitation across the globe, illustrating general circulation patterns as well as seasonal and regional variation.
Wind surge is a JAVA based applet for exploring how water level …
Wind surge is a JAVA based applet for exploring how water level on the windward and leeward side of a basin depends on wind speed, basin length, water depth, and boundary type.
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