Download SRI STORE Lessons: Question and Answer Key

SRI STORE Lessons: Question and Answer Key
Lesson
Question #
Question
Answer
Basic
Lesson 1
1
What is the relationship between air
temperature, saturated H20 content, and
relative humidity? Provide a short
answer. Hint*: look at the equation for
relative humidity and Figure 2.
Ambient air temperature↑: saturated H20 content↑: relative humidity↓. At higher air temperatures, the
saturated moisture content of the air is higher, resulting in lower relative humidity (assuming no
moisture is added to the air).
2
What is the relationship between
elevation, pressure and temperature?
Provide a short answer.
Elevation↑: pressure↓: temperature↓. At higher elevation both pressure and air temperature are typically
lower.
3
The relative humidity is 70% at a noontime temperature of 75°F (297°K). How
much must the air cool for dew to form
that night?
Td = (70/100)1/8 (112 + 0.9 (297)) + 0.1(297) – 112
Td = (0.956)(379.3) + 29.7 – 112
Td = 362.8 + 29.7 – 112
Td = 280.5°K = 7.3°C = 45.2°F
In Farenheit, 75° - 45.2° = 29.8° (i.e., the air must cool 29.8° that night for dew to form)
The relative humidity is 90% at a noontime temperature of 75°F (297°K). At
what temperature will dew form that
night?
Td = (90/100)1/8 (112+0.9 (297)) + 0.1(297) – 112
5
If Td = T, what is relative humidity?
Relative humidity = 100 %
6
As shown in Figure 3, the NWS
meteorological balloon released from
Edwards AFB , CA on August 4, 2010
measured a temperature lapse rate from
the surface to an elevation of 9,000 m of
6.1°C/1,000 m. During initial release of
the balloon, the temperature and relative
To answer this, we calculate the dew point temperature using Equation 3:
4
Td = 292.0°K = 18.9°C = 66.0°F
Td = (r/100)1/8 (112+0.9T) + 0.1T – 112
Td = (70.4/100)1/8 (112+0.9 (292)) + 0.1(292) – 112
Td = (.957) (374.8) + 29.2 – 112
Lesson
Basic
Lesson 2
Basic
Lesson 3
Question #
Question
Answer
humidity at the ground surface (i.e., sea
level) was recorded as 18.8°C and
70.4% respectively. At what elevation
will the air become saturated? Hint*:
first calculate the dew point.
Td = 275.9°K = 2.7°C
7
Why is relative humidity important?
Higher relative humidity increases the likelihood that water vapor will condense and cause precipitation
1
Compare values among the stations.
Which station recorded the most annual
precipitation? How does elevation at this
weather station compare with the
elevation of the other weather stations?
According to your answers to the above
questions, do precipitation and elevation
appear to be closely aligned?
The Twin Lakes weather station has highest recorded annual precipitation and the highest elevation
compared with the other weather stations.
2
Look closely at your results from Part 2
and Figure 2 (below). As you move your
eye along the terrain path, what pattern
do you see in precipitation in relation to
elevation? Based on your understanding
of orographic rainfall (first introduced in
Basic Lesson 1), provide a simple
explanation as to why this pattern
occurs.
As elevation increases precipitation increases. As air rises and climbs in elevation and is forced over
mountains, air moisture condenses and rain falls.
1
How does the lapse rate from
temperature recordings by the
radiosonde balloon compare to the lapse
rate from temperature recordings from
the ground stations? Which lapse rate is
faster and why?
A decrease in air temperature from 18.8°C to 2.7°C will cause saturation of the air. The required
decrease is 16.1°C. The elevation at which this decrease will occur is:
16.1°C ÷ 6.1°C/1,000m = 2,515 m
Yes, precipitation and elevation appear to be closely aligned.
The temperature lapse rate within the atmosphere recorded by the radiosonde balloon is greater than the
lapse rate recorded at the ground stations on the surface. This occurs because the Earth is a source of
heat and warms the air near the ground station. Calculations:
2438m (Twin Lakes elevation) -20.40m (San Jose elevation) =241m;
21.61°C (San Jose July Ave Temp)-14.00°C (Twin Lakes July Ave Temp)=7.61°C
7.61°C (temp difference)/2418m (elevation difference) = x°C /1000m
7610=2418x
x=3.14°C (i.e., a 3.14°C change in temperature for every 1000 meter change in elevation)
Lesson
Basic
Lesson 4
Advanced
Question #
Question
Answer
2
How do the temperature lapse rates for
summer (e.g., August) and winter (e.g.,
February) compare? Which lapse rate
would you expect to be faster and why?
The February lapse rate is 7.2°C while the August lapse rate is 7.3°C. The lapse rate in February is
slightly slower than the August lapse rate. Saturated air will cool more slowly than dry air because of
condensation (adds heat to air), therefore we would expect to see a slower temperature lapse rate in the
winter compared to summer months.
1
Question 1: Based on what you now
know about the elevation ranges of these
four types of vegetation communities,
identify a type that is likely to have a
shrinking habitat in the California Study
Area if global warming predictions come
true, and explain why. Hint: Think about
what elevation ranges support the
different vegetation types and about the
topography of the Study Area.
As learned in Basic Lesson 1 and 3, elevation influences temperature. At higher elevations climates tend
to be colder but these climates may get warmer with climate change. Given that the topography of
California limits how high in elevation different vegetation communities can go to if the lower
elevations get too warm for them, it is appropriate to argue that vegetation types that live within
mountain ranges that peak at lower elevations are the ones most likely to experience the biggest
proportional shrinkages of their habitats.
2
What is the range of precipitation within
the California Study Area associated
with greatest concentration of deciduous
forests compared to that of evergreen
forests?
3
What are the average lowest/highest
daily and the lowest/highest monthly
temperatures within the California Study
Area that are associated with the greatest
concentrations of evergreen forests when
compared to deciduous forests?
1
Based on lessons 2 and 4, would you
expect the change in precipitation to be
Deciduous Forests precipitation range: ~20-50 inches
Evergreen Forests precipitation range: ~20-70 inches
Evergreen Forests:
Deciduous Forests:
0.1 degrees F January daily lowest temperature
25.1 degrees F January daily lowest temperature
100 degrees F July daily highest temperature
100 degrees F July daily highest temperature
-20 degrees F January lowest temperature
10.1 degrees F January lowest temperature
110 degrees F July highest temperature
110 degrees F July highest temperature
No, precipitation is greater at higher elevations on the western side of a mountain range.
Lesson
Question #
Answer
uniform across the California Study
Area? Why or why not?
Lesson 1
Advanced
Lesson 2
Question
2
How does projected year 2050
precipitation within the California Study
Area compare to recent precipitation?
Does precipitation increase or decrease,
and is the change in precipitation
uniform across the California Study
Area?
Precipitation is projected to increase slightly near the Mount Hamilton weather station and decrease at
the other weather stations.
3
You may notice that the range of
deciduous forest will decrease. Will the
range move eastward or westward? Why
might it move in this direction?
Move eastward up the Sierra Mountains, because generally there is greater precipitation at higher
elevations.
4
You may notice that the range of
evergreen forests will decrease slightly.
Will the range move eastward or
westward? Why?
Move eastward up the Sierra Mountains, because generally there is greater precipitation at higher
elevations.
1
What is the hottest 2050 projected July
Average Temperature in the California
Study Area? How does this compare to
‘recent’ July Average Temperature.
The hottest projected July Average Temperature in the California Study Area is 93.0 degrees F
compared to the hottest ‘recent’ July Average Temperature of 80.0 degrees F.
2
How are range of deciduous and
evergreen forests projected to move
within the California Study Area
Move eastward up the Sierra Mountains, because the temperatures are generally projected to warm less
at higher elevations.
Lesson
Question #
Question
Answer
between now and 2050?
3
4
Comparing your analysis in Advanced
Lesson 1, does it appear that temperature
or precipitation will have a greater
influence on vegetation? [Hint: Which
ranges move and shrink most, those
based on projected precipitation or those
based on projected temperature?]
Conduct some research about what it
takes for a plant species to successfully
adapt to a changing environment.
Broadly speaking, what factors could
make one species adapt more
successfully than another. From your
research, can you identify individual
species within the different vegetation
communities that are likely to adapt
more successfully to the warming
California climate than others?
Temperature.
Examples of possible factors include (1) reproduction rate, (2) how the seeds are spread, or (3) whether
they are more susceptible to threats from naturally occurring pests or diseases that would thrive in
longer warm seasons or longer dry seasons. For more on this subject, see these professional scientific
research articles:
Climate Change and the Future of California's Endemic Flora
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2481286/
Modeled regional climate change and California endemic oak ranges
http://www.pnas.org/content/102/45/16281.full.pdf+html
(Note: these articles would be challenging reading for your students. Consider assigning them excerpts
and offer assistance such as definitions of difficult vocabulary.)