Geography 370: CLIMATOLOGY

Spring 2008

EXERCISE 4 MICROCLIMATES

Notes of Field Measurements at end of Exercise

(Due May 4)

On Weds March 11 we walked around the campus and make some observations regarding microclimates associated with buildings and landscaped areas and the local climate of the SSU campus. For this exercise you will be making quantitative measurements of air temperature and relative humidity, using a sling psychrometer, wind speed and wind chill with an anemometer, and soil temperature using a soil thermometer, as well as qualitative observations of microclimatic characteristics such albedo and conductivity of surfaces and air circulation at different sites. You will relate these climate parameters to surface characteristics such as surface material and cover, permeability, aspect, slope, shadiness, cover from wind, etc. You will also estimate how these characteristics may change diurnally and seasonally, depending on sun angle, wind direction, cloudiness, precipitation, etc.

I recommend that you work as groups, gathering multiple sets of measurements and then averaging them for a given site (e.g. four different humidity readings, averaged for a single site.) As you walk around to different sites, please write notes regarding the microclimatic characteristics of each site. Then answer the following questions.

Date on which you gathered your data: ___________________________________

Name: ________________________________, Group members: ________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

1. How high will the sun be in the sky today at noon? Recall that we are at ~38^oN Latitude. You can estimate the exact solar latitude using an analemma, a diagram shaped like a figure-eight showing the sun's declination and equation of time for each day of the year. There is one on our large globe in STV 3036. Show your calculations.

 

 

 

2. What are the weather conditions today? If there are clouds, what direction are they coming from, what type are they, about how fast are they moving (qualitative estimate)? What time did you begin your walk?

 

 

 

3. Which site that you looked at probably receives the most solar radiation? Why?

 

 

4. Is this site the warmest? ________ What other factors besides solar radiation can influence temperature of a microclimate site?

 

5. Which of the sites you visited is probably the most humid on a daily basis? Why?

 

6. Which of the sites is probably the windiest on average? Why?

 

7. What is the relationship between vegetation and humidity?

 

8. Which of these sites probably experiences the greatest range in diurnal (daily) temperature and humidity? Why?

 

9. Which of these sites probably experiences the greatest seasonal variation in temperature and humidity? Why?

 

10. Which of these sites experiences the least diurnal variation? Why

 

11. Which of these sites experiences the least seasonal variation? Why?

 

12. Do any of these sites experience greater seasonal variations because of changes in vegetation? Which one(s)?

 

13. Which are the Mesoscale (regional) factors that influence the local climate of the SSU campus?

 

 

14. If you wanted to get a most accurate set of measurements of temperature, precipitation, humidity, and wind speed and direction at the boundary layer of the atmosphere, where would you place your instrument installation? (Include both location and elevation.)

 

15. Pick one of the microclimates that we visited and describe in detail, including all of the site characteristics that influence this microclimate.

 

NOTES OF FIELD MEASUREMENTS (Will be filled in after the walk)
By the way, I've noticed a number of incorrect calculations for Relative Humidity given the dry vs. wet bulb temps, so check these yourself using Appendix D Table D.2 in your text. Potential exam question: How can you tell just by looking at the difference in temp between wet bulb and dry bulb about what the RH should be?

Site 1. Stevenson Loading Dock

Air Temp: ^oC, wet bulb temp ^oC
Relative Humidity: %
Temp of concrete column ^oC
Wind:
Notes:

Site 2. Under trees between Stevenson & Nichols

Air Temp: ^oC, web bulb temp ^oC
Also: ^oC dry, ^oC wet
RH: %; Soil Temp ^oC
Wind Velocity: mps (meters per second)
Notes:

Site 3. Rachel Carson Courtyard

Air Temp: on concrete ^oC, wet bulb ^oC, RH %
Air Temp on vegetation: ^oC, ^oC wet, RH %
Air Temp in sun: ^oC, ^oC wet bulb, RH %
Soil temp: ^oC in shade, ^oC in sun (at ~10 cm depth)
Wind:
Notes: .

Site 4. Parking Lot west of Art Building

Air temp: ^oC, web bulb ^oC, RH %
Also ^oC, wet bulb ^oC, RH %
Surface temp: ^oC on south aspect of parking curb
Wind: mps
Notes:

Site 5. South of Art Building (under trees)

Air temp: ^oC, wet bulb ^oC,
also in shade^oC dry, ^oC wet, RH %
also in sun ^oC dry, ^oC wet bulb, RH %
Soil temp ^oC in shade, ^oC in sun
Wind:
Notes:

Site 6. Southeast of Art Building, near pond and lawn

Air temp: ^oC, wet bulb ^oC, RH %
also ^oC, wet bulb ^oC, RH %
Soil temp ^oC, ^oC in sun
Wind:
Notes:

Site 7. Commencement Lawn

Air temp: ^oC, wet bulb ^oC, RH %
also, ^oC, wet bulb ^oC, RH %
Soil temp: ^oC; Wind: mps
Notes:

Site 8. North side of Commons

Air temp: ^oC, wet bulb ^oC, RH %
also ^oC, wet ^oC, RH %
in sun ^oC, wet ^oC, RH %
Concrete temp: ^oC in sun, ^oC in shade
Wind:
Notes: .

Site 9. South side of Commons

Air temp: ^oC, wet bulb ^oC, RH % in sun
in shade: ^oC, wet bulb ^oC, RH %
Water temp (in fountain) ^oC, soil temp in potted plant ^oC
Wind:
Notes:

Site 10. East side of Stevenson, next to stairs

Air temp: ^oC, wet bulb ^oC, RH % in sun
also ^oC, wet ^oC, RH %
also ^oC, wet ^oC, RH % in shade
Shaded cement temp: ^oC
Wind:
Notes:

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