Ecology lab number two
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School
Hofstra University *
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Course
200
Subject
Geography
Date
Dec 6, 2023
Type
docx
Pages
6
Uploaded by ramchristina6
Christina Ram
Lab# 2
1. What trends can you observe in the climate data? Use the graph y-axes to
visually estimate average precipitation and average temperature. Record them
here, being sure to report proper units in your answer:
Average precipitation 1895-2018:
2151 mm
Average temperature 1895-2018:
11.8 Degree Celsius
2. Look specifically at the
variation
in precipitation and temperature graphs. Are
there any visible patterns in the precipitation data? How about in the temperature
data? Describe them here. Consider differences with-in and among years as well as
early-century vs late-century differences.
Precipitation rose in the beginning of the 1900s. It continues to go up and down
steadily but kinda stayed around the same number. It looks like the temperature
was going up and down in the 1900’s to the 1940’s and the started increasing
from the 1940’s to the 2000’s.
3. Visually compare between precipitation and temperature trends. For these data,
do you think these climate factors are related to each other (or
correlated
)? In other
words, do high precipitation years tend to occur during high or low temperature
years? How confident would you rate yourself in your ability to visually detect a
correlation?
I do believe that there is/might be a correlation between precipitation and temperature
mainly because high precipitation happens when there was a higher temperature. I would
say that I am about 50% confident in my ability to visually detect the correlation and
understand the data.
4. Now look at the third graph, at the bottom. This is a slider that allows you to see
more detail for any particular time frame – it lets you zoom in to see the month-by-
month values for any time period. Using the sliders, zoom in to the year with the
highest precipitation value. What’s going on here?... Was this an entire year that
was unusually wet? Or was there some type of short-term weather event that
caused this?
Based on the graph, I would say that the year 2018 had the most precipitation
value. This may be the result of a hurricane.
5. Once you’ve answered the previous question, use the internet to search for the
potential cause. Search terms might include “NYC precipitation + time period”
where you designate the year and/or month(s) for the time period search term.
What happened during that time? How are short-term weather events different than
long-term climate trends?
Based upon my research, there was warmer winter temperatures, with
fewer days below freezing, are bringing more winter precipitation to New
York as rain, less snow, reduced snow cover, and earlier spring snowmelt.
6. What other major climatic events can you see in NYC climate history? For
example, what were climate patterns like during significant historical events in NYC?
… For example: Stock market crash of 1929? Stonewall uprising of 1969? Hurricane
Sandy 2012? What else can you find?
A good example can be the heatwave in 1993 in New York where the mean temperature
was about 8 degrees hotter than average.
Create numerical & visual summaries
7. First let's get the February data set in order by year in ascending order (going
from past to present). There are several ways to do this.
You can highlight the column(s) you want to sort, including the header
(the names at the top of each column). Then look under the Data menu
and select "Sort Range". You can then pick which column you want to
search by (check the box for "data has header row" to exclude the header
row from being sorted and allow you to select columns by their name.
If you only want to sort one column, or you want to sort a group by the
first column in it, you can highlight just the data (not the
headers
at the
top of each column) you wish to sort. Then look under the Data menu and
select ("A->Z" in the sort options).
Repeat this step for the August data. With that done, use either the Sort function or
the MAX and MIN functions to identify the following climatic extremes:
What’s the coldest winter on record, according to these data? (i.e.,
what year had the coldest February Tmin?)
-12.1 in 1934
What’s the warmest summer on record, according to these data? (i.e.,
what year had the warmest August Tmax?)
30.8 in 1995
In which month (February or August), and in which year, was
precipitation the all-time lowest?
5.8mm in 1995
In which month (February or August), and in which year, was
precipitation the highest?
440.56mm in August 2011
8. Calculate the following numerical summaries for the February data set. Include
units in your answers.
Average precipitation 1895-2018:
82.619mm
Median precipitation 1895-2018:
76.550mm
Average Tmean 1895-2018:
0.549 degrees
Median Tmean 1895-2018:
0.600 degrees
9. Repeat the previous step with August data:
Average precipitation 1895-2018:
112.754 mm
Median precipitation 1895-2018:
0.549mm
Average Tmean 1895-2018:
24.042 degrees
Median Tmean 1895-2018:
24.100 degrees
10. In your answers for 8 and 9, were the median values similar to the average
values? Which of these measures is most likely to be influenced by extreme values,
the mean or median?
The median is a little bit similar to the average value, while the median and average
temperatures for both the February and the August data were quite similar. The mean is
more likely to be influenced by extreme values as it involves the sum of all the
measurements. One major outlier can drastically affect the meanwhile the median is not
as easily affected
11. For February data, create a scatterplot of Tmean vs Year (i.e., Tmean on the y-
axis and Year on the x-axis). Add a trendline including the equation and
R
2
(R-square)
value. Make sure your x-axis and y-axis have titles and units. Based on the trendline
and its equation, how much has average winter temperature changed since 1895 in
NYC? Include a copy of your graph for your answer.
1880
1900
1920
1940
1960
1980
2000
2020
2040
-8
-6
-4
-2
0
2
4
6
Febraury Tmean VS Year
Year
Tmean(C)
0.0253(1895)+-1.01= 46.9335
0.0253(2018)+-1.01=50.0454
50.0454-46.9335=3.112
Based on the trendline and its equation, the average winter temperature has
increased by 3.112
℃
since 1895
12. In the previous graph, how strong is the relationship between Tmean and Year?
How can you determine that?
In the graph, the relationship between Tmean and Year is not strong whereas the
value of R² is closer to 0 than it is to 1, which implements that might not be q
correlation.
13. Repeat the previous graphing step with August data, being sure to include all
necessary components (titles, units, trendline, R
2
). Based on the trendline and its
equation, how has average summer temperature changed since 1895 in NYC?
Include a copy of your graph for your answer.
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