Week 6 Lab-Global Climate Change

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Clark College *

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201

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Geography

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Dec 6, 2023

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pdf

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Week 6 Lab Climate History of the Clarno Basin (A-B) Activity A: Determining present climate of Clarno Basin 1. What biome is Clarno in? Clarno is a temperate coniferous forest biome. 2. What are the climate characteristics of this biome? This biome has sufficient rainfall to sustain an evergreen forest, warm summers and chilly winters . In terms of the forest might be quite wet or rather dry. 3. What is the maximum and minimum average temperature for Clarno? The minimum average temperature -1 C degrees from the chart was while the maximum average temperature was at 19 C degrees 4. What is the average annual temperature? The average for Clarno annually is 7.17 degrees Celsius. 5. What is the maximum and minimum monthly temperature? The highest monthly temperature, which is 19°C, is recorded in July and August. The lowest monthly temperature, which happens between January and December, is -1°C. 6. What is the total annual precipitation?
There are 450 millimeters of precipitation each year. 7. Clarno is actually located in a transitional climate that is very similar to what you get when typing “Gilliam County Oregon” into the search bar. What are the characteristics of the climate for Gilliam County? Some charastics for Gilliam County include hat its found in a desert biome. So it doesn't receive much rainfall less than 25 centimeters annually. In this area they always experience extreme temperature fluctuations 8. How do the two biomes compare in terms of vegetation? Gilliam County mostly has plants and shrubs with woody stems, tiny leaves, and deep root systems that have evolved to reduce water loss. While Clarno has a vast majority of evergreen trees, this biome has the highest biomass of any other biome as well. Activity B: Determining the ancient climate of the Clarno Basin 1. Provided these fossil plants were found in the same type of climate as their modern descendants, what was the climate of the Clarno Basin like 40 to 54 million years ago? Looking at the images provided my guess is that it relates to a time when the Clarno Basin's climate was probably warmer and more tropical. There may have been plants that were suited to a warm, humid environment like that of modern-day Mexico and Central America, according to fossil data. It was most likely distinguished by a tropical or humid subtropical climate with abundant flora. 2. How does this ancient climate compare to the modern-day climate of the Clarno Basin?
These two are quite different from each other as modern day Clarno is much more lush with a mix of a climate. As we see a sufficient amount of rainfall to sustain an evergreen forest, warm summers and chilly winters. As from the pictures we can tell back then the climate was much warmer and didn’t have a wide range of vegetation. 3. Write a short climate history for the Clarno Basin beginning with its climate 40 to 54 million years ago and ending with present day. An important question to answer is what was the climate like between these two endpoints? Hint looking at the climates of Mexico and Central America may be helpful here. Looking back at 40–54 million years ago, it had a warm, tropical climate similar to that of Mexico and Central America. Over the ensuing millions of years, the environment progressively changed to become semi-arid and drier and the current Conditions can be seen as semi-arid with fluctuating variations in temperature. 4. What kinds of proxy data could be used to confirm your climate history? To answer this, refer to the descriptions of the different types of proxy data listed on the Paleoclimatology Datasets page by the NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information < https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/data-access/paleoclimatology-data/datasets >. When you list the types of data you could use, make sure to describe the datasets you selected and why they would be appropriate. To confirm climate history we can look at the tree rings to see any patterns or anything unusual. We can look at the sediment in the area to see if theres any climate or environment changes from it as well. These would be appropriate as these both deal with the environment around the area and we could tell how and when these changed back to 54 million years ago.
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