Module 1- Drought Assignment
Read Chapter 1 from Carle and answer the following questions.
1.
What does the book mean by “There is no average”?
The book meant by “There is average” as the annual rainfall of California did not match the consistency throughout the years. This is shown as the in some years it is dry and in other years there is more rainfall. The average is constantly changing, and they are not the same. It is also difficult for California to have long-term averages. 2.
When was the largest flood disaster in California’s history?
The largest flood distaster in California’s history was January’s flood of 1997. 3.
What does the “100-year flood” concept really mean?
The “100-year flood” concept is the concept that water planners and engineers established that helps
to predict the likelihood of serious floods. 4. Answer the following questions using Figure 17 from your book:
a. What is the minimum and maximum amount of precipitation California has experienced?
The minimum of California’s precipitation experienced is ~9in of rain in 1925 and the maximum is ~40in of rain in 1983. b. Does there appear to be a regular, repeatable pattern of precipitation?
There does not appear to be any true repeatable pattern through the years 1898-2009. However, the line depicting the 11-year running mean. This exemplifies how California overtime has been recipient of an average mean that fluctuates throughout the years. c. Could you use the 11-year running mean to predict the precipitation for any given year?
` It gives and expectation of precipitation but it is not always accurate.
