LESSON 9 OUTLINE

ASSIGNMENT: Climate Change Project, Part B

You will now continue the Climate Change project through analyses of data collected over the past 100 years to see whether widespread burning of fossil fuels has resulted in a climatic change in Africa. You will find a form in the Lesson 9 folder of ANGEL called "Climate Change Project, Part B" Submission Form. This is where you will submit your responses to the graded questions in this activity for Part B. The first part of the assignment, Part A, was completed in Lesson 08. Note that you will not be allowed to complete Part B if you did not finish Part A. A final project grade will be posted at a minimum one week after the deadline for Part B has passed.

Goals

The goal of the exercise is to expand upon the data set you have already examined to answer one question based on scientific data:

1. Is there evidence for climate change in Africa during the period of historic rainfall measurements?

 

Keep in mind... You are examining the past 100 years of climate records to see whether widespread burning of fossil fuels has resulted in a climatic change in Africa!

 

Suggestions for tackling the assignment:

There are 15 stations with climate records associated with this exercise. Each location contains precipitation data (measured in millimeters) collected on a monthly basis. For Part A, each student was fully responsible for interpreting data collected at five individual stations. You can find the graphs for ALL 15 stations on the interactive map provided in this lesson.

1. Examine the Africa interactive map. You will see 15 locations identified in yellow. These are the climate recording stations. When you hover over the yellow station names, you will see graphs appear on the left side that show the average monthly rainfall and total annual rainfall. Note that these two graphs are plotted to scale so that every graph has the same range on the x-axis and y-axis.
2. Click on each station name to open a resource page for each location. The top part of the resource page contains the graphs for average monthly rainfall and total annual rainfall, expanded so you can see the details in the records. The bottom part of the resource page contains political geography maps and satellite images for the countries where the stations are located so you can examine the physiography of the region.
3. Keep in mind that you are taking the location information and putting this information and other data in a continental perspective. In other words, think "big picture" across distance and time!
4. You may use any resources available online to assist you with this assignment. It would be extremely helpful for your analyses to become familiar with the type of region for each station location (desert, rainforest, savannah, etc.).
5. When you have finished formulating your responses to the assignment questions below, copy your responses into the form and submit. Notice that these questions are worth more points than in past assignments, so be sure you provide well organized and complete responses! The details will show me you spent time thinking about the data.

Assignment Questions:

1. Physiography of the Region. Describe the regional physiography for the 15 station locations (some stations may be in the same geographic environment). Include in your discussion information such as proximity to the coast, mountains, elevation, or other major features that may affect precipitation.
2. Annual Climate of the Region. Examine the average monthly rainfall graphs for the 15 station locations. Describe the timing, duration and intensity of the rainy season(s). Report on any possible trends you may see based on geographic location and/or ecosystem distribution.
3. Climate Trends for the Region. Examine the total annual rainfall scatter plots for the 15 station locations. Describe the timing, duration and intensity of the rainfall in the annual record. Report on any possible trends you may see based on geographic location and/or ecosystem distribution.
4. Written Assessment of Missing Data. I am sure you noticed as you were completing Part A of the project that most of the stations have data missing somewhere from the dataset - whether it be one month of missing data or several consecutive years. Why might data be missing from the record? Could it be a reflection of drought, or political upheaval, or other factors that you cannot judge? Provide information to support your conclusions. (*HINT: The internet would be able to provide information on the dates and timing of political concerns for African countries).
5. So, to wrap up the Climate Change Project... is there evidence for climate change in Africa during the period of historic rainfall measurement? Has widespread burning of fossil fuels resulted in a climatic change in Africa? Explain.
6. References you used to complete this assignment (in APA format). *NOTE: This includes materials you used from online sources OUTSIDE of ANGEL (no need to reference the materials I provided).

Deadlines

All responses must be uploaded in ANGEL no later than 11:00 PM on the due date (see Calendar tab in ANGEL ). Note that is 11:00 PM by ANGEL's clock, not by the clock on your computer! The submission form will disappear at 11:00 PM, and this assignment will not be accepted late under any circumstances. I have no problems giving students a zero for an assignment if they do not take the responsibility to submit by the deadline, so don't even think about trying to submit this late!

Resources to help get you started

As this assignment requires you to visualize the precipitation amounts in fifteen locations across the continent, it may be helpful to print off the interactive map provided in the lesson and jot down some notes as you hover across the continent. Don't forget that you should click on each station name to access a resource page with a detailed graph, maps and satellite images.