Lab assignment Bay Area Microclimates

AU/GEOG 301: Bay Area Environments Fall 2021

Bay Area Microclimates Due by 9:30 AM on Tuesday, Sept. 28th

Overview

A microclimate is a local climate condition that differs from the general climate of the entire area.

Microclimates can be caused/influenced by things like tall buildings, large bodies of water, forests/parks, and mountains. Places with heavy vegetation, such as Golden Gate Park, create microclimates for many reasons. The trees cast shadows and block low-level winds. Trees also take in water from the ground and release it through their leaves, affecting humidity. The forest is both cooler in the hot summer and warmer in the cold winter. The shade of the forest means greater humidity than in open areas where direct sunlight increases rates of evaporation.

The Bay Area is a diverse environment in many ways, especially in regards to climate. Temperatures can range significantly from San Francisco to Oakland to Marin. Anyone who lives in San Francisco knows how much the temperature can change from place to place within city limits.

Your goal in this lab assignment is to be a climatologist and conduct an investigation into microclimates around the Bay Area. You will record temperature data at three locations, compile charts of that data, and compare the locations to draw some conclusions about local microclimates. You will need to follow the scientific method (review Lab 1 if you forget the steps and formats required for writing a lab report) to complete your assignment, which will be submitted via TurnItIn on iLearn.

Requirements

To complete this lab assignment you will need internet access. We will be using Weather Underground for historical temperature data. In addition to Weather Underground, you will need Microsoft Excel to record your data and generate graphs.

Instructions

1. Visit WeatherUnderground. I have found Google Chrome web browser works the best on this website (Weather Underground uses Google Maps to display weather station data). Once on the webpage, click “Maps & Radar”, and then click “WunderMap”. This will bring you to an interactive map of weather stations. Zoom in around SF State and find the “Sunset” station (NOTE: make sure the “Weather Stations” layer is checked on the right panel). Click the temperature icon, and then click where it says “Station ID: KCASANFR1176” (Fig. 1).

AU/GEOG 301: Bay Area Environments Fall 2021

Figure 1: Example WunderMap

2. This page shows you weather data from SFSU(ish). Scroll down the page and you will see daily weather summary information. You will need to record the High & Low Temperature values for any five-day period between September 1st – September 20th. You can select any date and move to previous and next day’s data from the menu above the summary information (Fig. 2).

Figure 2: Example weather station data table

3. Download the “Microclimates Lab_Fall2021.xlsx” file from the course iLearn page. This

Excel file has been setup for you to input your data. Use the High & Low temperature data from the SFSU/Sunset station to populate the Excel table. The charts will automatically generate lines for you! The temperature axis is set to show between 30°F and 110°F, therefore you can visually compare SFSU data to the other two locations you choose. The tables also show you the average High & Low values of the 5-day period.

4. Once you have completed the SFSU/Sunset table, return to the WunderMap. For Location 2, choose the weather station closest to where you live. If you live near campus choose a different location in San Francisco, maybe where friends or family live. Remember, click the temperature icon, and then click the Station ID. Complete the table in Excel for Location 2, and make sure to change the Location 2 text in the data table and the chart.

AU/GEOG 301: Bay Area Environments Fall 2021

5. For Location 3, choose an area in the Bay Area that is a different land use from SFSU and your home location. For example, most of us live in an urban area; SF, Oakland, Hayward, etc. If so, choose an area outside the urban heat island. Options include Mill Valley, or Chabot Space & Science Center in the Oakland Hills, but I encourage you to choose a place of interest to you. Remember to change the titles on your graphs and on your Excel table!! With completed data tables and charts, you can easily compare the differences in temperature among your three locations.

6. A good scientist follows the scientific method when conducting an investigation. Your final deliverable is to write a report addressing the following aspects of the scientific method using the observations collected from Weather Underground. Your report needs to follow this format (don’t forget your headers for each section):

I. Introduction. Introduce your investigation, provide background information about microclimates in the San Francisco Bay Area (a minimum of three citations is required here), and explain what you are investigating and why it is important to investigate it. Here’s a hint, we are interested in microclimates and the driving forces behind their development here in the Bay Area.

• Construct hypotheses. Use what you learned in your background research to generate the believed outcome of your investigation. For example, SFSU has more tree cover than the Dogpatch neighborhood, so I believe SFSU will have cooler temperatures throughout the day. Your report must make a minimum of three hypotheses, one for each location.

II. Methods. Your investigation will be testing your hypotheses by collecting temperature data over a 5-day period and from different microclimate zones in the Bay Area. In this section, you should explain the methods you employed to complete your investigation, explain why it’s important to make observations over a 5-day period, and why you chose your Location 3 (which is a result of Location 2).

III. Results. This section is where you verbally summarize your temperature data and insert your charts here.

IV. Discussion. Link the data you summarized in Results to your three hypotheses. It is perfectly okay for your data to prove a hypothesis wrong (actually this is by far the most important aspect of scientific progress). Address where the data supports or goes against each of your hypotheses. Provide reasons why you think each of your hypotheses was either confirmed or rejected.

V. Conclusion. Finally, state your final conclusions about microclimates in the Bay Area. Often one scientific investigation raises additional questions that were not part of the original question. Obviously temperature does not tell the whole story of weather and microclimates in the Bay Area, so address what other questions that arose while you conducted this investigation?

7. Your report will be submitted via TurnItIn on iLearn. You will need to copy and paste your Excel tables and charts into your paper.

8. In addition to completing steps I–VI above, your assignment will be graded on: original work, appropriate locations, grammar & punctuation, complete tables & charts (titles, accurate data, and FIGURE CAPTIONS), and proper formatting.

AU/GEOG 301: Bay Area Environments Fall 2021

Rubric

For more information about proper figure and table captions, please check this link out.

I. Introduction: 6 points • What aspect of the Bay Area are we interested in and why is it important?

Clearly states the paper’s purpose. (1 pt) • Background research provides solid evidence that will help make a

prediction of the data results. (1 pt) • This section provides at least 3 resources to support the background

research. (1 pt) • Construct hypotheses:

• Hypothesis 1: Well defined hypothesis for location 1 (1 pt) • Hypothesis 2: Well defined hypothesis for location 2 (1 pt) • Hypothesis 3: Well defined hypothesis for location 3 (1 pt)

II. Methods: 2 points • Thoroughly explain the steps you took to complete this lab assignment. (1

pt) • Explain why it’s important to make observations over 5-days. (.5 pt) • Explain why you chose Location 3. (.5 pt)

III. Results: 2 points • Summarize your temperature data for EACH location and provide graphs

for each location. DON’T FORGET YOUR FIGURE CAPTIONS! (2 pts) IV. Discussion: 3 points

• Link the data to your hypotheses. (1 pt) • Address where the data supports or rejects your hypotheses. (2 pts)

V. Conclusion: 2 points • Final concluding statements about microclimates in the Bay Area. (1 pt) • What other questions arose for you while you conducted this

investigation? (1 pt) VI. References (a minimum of 3 is required): 2 points VII. Mechanics: 3 points

• Appropriate locations (.5 pt) • Grammar & punctuation (.5 pt) • Complete graphs (titles, accurate data & figure captions) (1.5 pts) • Proper formatting (headers for each report section) (.5 pt)

TOTAL POINTS AVAILABLE: 20