Assignment for Physical geography

1 UST 289 Spring 2015 Assignment 1 Due February 12, 2015

For this assignment you will answer the questions listed below. Each question has been assigned a certain number of points. Be sure to answer all of the items asked for in the question to get full credit. Your assignment is to be word processed, double spaced, and grammar and spell checked! You may submit in hard copy or via email to the instructor. Early submissions are encouraged. Websites are listed below each question to get you started in finding your answers. Some material that relates to the questions may be found within your book, some will not. You are free to use other sources as well. However, Wikipedia is NOT to be used. (Wikipedia is an open source site. Changes can be made that may make information posted there incorrect.) You must cite your work appropriately and enclose a reference page. Be sure to list even the sites that I have provided you if you use them to answer the question. Do NOT do a laundry list of “question asked” and “answer” in your answer. While I have provided you with questions to answer, please answer them in paragraph form. Your answers should read as a narrative that covers all of the items raised by my questions. I prefer that you paraphrase the material that you find for your answers rather than doing copy and paste. Do NOT copy and paste material without putting it in quotation marks and appropriately citing it if you feel a need to do your paper this way. Do not use more than 3 quotations per question if you feel the need to quote directly. (Copying and pasting without quotations and appropriate citations is plagiarism and will result in a grade of 40 (F) for the total assignment.) If you are unsure just what plagiarism is, please go to the writing center website and click on the link to the right. The writing center is at http://www.csuohio.edu/academic/writingcenter/ If you are unsure how to do citations, you can go to: http://library.csuohio.edu/research/vrd/citations.html http://citationmachine.net The links to the guides there are very good. If you are not required to use a specific format by your major discipline, I suggest using APA. I also strongly recommend the “Purdue Owl” website for assistance in learning how to paraphrase correctly. Go to…. https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/563/01/ There are other links to the left on “owl” that you also might find helpful. You can contact me via email or ask questions in class if you are unsure about your assignment.

2 UST 289 Spring 2015 Assignment 1 Due February 12, 2015

1. Cleveland is fortunate to be located on the shores of one of the largest freshwater

sources in the world. However, during the winter months the lake can contribute to the

amount of snow that falls and during the rest of the year can affect rainfall totals. This

question will help you to explore both of those events.

What is lake effect snow? How does it form? What are some of the variables that

contribute to the formation and amount of lake effect snow? How do some of the

characteristics of the land effect the amount and where snow will fall? Why are there

two “snowbelts” in the Greater Cleveland area? Where are they located? What causes

the heavier snowfall in the primary snowbelt? How does the movement of air differ

there versus the secondary snowbelt? How does Cleveland’s lake effect compare with

the lake effect snow received in Buffalo, New York? If there is a difference, what is the

cause of it? What is thunder snow? What conditions allow it to form? What is an

Alberta Clipper? How does it differ from Lake Effect snow? (50 points)

http://www.noaa.gov/features/02_monitoring/lakesnow.html

http://cleveland.about.com/od/northeastohioweather/p/lakeeffect.htm

http://www.mlive.com/weather/index.ssf/2012/11/lake_effect_snow_could_be_heav.html

http://www.eoearth.org/article/Lake_effect_snow

http://fox8.com/2013/02/06/whats-a-clipper/

http://fox8.com/2014/11/06/the-different-flavors-of-lake-erie-lake-effect-snow/

http://www.weather.com/safety/winter/news/buffalo-newyork-lake-effect-snow#!

2. In 2012 the east coast was hit by what came to be known as “Superstorm Sandy”.

Although New York and New Jersey were the hardest hit, even Cleveland felt part of her

wrath. This storm was far more powerful that what is called a Nor’easter that tends to

hit along the Atlantic coast. This question will help you explore their differences and the

effect that Sandy had on the US.

What is a “Superstorm”? How do they form? What is a “nor easter”? How does a “nor

easter” differ from a superstorm?

Is climate change a major factor in the formation of superstorms? Please explain why

you think it is or is not a factor. What was Superstorm Sandy? What parts of the United

States were affected by the storm? What type of weather did she bring to each area?

How much damage is Sandy estimated to have caused? What were some of the

causes of the damage? How many lives are estimated to have been lost due to Sandy?

When was the last superstorm to affect the United States previous to Sandy (Called the

storm of the century)? How much damage did it cause? Was there any loss of life?

3 UST 289 Spring 2015 Assignment 1 Due February 12, 2015

What areas of the United States were affected? Was this less or more than Sandy?

(50 points)

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=how-to-protect-new-york-city-from-

storm-surges

http://cosmiclog.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/10/29/14779057-how-sandy-turned-into-a-

superstorm?lite

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/capital-weather-gang/post/the-whole-truth-about-

superstorm-sandy-and-climate-change/2012/11/15/d3b7ceea-29e4-11e2-bab2-

eda299503684_blog.html

http://ww2010.atmos.uiuc.edu/%28Gh%29/arch/cases/930312/home.rxml

http://www.the-scientist.com/?articles.view/articleNo/33084/title/Opinion--Super-Storm-

Sandy/

http://www.noaa.gov/features/03_protecting/noreasters.html

http://science.howstuffworks.com/nature/climate-weather/storms/noreaster.htm

3.