Week 12

 What did you do in lab today?

This week in lab, we looked at weather and climate. I was able to learn the difference between these. Climate is a 30 year average of weather, while weather is the daily stuff we see. We found that climate change is happening and 99.99% of scientists agree that this is human caused. We looked at how climate change is happening by looking at NASA images of change. Following this, each group chose a different section of Iowa and picked three cities to gather data for. We looked at how heavy rainfall has changed over time. Our group did the region that was labeled Iowa State University. We found that there was an increase in heavy rainfall in each of these regions. This is directly caused by climate change. As temperature increases, humidity increases (water in the air), as humidity increases, precipitation increases. We concluded that the Goldfinch could be in danger due to these changes. It is possible that floods could increase and because of this the birds can't nest or find food. 

What was the big question?

Is the Goldfinch, Iowa's state bird, in danger and how do we know?

What did you learn in Thursday's discussion?

We took the Earth Quiz. 

Textbook 

What did you learn?

I learned what factors determine whether an area has a hot or cold climate. To remember this you can think of, L.O.W.E.R. Near Water. This stands for latitude, ocean currents, wind and air masses, elevation, and relief (aka topography). I learned that latitudes near the Equator have warmer temperatures while latitudes near the North and South poles have cooler temperatures. As well as this, the temperatures of an ocean current affects the temperature of the air that passes over it. I also learned how wind can affect climate. When wind moves different air masses to a new area, they bring this climate with them which affects the weather and climate of the new location. As well as this, higher altitudes tend to be cooler, while lower altitudes tend to be warmer. 

What was most helpful?

It was most helpful to look at the climate change in Iowa. These are more precipitation and drought, hotter temperatures, impact on agriculture, and habitat changes. I learned that Iowa will have an increase in extreme precipitation leading to more floods and more periods of drought. I also learned about the flood of 2008 at the University of Iowa which was the result of high precipitation. Due to this, the Iowa Flood Center was established, and some buildings had to be completely rebuilt and moved to safer locations. 

What do you need more information on?

I would like more information on how we have seen climate change in different parts of the world. I am also curious about changes that have made since Before the Flood came out. 

What questions, concerns, and/or comments do you have?

Has there been more recent action made in the U.S. to address climate change?

How near in the future will we see the damaging effects of climate change?

Is there still time to stop climate change?

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