Surface Temperature Graph Analysis

According to information collected throughout November and December, surface temperatures are directly affected by aerosol optical thickness and the percent transmission of sunlight coming through the aerosols. Our class recorded the temperatures of various surfaces (ex., grass, artificial turf, tennis court, asphalt, concrete, bare earth) along with the AOT and percent transmission and compiled a graph of the information. The graph tells readers that the AOT and percent transmission are inversely related, meaning that the thicker the aerosols are, the less sunlight will travel to the surfaces recorded. For example, on a particular day, the AOT was recorded as 0.2664 and the percent transmission as 77, whereas a few days later the AOT was recorded as 1.6054 and the percent transmission as 20. This trend was consistent throughout the two months the information was collected. The AOT sets up a chain reaction for the surface temperatures: the more aerosols in the air, the less sunlight will reach the earth. The less sunlight reaching the earth, the lower the surface temperatures. Sunlight warms the earth, so it is obvious that the percent transmission and surface temperatures directly correlate.

Aerosols and Global Warming

The current information known about aerosols can be somewhat conflicting depending on what sources the information is from. According to articles we read in class, aerosols have tremendous potential-- they reflect the sun's energy and prevent it from reaching earth's surface, which could be helpful or harmful, depending on how we choose to improve the current situation of our atmosphere which is currently being destroyed by global warming. Global warming is caused by the sun's heat getting trapped within our atmosphere by materials with a high rate of absorption. Aerosols have a high rate of albedo, meaning that when the sun's energy reaches a layer of aerosols, they will primarily bounce off, back into space and away from earth's surface. If global warming continues negatively, this will be helpful in cooling the earth's surface. If we are to ever reverse the trend of global warming, aerosols could drop surface temperatures too far. However, this seems to be an impossible goal in the current shape of the global warming situation, so it is less likely to happen. In that case, aerosols could offset the effects of global warming by reflecting the sun's energy away from the surface and decreasing the trapping of heat in our atmosphere.

TEAMWORK.

Things our team did well:

• We worked together and helped each other out throughout the assignment. We each carried an even workload.
• Each member of the group knew our strengths and weaknesses as students; for example, if one person was not skilled using Excel, someone else was willing to take on that responsibility according to our own skills.
• Everyone worked at a decent pace and no one slacked off.

Things our team could improve upon:

• When measuring the trees, we were completely unorganized and the entire procedure was all over the place. Next time, we need to work better together when collecting this information.
• None of us knew how to use the ARCGis software, so we put that off for a while because no one wanted to figure it out (even I am guilty of this).
• We should have been more thorough when dealing with the flaws in our project; I will admit I had no idea what I was doing so a lot of the information was somewhat crazy and we did not want to take the time to redo the entire assignment. However, we are just high school students, not scientists, so I suppose error was bound to occur anyway.

In general, I enjoyed this project more than I disliked it and our group worked well together.

Procedure 10-2 UPDATED

• During class, the class went outside and measured off a 100 square meter area within the forested area of the campus
• Teams then picked out six trees that seemed to be a profitable size out of the area measured off
• Students identified the six trees' species using a guide book
• The trees were then measured using a clinometer and recorded this information (the top and bottom angles, the difference between the two angles, the circumference, etc)
• The class then prepared to determine the price of each tree using the information collected
• Students calculated the prices of each tree and were given the prices of each tree from other classes
• With the ARCGis software, each team measured the approximate size of Huntington High School's campus in order to estimate a price for the entirety of the timber
• Using the information gathered from the ARCGis software and the measurements from each class, the students came up with an approximate price for the campus
• Most measurements within the class were flawed, which was due to the lack of accuracy using the clinometers, the overly generalized area (400 square meters is not enough to determine the price of the entire campus), and the confusion using the ARCGis software.

How I Have Used the Scientific Method in my Life

1. Problem/Question: Saturday night, my manager left me in my store for two hours after closing; I cannot leave work until my manager comes by and locks the door. He said he'd be back a few minutes after closing. After two hours of waiting, I wondered if he was ever coming back to lock the store.
2. Observation/Research: It was 10:30 PM. All the lights in the park were off and all of my coworkers had gone home.
3. Formulate a Hypothesis: My manager forgot about me and I'm going to have to figure out a way to get home without leaving the store unlocked, seeing as I do not have a key.
4. Experiment: I called the office and there was no answer. I walked outside and everyone had gone home. I was the last person in the park.
5. Collect and Analyze Results: My manager has definitely forgot about me. I had no idea how to get a hold of anyone to come lock the store, so I was pretty much stuck.
6. Conclusion: I was going to have to just leave the store. If he wasn't coming back for two hours, chances were he had already left. This has happened before, so I had no doubts. Luckily, a coworker had forgotten something and told me to go home; she assured me that I was the only person left in the park and my manager had gone home.
7. Communicate the Results: I found my manager in the parking lot smoking a cigarette. I told him he had forgotten me and he didn't quite care. I informed the office the following day to make sure it won't happen again.

A blog about earth science class.

Well, I'm in earth science class. And this is a blog post.