Climatographs for the City of Toronto

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Climatographs for the City of Toronto THEN vs.
NOW
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title on each graph
scales are the same for each graph
axis labels and units
legend for each graph
precipitation (bar) primary y-axis
temperature (dots) secondary y-axis
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Question 7 Study each climatograph. Write a few
sentences describing the data, such as monthly
data changes and if you think the temperature and
precipitation are related.
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average yearly precipitation 64.42 mm
average yearly temperature 6.6 degrees
1840-1859 (19 years) The temperature (line graph)
is lowest in February, rises to a maximum in July
and then falls back . Average monthly
temperatures are lower (cooler) for the year. The
precipitation (bar graph) rises irregularly and
then declines irregularly. More precipitation in
spring and summer. Average annual precipitation
64.42 mm.
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average yearly precipitation 69.67 mm
average yearly temperature 9.2 degrees
1971-2000 (19 years) The temperature is lowest in
January .(line graph) Average monthly
temperatures are slightly higher for the year The
precipitation is fairly constant all year round.
(bar graph) Average annual precipitation 69.67
mm.
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Question 8 Compare the two climatographs, and
describe any differences you observe between
them. Explain any differences.
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average yearly precipitation 69.67 mm
average yearly temperature 9.2 degrees
average yearly precipitation 64.42 mm
average yearly temperature 6.6 degrees
There appears to be more precipitation in the
winter now compared to in the 1800s. Spring and
summer temperatures are now several degrees
warmer. The temperature now is lowest in January
vs. back then it was lowest in February. Overall,
the temperatures are generally higher (9.2C) now
and there is also more precipitation in total
(69.67 mm) .
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Question 9 What are the advantages of using
spreadsheet software over graphing by hand?
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Spreadsheets are faster, and once the data has
been entered, a variety of different
representations may be viewed.
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Question 10 What factors could have affected
the climate between 1840 and now?
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Temperature
The yearly temperature trend is not much
different. (temp. starts low gradually rising to
a peak and then declining) The average monthly
temperatures are just slightly higher than they
use to be making it warmer.
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Why ? Our modern cities have modern equipment
making it warmer than it use to be.
Cars
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Powerplants
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People
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Industry
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Cities create a lot of pollution and which traps
heat.
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Precipitation
Because the average temperatures are slightly
warmer, there is more evaporation. More
evaporation means more precipitation and storms
in some areas. 773 mm then
vs. 876 mm now
There is much more precipitation in February.
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Question 11 Would you feel confident making a
statement about climate change in Toronto based
on this information. If you answered yes, why
and what would the statement be? If you answered
no, why not ?
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No. This data does not allow us to draw a firm
conclusion about climate change in general. This
is a very small data set pertaining to one
location. Much more complete information is
needed over a longer time span before a solid
conclusion can be drawn. For example, this data
is for the city of Toronto. Data for non-cities
should be examined. (compare data for Rural
areas vs. Urban areas)
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Also the climate data graphed was for the period
1971-2000. Most of this time period was before
many of the effects of climate were noticed.
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Question 12 Why would you construct
climatographs for data averaged over a number of
years instead of just an individual year?
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Calculating the average temperature and
precipitation over multiple years helps to
eliminate the unique weather effects that is
observed over single year. Averages provides a
better measure of the climate in a certain area.