Lab02_GeographicGrid

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Apr 3, 2024

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.Name: Joey Rayl Section: Geo 1010 Laboratory 2: The Geographic Grid and Earth-Sun Relationships Description: This lab introduces the concept of Earth’s geographic grid and explores the geometric relationships between the Earth and Sun that determine spatial and temporal patterns of incoming solar energy at Earth’s surface. Key Terms: Geographic grid Latitude Longitude Equator Tropic of Capricorn Tropic of Cancer Prime Meridian Rotation Time Zones Revolution Plane of the Ecliptic Tilt of Earth’s Axis Zenith angle Insolation Seasons Angle of Incidence Solstice Equinox Learning Outcomes: At the conclusion of this exercise, you should be able to: 1. Identify latitude and longitude coordinates for physical and cultural features on the Earth’s surface. 2. Explain the relationship between Earth’s tilt, its revolution around the Sun and the annual cycle of seasons, solstices and equinoxes. 3. Calculate the angle of the Sun’s rays at Earth’s surface for any day of the year. 4. Explain the geographic distribution of insolation received at Earth’s surface from Equator to Pole over the course of one year.

Exercise 2-A: Latitude and Longitude (Christopherson, pp. 16-25) Latitude and Longitude (Christopherson, pp. 16-25) Earth’s surface is covered with an infinite number of features, both cultural and physical, from countries, cities and homes, to continents, mountain ranges, lakes, streams and even down to the scale of individual organisms. Throughout human history, people have attempted to define coordinate systems through which the locations of places can be identified. The most widely used and internationally recognized coordinate system consists of parallels of latitude and meridians of longitude that are subdivided into degrees, minutes and seconds to mark the exact location of any place on Earth’s surface. Although this coordinate system is a human invention, its parallels of latitude are directly tied to the natural rotation of Earth about its axis. Meridians of longitude pass through Earth’s natural poles, but their exact position must be agreed upon by convention. *Be sure to include the North/South and East/West designations along with the degrees for each set of coordinates. For example, an accurate latitude and longitude coordinate representation for Laramie, Wyoming would be approximately: 41 degrees north Latitude, 105 degrees west Longitude (or 41°N / 105°W). 1. Using the World Map provided, Locate the letter A and identify the latitude and longitude to within 5 degrees of the nearest coordinates. lat.___ 60 degrees north Latitude ________ long.___ 85 degrees west Longitude ________ 2. Using the same World Map provided, Locate the letter B and identify the latitude and longitude to within 5 degrees of the nearest coordinates. lat.___ 50 degrees south Latitude ________ long.___ 70 degrees west Longitude ________

3. Using the same World Map provided, Locate the letter C and identify the latitude and longitude to within 5 degrees of the nearest coordinates. lat.__ 22 degrees south Latitude _________ long.___ 127 degrees east Longitude _______ 4. Using the same World Map provided, Locate the letter D and identify the latitude and longitude to within 5 degrees of the nearest coordinates. lat.___ 0 degrees Latitude _________ long.___ 6 degrees east Longitude ________ 5. Using the same World Map provided, Locate the letter E and identify the latitude and longitude to within 5 degrees of the nearest coordinates. lat.___ 47 degrees north Latitude _______ long.___ 99 degrees east Longitude ________ 6. Using the same World Map provided, Locate the letter F and identify the latitude and longitude to within 5 degrees of the nearest coordinates. lat.__ 45 degrees south Latitude ________ long.__ 167 degrees east Longitude _______ 7. Using the same World Map provided, Locate the letter G and identify the latitude and longitude to within 5 degrees of the nearest coordinates. lat.__ 70 degrees north Latitude _________ long.__ 160 degrees east Longitude ________ 8. Using the same World Map provided, Locate the letter H and identify the latitude and longitude to within 5 degrees of the nearest coordinates. lat.__ 20 degrees north Latitude _________ long.__ 163 degrees west Longitude _________ 9. The following coordinates are located within what country? 5°S / 145°E Papa New Guinea 10. The following coordinates are located within what country? 65°N / 25°E Finland

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Exercise 2-B: Day Length, Angle of Incidence, and Insolation (Christopherson pp. 47-57) As the Sun’s rays change their angle with respect to Earth throughout the course of the year, the lengths of daylight and darkness hours also change. Because the sun is the primary source of energy for almost all processes taking place within the Earth system, the length of daylight hours, and the angle of the sun during those hours is critically important to determining how much energy is available and how it is distributed spatially. Insolation is the amount of incoming solar radiation received from the Sun. It is measured in units of power per unit area (usually W / m 2 ). Insolation can be calculated for any “surface”, such as the Earth’s surface, or the top of Earth’s atmosphere. Insolation depends fundamentally on the angle of incidence , the angle at which the Sun’s rays strike the surface (see Christopherson, p. 49, figure 2.10). The following tables provide information about the length of daylight hours, the angle of the Sun above the horizon, and the average insolation received at the top of Earth’s atmosphere for four North American Locations: Mexico City, Mexico: 19°28’N Laramie, Wyoming: 41°20’N Edmonton, Canada: 53°33’N Fairbanks, Alaska: 64°50’N Day length on 15 th day of month (hrs) Latitude Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec 19° N 11.0 11.4 11.9 12.4 12.9 13.1 13.1 12.7 12.2 11.6 11.1 10.9 41° N 9.4 10.5 11.7 13.1 14.3 14.9 14.7 13.7 12.4 11.0 9.8 9.1 53° N 7.9 9.6 11.6 13.7 15.6 16.6 16.3 14.6 12.6 10.5 8.5 7.4 64° N 5.1 8.2 11.3 14.6 17.9 20.4 19.3 16.2 13.0 9.7 6.3 3.9 Maximum sun angle (Solar Elevation Angle) on 15 th day of month (degrees) Latitude Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec 19° N 50 58 68.5 80. 3 89.7 85.8 87.2 85.3 74.5 62. 8 52.7 48 41° N 28 36 46.5 58. 3 67.7 72.2 70.8 63.3 52.5 40. 8 30.7 26 53° N 16 24 34.5 46. 3 55.7 60.2 58.8 51.3 40.5 28. 8 18.7 14 64° N 5 13 23.5 35. 3 44.7 49.2 47.8 40.3 29.5 17. 8 7.7 3 Average Insolation by Month (W/m 2 ) Latitude Jan Feb Ma r Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec 19° N 320 362 409 441 454 45 5 452 444 416 374 329 305 41° N 172 234 319 402 460 48 4 470 420 345 259 187 152

53° N 87 152 250 357 442 47 9 458 385 284 181 103 69 64° N 15 68 170 300 416 47 5 443 340 212 98 27 4 From data provided by NASA 11. Which city has longer hours of daylight in July, Laramie or Edmonton? Edmonton has longer daylights hours in July with 16.3 compared to Laramies 14.7 12. Why is the solar elevation angle in Mexico City higher in May and July than it is in June? The tilt in the those months are extreme giving a higher solar elevation angle. In June there is the summer solstice, and the tilt is at it’s maximum. This actually makes Mexico city receives less of an angle than the months before and after. 13. Which of the four cities has the greatest annual range in insolation? The city with greatest annual range in insolation is Fairbanks with 471 W/m squared 14. Which of the four cities has the least annual range in insolation? The city with the least range is Mexico City is 150 W/m squared 15. Why does Laramie receive more insolation in July than Edmonton? Laramie receives more isolation than Edmonton because Laramie is positioned at a lower latitude than Edmonton. Laramie is closer to the equator and cities closer experience higher insolation levels. Edmonton gets its sunlight at a lower angle.