Grand Canyon Microclimatology_ Tutorial_ GPH 112_ Intro to Phys Geography Lab (2022 Fall)-2
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Arizona State University *
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Course
111
Subject
Geography
Date
Feb 20, 2024
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16
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10/9/23, 3:49 PM
Grand Canyon Microclimatology: Tutorial: GPH 112: Intro to Phys Geography Lab (2022 Fall)
https://canvas.asu.edu/courses/130801/quizzes/973599?module_item_id=9000689
1/16
Grand Canyon Microclimatology: Tutorial
Due
Oct 12, 2022 at 11:59pm
Points
4.5
Questions
9
Time Limit
None
Allowed Attempts
7
Instructions
The type of physical geography data displayed in the Grand Canyon Microclimate
and Vegetation geovisualization are not what you will find via Google Earth. Your
avatar interacts with three types of data that you will study to understand how the
topography, surface temperature, precipitation, and vegetation abundance relate to
one another.
Consider what you see when the geovisualization starts up. We've changed the
inset map to a view that simulates an aerial photograph (actually specially
processed Landsat data). But otherwise, what you see here are data you have
access to. The tutorial questions will start with this opening scene and then guide you to come
to understand and interpret data in this geovisualization. You can take this quiz 7 times. You will need to reach 100% correct in order to
move onto the main labs. But please be aware that several of the tutorial questions
are taken from large question banks, where you will be delivered random
questions. So for most of the questions - you can learn the correct answer after the
10/9/23, 3:49 PM
Grand Canyon Microclimatology: Tutorial: GPH 112: Intro to Phys Geography Lab (2022 Fall)
https://canvas.asu.edu/courses/130801/quizzes/973599?module_item_id=9000689
2/16
Attempt History
Attempt
Time
Score
LATEST
Attempt 1
18 minutes
4.5 out Score for this attempt: 4.5
out of 4.5
Submitted Sep 28, 2022 at 1:28pm
This attempt took 18 minutes.
first taking. However, for some of them, we want to force you to actually turn on the learn about what you are seeing. Take the Quiz Again
0.5 / 0.5 pts
Question 1
QUESTION Please open up the geovisualization. What direction is the
camera looking? What direction is the avatar looking? Yes. We know you already learned this. But this question emphasizes
that the direction the topography faces is VERY important in this lab. Slopes
that face north have very different microclimates than slopes that face south.
So we want you to be very certain about how you are interpreting direction. This little graphic is intended for you to examine and think about the
direction that a slope in the Grand Canyon faces.
10/9/23, 3:49 PM
Grand Canyon Microclimatology: Tutorial: GPH 112: Intro to Phys Geography Lab (2022 Fall)
https://canvas.asu.edu/courses/130801/quizzes/973599?module_item_id=9000689
3/16
The avatar and the camera are both looking west The avatar and the camera are both looking north Correct!
Correct!
The avatar and the camera are both looking east The avatar and the camera are both looking south The avatar and the camera are both looking north
0.5 / 0.5 pts
Question 2
QUESTION: In Fast Travel enter latitude 36.2200 and longitude
-111.9558, and go to this location. Write down the elevation in meters
pixel that the avatar is standing on. What is it? You will be using "Fast Travel" a lot if you want to do the lab quickly. First - you open the menu using the arrow on the left side of the geoviz.
Second - you click on Fast Travel
Third - you enter the coordinates Fourth - click on the fast travel paper airplane icon and go
WARNING: There is a giant pool of questions and answers ... literally
hundreds of questions in the pool. We are doing this giant pool in order to
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10/9/23, 3:49 PM
Grand Canyon Microclimatology: Tutorial: GPH 112: Intro to Phys Geography Lab (2022 Fall)
https://canvas.asu.edu/courses/130801/quizzes/973599?module_item_id=9000689
4/16
encourage students to actually go through this tutorial. In our experience, we
know that students who skip the tutorial ... end up spending a lot more time
being frustrated than those who go through all of these questions. 2281 1561 1571 2489 Correct!
Correct!
0.5 / 0.5 pts
Question 3
When the geovisualization starts up,
your avatar is standing on a data
layer, NDVI. This stands for
normalized difference vegetation
index. It is best thought of as the
amount of vegetation present. In
the Grand Canyon geovisualization,
it is scaled from 0 to 1.0. The avatar
is standing on a scrubland of pinyon
and juniper dwarf conifer trees,
staring out at the desert vegetation
of the Grand Canyon. We took satellite data on reflected
near infrared (NIR) light and
reflected red light, and did simple
math. We subtracted red from NIR
in the numerator and added them in
denominator.
10/9/23, 3:49 PM
Grand Canyon Microclimatology: Tutorial: GPH 112: Intro to Phys Geography Lab (2022 Fall)
https://canvas.asu.edu/courses/130801/quizzes/973599?module_item_id=9000689
5/16
The image was from summer. If the
image was taken in winter, the oak
and other deciduous trees would
have dropped their leaves and the
NDVI would have been lower. QUESTION: In a helicopter flight over the Grand Canyon, we took a
screenshot in the area of where the game starts up. This allows you to see
the south rim vegetation and then deep into the Grand Canyon via the NDVI.
We think this helicopter scene will help you answer this question: WHEN
THE GAME STARTS UP, WHAT IS THE VEGETATION TYPE THAT THE
AVATAR IS LOOKING AT, DOWN IN THE GRAND CANYON? Hint: its a
brown color.
10/9/23, 3:49 PM
Grand Canyon Microclimatology: Tutorial: GPH 112: Intro to Phys Geography Lab (2022 Fall)
https://canvas.asu.edu/courses/130801/quizzes/973599?module_item_id=9000689
6/16
pinyon-juniper ponderosa pine desert Correct!
Correct!
boreal forest The vegetation in the Grand Canyon is certainly desert. Yes. There is
a range of vegetation plant types, but for this simple tutorial question
- let's stick with desert or desert scrub. 0.5 / 0.5 pts
Question 4
BASIC CONCEPT OF TREELINE:
The lower limit of trees in mid-
latitude settings like mountainous
terrain of the western USA is
Note that the treeline is HIGHER on
south-facing slopes (with more
sunlight) and LOWER on north-
facing slopes (with less sunlight)
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10/9/23, 3:49 PM
Grand Canyon Microclimatology: Tutorial: GPH 112: Intro to Phys Geography Lab (2022 Fall)
https://canvas.asu.edu/courses/130801/quizzes/973599?module_item_id=9000689
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typically controlled by a combination
of the amount of precipitation, the
seasonality of the precipitation, and
how hot it gets in the summer. Also
important is aspect (the direction a
slope faces). The diagram shows
how aspect influences the elevation
of lower treeline.
Note: in Hawaii, the upper treeline is
established by the paucity of rainfall
above a certain elevation. But for
the Grand Canyon, the lower rainfall
is found at lower elevaitons.
Take a good look at this screenshot from the game. Focus on the compass
ring. The outer ring is the direction the camera is facing (northeast). The
inner ring is the direction the avatar is facing ... and this is also the direction
the SLOPE of the underlying Grand Canyon rim IS FACING.
10/9/23, 3:49 PM
Grand Canyon Microclimatology: Tutorial: GPH 112: Intro to Phys Geography Lab (2022 Fall)
https://canvas.asu.edu/courses/130801/quizzes/973599?module_item_id=9000689
8/16
QUESTION: 1. What direction is the slope of the Grand Canyon facing.
2. What "rim" of the Grand Canyon is this scene from? [Hint: they are
opposite]? Where is the treeline?
Do not put down this answer. Just focus on getting straight the idea that the
direction that the slope faces will be important in interpreting treelines in this
lab.
1. The slope is facing the same as the avatar, to the north.
2. Thus, this scene is over the South Rim of the Grand Canyon.
3. The treeline is just below the South Rim of the Grand Canyon
Correct!
Correct!
In this classic diagram, notice that the north-facing lower limits of
each vegetation type are at a higher elevation facing to the south.
This is due to more sunlight exposure.
0.5 / 0.5 pts
Question 5
10/9/23, 3:49 PM
Grand Canyon Microclimatology: Tutorial: GPH 112: Intro to Phys Geography Lab (2022 Fall)
https://canvas.asu.edu/courses/130801/quizzes/973599?module_item_id=9000689
9/16
QUESTION: In Fast Travel enter latitude 36.0835 and longitude
-112.0770 and go to this location. Write down the color of the NDVI
pixel that the avatar is standing on. What is it? [Select the closest
answer, even if you think the color description is slightly off.]
You will be using "Fast Travel" a lot if you want to do the lab quickly. First - you open the menu using the arrow on the left side of the geoviz.
Second - you click on Fast Travel
Third - you enter the coordinates Fourth - click on the fast travel paper airplane icon and go
WARNING: There is a giant pool of questions and answers ... literally
hundreds of questions in the pool. We are doing this giant pool in order
to encourage students to actually go through this tutorial. In our experience,
we know that students who skip the tutorial ... end up spending a lot more
time being frustrated than those who go through all of these questions. dark red dark green white light brown Correct!
Correct!
0.5 / 0.5 pts
Question 6
BASIC CONCEPT: The sun rises in the east, is at its highest point at noon
and sets in the west. In complex topography, southeast-facing slopes will
heat up first in the morning with southwest-facing slopes heating up most in
the afternoon. On flat surfaces, the amount of solar radiation peaks at noon.
The temperature of surfaces also peaks at noon. However, the peak of air
temperature lags by several hours. The reason is that the air temperature is
a product of the emission of long-wave radiation and sensible heat from the
surface.
If you want to visualize this, here's a short video (on an ASU server and
public domain access):
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10/9/23, 3:49 PM
Grand Canyon Microclimatology: Tutorial: GPH 112: Intro to Phys Geography Lab (2022 Fall)
https://canvas.asu.edu/courses/130801/quizzes/973599?module_item_id=9000689
10/16
https://mediaplus.asu.edu/lti/embedded?id=51a5d4fb-5428-412a-b375-
52dfe43102c0&siteId=61e0606e-415d-4001-8206-
ffde48430c64&isDeepLink=true
(https://mediaplus.asu.edu/lti/embedded?
id=51a5d4fb-5428-412a-b375-52dfe43102c0&siteId=61e0606e-415d-4001-8206-
ffde48430c64&isDeepLink=true&userId=821938) or National Park Service site:
https://www.nps.gov/audiovideo/grca/2C35FFB6-155D-451F-
678201C028FFC38A/grca-YakiPtwintersunrise_480x270.mp4
(https://www.nps.gov/audiovideo/grca/2C35FFB6-155D-451F-
678201C028FFC38A/grca-YakiPtwintersunrise_480x270.mp4) This question starts with you using
the Fast Travel Menu to travel to the
North Kaibab weather station.
Remember, you have to hit
ESCAPE to change from the game
mode to getting access to the menu.
Then, you need to expand the menu
to access Fast Travel. All you need
to do is to click on North Kaibab
Station, and close the menu. Then,
hit escape to go back into game
mode. Change the scene layer to
winter temperature.
Then, move the camera around with
the mouse so that you have a view
like this one, where the camera is
looking towards the Southwest. With
this view, you are able to see the
winter 10 am temperatures. You will
see that the slopes facing one
direction are much warmer than the
slopes facing the opposite direction.
I’ve removed the compass and key
information in this view so you will
have to do this in the video game.
10/9/23, 3:49 PM
Grand Canyon Microclimatology: Tutorial: GPH 112: Intro to Phys Geography Lab (2022 Fall)
https://canvas.asu.edu/courses/130801/quizzes/973599?module_item_id=9000689
11/16
Answer 1:
Answer 2:
This graphic should resonate with
your life experience if you have lived
in the lower 48 USA states. In
winter, morning sun is in the
southeast portion of the sky for most
of the USA, and this graphic works
for the Grand Canyon.
NOW HERE IS THE KEY PIECE OF INFORMATION FOR INTERPRETING
THE SURFACE TEMPERATURE YOU ARE SEEING IN WINTER: The
Landsat thermal data was acquired at 10am in the morning. QUESTION: Select the best answer that fills in the blanks to complete this
sentence. The slopes that face to the southeast are warmer than the slopes
that are facing to the northwest in these data acquired near winter solstice at
10 am in the morning.
The reason why the slopes that FACE to the SOUTHEAST are warmer, is
because in winter the sun comes up in the morning and is
[ Select ]
. The slopes that face the northwest are
steep and at 10am, they would have received
[ Select ]
in the southeastern part of the sky Correct!
Correct!
very little insolation (solar radiation) in the morning Correct!
Correct!
0.5 / 0.5 pts
Question 7
10/9/23, 3:49 PM
Grand Canyon Microclimatology: Tutorial: GPH 112: Intro to Phys Geography Lab (2022 Fall)
https://canvas.asu.edu/courses/130801/quizzes/973599?module_item_id=9000689
12/16
A BASIC CONCEPT in Physical
Geography
: cold air is dense and it
slides down into low spots like
shallow river valleys. This happens
when there is not a lot of wind. You
can see in the adjacent image what
cold air drainage
looks like in the
game; shallow creeks on the Kaibab
Plateau of the North Rim
accumulate cold air at night and
surfaces cool down.
In winter, on a plateau with only a little topography, where would you
expect to find cold air drainage? For fun, enjoy this winter scene of cold air drainage ... in an ASU link and a
public domain link:
https://mediaplus.asu.edu/lti/embedded?
id=30d25deb-1ef0-4f3d-8b40-1ea5de5ae9e9&siteId=61e0606e-415d-
4001-8206-ffde48430c64&isDeepLink=true
(https://mediaplus.asu.edu/lti/embedded?id=30d25deb-1ef0-4f3d-8b40-
1ea5de5ae9e9&siteId=61e0606e-415d-4001-8206-
ffde48430c64&isDeepLink=true&userId=821938) or National Park Service site:
https://www.nps.gov/audiovideo/grca/F80750E1-155D-451F-
672713A304A31D33/grca-snowy-forest-1080_480x270.mp4
(https://www.nps.gov/audiovideo/grca/F80750E1-155D-451F-
672713A304A31D33/grca-snowy-forest-1080_480x270.mp4)
small hills shallow creeks Correct!
Correct!
mountain tops
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10/9/23, 3:49 PM
Grand Canyon Microclimatology: Tutorial: GPH 112: Intro to Phys Geography Lab (2022 Fall)
https://canvas.asu.edu/courses/130801/quizzes/973599?module_item_id=9000689
13/16
sides of mountains To prepare you for the question, please look at the winter temperature layer
where the game starts up.
Click on the winter map key layer. The avatar is looking down into the Grand
Canyon with a lot of greenish color in the range of 65˚F surface
temperatures. But up on the rim, its colder. Behind the avatar, the surface
temperatures are in the range of 50˚F. The avatar is standing on surface
temperatures in the range of 35˚F.
0.5 / 0.5 pts
Question 8
QUESTION: In Fast Travel enter latitude 36.3710 and longitude
-112.0856, and go to this location. Write down the color of the Winter
Temperature pixel that the avatar is standing on. What is it? [Select the
closest answer, even if you think the color description is slightly off.]
You will be using "Fast Travel" a lot if you want to do the lab quickly. First - you open the menu using the arrow on the left side of the geoviz.
Second - you click on Fast Travel
Third - you enter the coordinates Fourth - click on the fast travel paper airplane icon and go
10/9/23, 3:49 PM
Grand Canyon Microclimatology: Tutorial: GPH 112: Intro to Phys Geography Lab (2022 Fall)
https://canvas.asu.edu/courses/130801/quizzes/973599?module_item_id=9000689
14/16
WARNING: There is a giant pool of questions and answers ... literally
hundreds of questions in the pool. We are doing this giant pool in order to
encourage students to actually go through this tutorial. In our experience, we
know that students who skip the tutorial ... end up spending a lot more time
being frustrated than those who go through all of these questions. light green dark green You Answered
You Answered
dark blue orrect Answer
orrect Answer
light blue Dark blue is the best match.
To prepare you for the question, please look at the winter temperature layer
where the game starts up.
BASIC CONCEPT of HEAT
ACCUMULATORS: The relatively
flat and rocky surfaces in the middle
of the Grand Canyon accumulate a
lot of short wave solar radiation.
Then, as they heat up, they re-emit
this energy in the form of sensible
heat (that you feel), and also in the
form of longwave radiation. Also, the
air next to these hot surfaces are
heated up and will rise creating
convection of warm air from the hot
surfaces into the atmosphere
above. This is what these surfaces
look like in the game. The Tonto
Platform is a good example. Also
note the cooler region around the
10/9/23, 3:49 PM
Grand Canyon Microclimatology: Tutorial: GPH 112: Intro to Phys Geography Lab (2022 Fall)
https://canvas.asu.edu/courses/130801/quizzes/973599?module_item_id=9000689
15/16
Colorado River (light yellow color)
from the plant evapotranspiration
and river water evaporation.
If you want to visualize what these heat accumulators look like inside the
Grand Canyon, here's a video: https://mediaplus.asu.edu/lti/embedded?
id=67f28a87-73b3-45e7-8970-9aa3aecbc347&siteId=61e0606e-415d-
4001-8206-ffde48430c64&isDeepLink=true
(https://mediaplus.asu.edu/lti/embedded?id=67f28a87-73b3-45e7-8970-
9aa3aecbc347&siteId=61e0606e-415d-4001-8206-
ffde48430c64&isDeepLink=true&userId=821938) 0.5 / 0.5 pts
Question 9
QUESTION: In Fast Travel enter latitude 36.0495 and longitude
-111.7965, and go to this location. Write down the color of the Summer
Temperature pixel that the avatar is standing on. What is it? [Select the
closest answer, even if you think the color description is slightly off.]
You will be using "Fast Travel" a lot if you want to do the lab quickly. First - you open the menu using the arrow on the left side of the geoviz.
Second - you click on Fast Travel
Third - you enter the coordinates Fourth - click on the fast travel paper airplane icon and go
WARNING: There is a giant pool of questions and answers ... literally
hundreds of questions in the pool. We are doing this giant pool in order
to encourage students to actually go through this tutorial. In our experience,
we know that students who skip the tutorial ... end up spending a lot more
time being frustrated than those who go through all of these questions. dark yellow light yellow You Answered
You Answered
orange orrect Answer
orrect Answer
Your preview ends here
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10/9/23, 3:49 PM
Grand Canyon Microclimatology: Tutorial: GPH 112: Intro to Phys Geography Lab (2022 Fall)
https://canvas.asu.edu/courses/130801/quizzes/973599?module_item_id=9000689
16/16
red Orange is the best answer
Quiz Score: 4.5
out of 4.5