Water_Atm_Activity (1)

Lab Activity: Water and the Atmosphere For this activity we will be investigating some of the sources of data that the National Weather Service (NWS) uses to study and predict weather and climate. (the NWS is part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, NOAA). For Part 1 of this exercise, we will be looking at NWS Weather Station data, and for Part 2, satellite data that is used for weather and climate investigations. 1. Weather Station Data The NWS has a network of weather stations that record atmospheric and weather data at regular intervals and electronically communicate them to local and national weather agencies. These include the automated weather observing system (AWOS) and the automated surface observing system (ASOS) which are operated by federal and local agencies and provide information to both the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the NWS ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automated_airport_weather_station ). The network also includes stations in the Citizen Weather Observer Program (CWOP) comprised of privately owned electronic weather stations in the US as well as other countries ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citizen_Weather_Observer_Program ). For this exercise, we will be looking at data from these stations and interpreting it with concepts you have learned about water in the atmosphere. The link below will bring up weather data for the DW1231 station in Fairview TX for the week of October 19 – 26: https://www.weather.gov/wrh/timeseries?site=D1231&hours=168&units=english&chart=on&headers=on &obs=tabular&hourly=false&pview=full&history=yes&start=20231019&end=20231026 Run your cursor over the graphs – which will display synchronous data for temperature, dewpoint, and humidity (figure 1). You can also display data for other observations for this site by clicking the “Select Graph” option. And if you scroll down this page, you can see a table with the data displayed. Figure 1. Navigating graphed data for weather station.

Snapshots of graphs for DW1231 for October 19 - 26 can be seen in Figure 2 below. Figure 2. Snapshots of DW1231 for October 19 - 26. Top Graph: Temperature, Dew Point, and Relative Humidity, Middle: Solar Radiation, and Bottom 24 hr. Precipitation. (first precipitation began 10/23, 9:53 PM. These are graphs that can be access from the link: https://www.weather.gov/wrh/timeseries?site= D1231&hours=168&units=english&chart=on& headers=on&obs=tabular&hourly=false&pvie w=full&history=yes&start=20231019&end=20 231026

2. Satellite monitoring of Weather Data. Satellites are increasingly being used to study weather and climate data. This exercise will focus on 2 types of satellites: The Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites (GOES series), operated by NOAA with 5 currently operating satellites, and the AQUA Satellite operated by NASA. One major difference between these satellites is that one is geostationary (GOES Series) and the other is polar orbiting (AQUA). The following video describes this difference: NOAA Satellites: https://youtu.be/oeCixBGQVMI?si=BBycZtidXRh0Im6a Note: NOAA Polar Orbiting satellites orbit at about 540 miles above the earth while AQUA orbits at 438 miles. Both orbit the earth about 14 times a day (an overview of the path that AQUA takes while orbiting the earth can be seen here: https://youtu.be/d4QLDlAumOc?si=JZ2RUvSMCJTLa - xW ) GOES Satellite Information Information about a recently launched GOES Satellite can be found here: https://www.nesdis.noaa.gov/news/goes - 101 AQUA Satellite Information An overview of the AQUA Satellite project can be found here: https://youtu.be/unlfchZaRo0?si=5XCA7ZgNsmuWLm9g Question 2.1. In this course you are learning that weather refers to short term atmospheric conditions while climate is the weather of a specific region averaged over a long period of time. Which of these satellite platforms do you think is better suited to studying weather? Which is better suited to studying climate? Explain your reasoning (1 paragraph. Note: There is no single answer to this question, and you won’t find information for it in the student reading for this assignment or the textbook. Use the resources provided here and use your best reasoning. I am interested in your thought process here. (1 paragraph) NASA is currently operating several satellites to monitor climate and weather data, and information about these satellites, as well as (near) real time data collected by them can be viewed at the NASA “Eyes on the Earth” website. You will use this data source for the next questions. • Go to the NASA “Eyes on the Earth” website: https://eyes.nasa.gov/apps/earth/ . An image of the visible earth with various NASA satellites should appear. I encourage you to explore this site. • Click on the “Missions” option in the upper right portion of the page (or under the menu at the top right) (See figure 3) and select the “AQUA” mission. (I encourage you to look at the “compare size” tool here. Also, if you click the date at the bottom of the screen, it gives you the option of seeing where this satellite is located in real time). Question 2.2. Open the information panel for the Aqua satellite (see figure 4). What are the 5 “A - Train” instruments on this satellite platform? Question 2.3. Select the “Vital Signs” option from the upper right portion of the page or under the menu. Choose one of the datasets collected by an AQUA instrument and write a brief description of the dataset and its importance in understanding weather and climate (1 paragraph).

Figure 3. Navigating NASA “Eyes on the Earth” Tool