Lab 6 Precipitation
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School
CUNY College of Staten Island *
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Course
111
Subject
Information Systems
Date
Dec 6, 2023
Type
docx
Pages
7
Uploaded by HighnessMorning12743
ESC 111 Lab 6 Precipitation
Introduction
In this lab, you will learn how precipitation has changed in the Staten Island area over
time. This is a climatological data set as it extends from 1961 to the present, meaning
that we are not looking at weather in this lab assignment. Remember that climate data
sets typically extend at least 30 years, while weather is the state of the atmosphere at
any given time. Although we have not covered climate change yet in our lecture class,
the material covered compliments the material discussed at the end of Unit 4. In this lab
we will look at the average precipitation for each month, observe how the annual
precipitation has changed over time, and compare the precipitation of each month
between two different sets of 30 years.
Where do we Get This Data
This data was obtained through NOWData - NOAA Online Weather Data for the Newark
Area (
https://www.weather.gov/wrh/climate
). This is a national data set and the data for
Newark was obtained by clicking on the New York City area, then clicking Newark Area.
This website has a lot of information that can be used for climate analysis throughout
the United States, if you are interested in this type of work. Airports are commonly used
for measuring meteorological phenomena because it is important for takeoff and
landings for aircraft. Because of their long-term observations of atmospheric
phenomena they are invaluable data sets for climate analysis.
For convenience this data set can be found on blackboard under lab data sets title
precipitation data.
How Do I Get the Data into Excel?
Now that you have downloaded your text file, we can import it into Microsoft Excel so
you can begin to analyze it. To do this you will go to the data tab at the top of the page
as shown in the image below:
1.
In the data tab click the icon that says "From Text / CSV".
2.
Find the file that you just downloaded.
3.
Once you find this file click it and select Import.
4.
You should have a pop-up that looks something like this:
5.
Once this appears click Load.
6.
After you click load the data should automatically load into the spreadsheet and
look something like this:
All values in this table with the exception of the years is in inches
Calculating and Plotting the Annual Precipitation
In the data file you imported, we need to make a column called annual. This value is the
sum of all of the monthly precipitation values for that year. We learned about functions
for this in Lab 4 if you need a refresher. Once you put in the appropriate formula all of
the values should pop up automatically, just like in Lab 4.
Now that you have calculated the annual precipitation for each year, we want to make a
scatter plot to visualize how precipitation totals have changed from 1961 to 2021. We
learned how to make a scatter plot in Lab 5, so refer to it if you need a refresher. Once
you have plotted your
years on the x-axis
and your
annual precipitation on the y-
axis
, your graph will look something similar to this after labeling and formatting your
axes:
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Calculating Averages: Monthly, 1961 to 1991, and 1992 and 2021
Now that you have created a scatter plot for the annual precipitation for the entire data
set, I want you to make a new sheet at the bottom of the page. Once done, I want you
to label your table the same as I have shown below:
We now want to calculate the average precipitation for each month in the data set. This
will be in your third row as shown in the image above. The reason why average is in the
middle of this table and not first is because below makes your graphs look prettier when
you are plotting them.
1.
Begin by initiating the function for average in your January column.
2.
Select all of the values in the month of January.
3.
Hit enter or return on your keyboard.
4.
Click on the cell for your average precipitation in January.
5.
A green border should be around this cell now. In the bottom right corner of this
cell should be a small green box. Click that box, hold, and drag it all the way to
the December column.
6.
You should now have all of the values for the average precipitation for each
month appear.
So far you're doing great! Now I want you to calculate the average from the months of
1961 to 1991. This will give you the average between this period of time we can use to
compare to our monthly average.
Follow the same steps above, but only for the
years 1961 to 1991
.
Awesome, you're almost done with the hard stuff! Now I want you to calculate the
average from the months of 1992 to 2021. This will give you the average between this
period of time we can use to compare to our monthly average.
Follow the same steps
above, but only for the years 1992 to 2021
.
In the column for total I now want you to take the sum of all the values in the month for
the 3 time periods in this new table.
1.
Initiate the sum function
2.
Select all he values in that time period
3.
Hit enter or return on your keyboard.
Comparing Precipitation during Different Periods of Time
Making these bar graphs is going to be incredibly EASY! to make the bar graph for the
monthly precipitation comparisons for 1961 to 1991, the average, and 1992 to 2021 I
want you to:
1.
Select the values from cell A1 to M4
2.
Click on insert at the top of the screen
3.
Click on insert Column or Bar Chart
4.
Click on the first option
After following these four steps and formatting the axis, along with providing the
necessary elements all graphs need, your graph should look something similar to this:
To create the bar graph for the totals for these three different time periods:
1.
Select the values in total for the three time periods
2.
Click on insert at the top of the screen
3.
Click on insert Column or Bar Chart
4.
Click on the first option
5.
You're going to notice the values in your x axis don't make any sense. To fix this
end chart design click on select data:
a.
Click edit under horizontal category axis labels
b.
Select cells A2 to A4
c.
Hit enter or turn on your keyboard, then ok.
After following these steps and formatting the axis, along with providing the necessary
elements all graphs need, your graph should look something similar to this:
Now that you are done with a data analysis aspect of this lab I want you to consider
several things that will help you with your lab report:
●
Are we experiencing more precipitation now than when we did in the past?
○
If yes, by how much? If not, by how much?
●
Based on your graphs:
○
Which month has the most precipitation?
○
Which month has the least precipitation?
○
In your opinion, is there a bias in this data set?
If you are unsure about any of this information, feel free to reach out to your instructor to
discuss this.
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Lab Report
Write up your findings about the changes in temperature and dewpoint in the
atmosphere in a lab report, following this format:
Title
●
Brief, but descriptive.
Introduction
●
What was the topic of this lab?
●
What was the purpose? Focus on the purpose of the work you did and what it
accomplished, not the learning experience.
Methods
●
In this section, you should describe what you did, but do NOT include the actual
data or results. Where did you obtain the data? What information (describe, not
the actual data) did you record (the graphs)? What observations did you make?
●
Results
●
Write a short paragraph describing the variations in precipitation from 1961 to
2021. This should be 3 sentences minimum to 5 sentences max.
●
Write a short paragraph describing how precipitation changes throughout the
year during the three time periods you are presenting. This should be 3
sentences minimum to 5 sentences max. Include the graphs, and
refer to them
in your report
.
Discussion
●
Right one paragraph describing how precipitation has changed from 1961 to the
present and what that means for infrastructure, the environment, Etc. You do not
need to tackle all of these, but I want you to think critically about these results.
●
Paste on your results do you think that areas are experiencing flooding more
frequently or less frequently?
Refer to the graph and table in your discussion
.
Conclusions
●
Brief summary of your findings.
Include with report:
●
Scatter plot for annual precipitation
●
Bar graph on monthly precipitation comparison
●
Bar graph comparing precipitation for different time ranges
All materials for the lab report MUST be submitted as a single pdf
file.