Diurnal Temperature Lab Exercise

This exercise investigates the variability of the diurnal cycle in temperature across the western U.S. You are expected to work in the assigned teams in order to facilitate discussion and also because some of you won't be familiar with how to access MesoWest graphics available online.

The assignment is due September 13. One assignment should be turned in from each group. Class time will be available on September 11 to work on the assignment. Alex Reinecke will be available during that class period to answer questions about the graphics.

Look at all of the maps included on this web page before answering the questions. These maps can be interpreted as the diurnal range in temperature (maximum - minimum temperature).

You are also expected to figure out which stations exhibit interesting diurnal characteristics and discuss those characteristics (it is not enough to simply say the diurnal temperature range is low near the coast- give specific examples). This will require some detective work. The simplest way to determine a particular station is to identify a local geographic reference point and then search for MesoWest stations in the vicinity of that reference location. Then, use the time series option available in MesoWest for past data to look at 3 week samples of the data for a particular station. From those 3 week samples you should be able to (1) verify the maps of the diurnal range in temperature and (2) evaluate what might be controlling the amplitude of the diurnal cycle at that station (e.g., location, elevation, cloud cover).

Be aware that there are some sampling issues at many locations (i.e., relatively small sample sizes could yield flaky results). So, don't focus on outliers- look for consistent patterns that can be explained physically.