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Comparing Aerosols and Surface Temperature

Organization(s):St. Francis Xavier Catholic School
Country:United States of America
Student(s):Ella Knox
Grade Level:Middle School (grades 6-8, ages 11-14)
GLOBE Educator(s):Amy Woods
Contributors:Anna Willard, Lesa Bird, Mike Rupp, Michelle Shriner
Report Type(s):International Virtual Science Symposium Report, U.S. Student Research Symposia (SRS)
Protocols:Aerosols, Surface Temperature
Presentation Video: View Video
Presentation Poster: View Document
Language(s):English
Date Submitted:03/10/2020
Project Poster
Air quality has an effect on many things, possibly even surface temperature. Aerosols are a suspension of tiny particles floating in the atmosphere that can come from many sources. Certain types can scatter and absorb sunlight, affecting climate and temperature. Surface temperature is the temperature at or near a surface. The goal of this project is to better understand the relationship between aerosols and surface temperature. The independent variable is the time, the dependent variables are aerosols and surface temperature, and the controlled variables are the time of day and the method in collecting the data. Aerosol measurements were measured with a sun photometer when the sun was not cloud covered. Surface temperature was measured using an IR thermometer directly after the aerosols. The hypothesis states, if the surface temperature is warmer, then there will be higher levels of AOT, because the aerosols soak up the sun’s radiation waves and reflect it on the surface causing higher surface temperatures. The results showed that when the surface temperature was high, the amount of aerosols were lower. The data did not support the hypothesis. The revised hypothesis states if the surface temperature is warmer, then there will be higher levels of AOT, because the aerosols soak up the sun’s radiation waves and reflect it on the surface causing higher surface temperatures. This project is important to the real world because aerosols and increased surface temperature are causing many problems for humans and the environment. Keywords: aerosols, surface temperature, atmosphere


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Comments

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GLOBE Scientist (inactive)
4 Years Ago
Hi Ella,

My name is Emma Burkett – I am a graduate student at the University of New Hampshire working on my MS and PhD studying volcanoes in Alaska. My research primarily involves the use of trace elements in volcanic crystals to understand magma dynamics below active volcanoes, as well as the use of remote sensing data to better understand volcanic activity.

Great explanation of background information needed to understand your project and how you became interested in your topic. I found your explanation of your project to be clear and concise. Being able to explain how your hypothesis changed with your data results demonstrated a clear understanding of the science behind your project. I would’ve loved to see a graph with both your aerosol and surface temperature data to really highlight the correlation between the two. It would also be interesting to see which species of aerosols you were measuring to see what correlations there are between surface temperature and type of aerosols. Fantastic project and great presentation! Well done.
Congratulations on the successful completion of your project!
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GLOBE Scientist (inactive)
4 Years Ago
Hi Ella,

My name is Ruth Varner and I am a professor in Earth Science at UNH. I study the greenhouse gas methane and how much is emitted from natural and human managed sources.

I really enjoyed seeing your presentation - it was nice to hear about why you were interested in aerosols - this is a great way to grab the audeince's attention. You spoke clearly and concisely about your research. I think your hypothesis was also clear and well written. Excellent introduction to background information and your sampling approach.

It was difficult to see the information in the tables - I would suggest just showing your graphs as they are a great way to see your data displayed. Great analysis of your results and understanding why your hypothesis was not proven.

So important to know that collaboration is key to science!

Excellent job!
Ruth
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GLOBE Scientist (inactive)
4 Years Ago
Hi, Ella. I'm Lynne Hehr (https://www.globe.gov/web/lhehr/home), a GLOBE Trainer and Partner with research degrees in Geology. I have been with the GLOBE program for 25 years as a Scientist trainer and have been involved with GLOBE Student Research Symposiums since they began several years ago. After reading your abstract and watching your presentation, I was impressed with the ease of your ppt presentation. You used instrumentation and protocols appropriately and were clear in how you conducted your research. I agree with the badges you chose and think they fit your project. Aerosol and surface temperature data are important studies in atmospheric research and you are clearly interested in the research possibilities. I would suggest taking more time with your slide statements. This will allow your audience to more clearly understand your presentation. In graduate school, I had a professor who would say “more data, more better”, so I would encourage you to continue with your research and collect as much data as possible when doing any type of study. Also, in your collaboration badge statement, you mention that you shared data with a student from another school. Collaboration is a great idea for comparison of study sites, but be sure to always reference data provided by other sources in any shared research or explain how the data was used in your research. Keep up the good work!
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GLOBE Scientist (inactive)
4 Years Ago
Ella, My name is Dr. John Hehr and I am a retired professor of Geosciences at the University of Arkansas. My research iinterests center on atmospheric sciences, specifically, tree-ring analysis to build climate back through time. I thought your project was timely and well done. I am sure you are aware that one of the consequences of the current pandemic is a large reduction in tropospheric aerosols. Thus, your GLOBE project concerning aerosols and surface temperature is important and could be continued. Your methodology was appropriate for gathering and analyzing data in order to support (or not) your hypothesis. You also made excellent use of GLOBE protocols and instrumentation to gather and analyze your data. I would suggest that you more slowly give your slide presentation so that listeners can absorb and retain the major points of your research. Excellent job and I hope you continue looking at emerging problems in the atmospheric sciences.