Category Archives: Earth System Science

Regional Climate Change — Iowa Dewpoints and Chicago Heat Waves

I am writing today about the north part of Midwest United States, what is today the so-called Corn Belt. A few weeks ago, GLOBE students in Ushuaia, Argentina and Fairbanks and Healy, Alaska, USA, gave examples of changes in the … Continue reading

Posted in Air Temperature, Atmosphere, Climate Change, Earth System Science, Land Cover | 1 Comment

A final word about Local Climate

Before we leave human effects on “local” climate, I wanted to share a few more examples to show how we can change our local climate. I’ve written some about how land use affects temperature in cities; I’ve also mentioned in … Continue reading

Posted in Atmosphere, Climate, Earth System Science, Hydrology, Land Cover | 5 Comments

Local Climate Part 4. Human Metabolism — What is that?

Human metabolism isn’t the largest term in Figure 4 in the last blog, but you probably don’t think that you are a source of warming! David Sailor, of the Portland State University in Oregon, uses the number of calories we … Continue reading

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More about how people heat up cities

This is the third installment of a series on local climate. To understand how people’s activities heat up a city, scientists use information on traffic, the energy used by homes, factories, and businesses, and where people live. For example, Figure … Continue reading

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Why Cities are Warmer than the Countryside

(This continues from the previous posting, which compares surface temperatures at two cities to the surrounding areas.) 2. Why are cities warmer than their surroundings? First, cities have much more concrete,asphalt and other man-made materials. When sunlight hits these surfaces, … Continue reading

Posted in Air Temperature, Atmosphere, Climate, Earth System Science, Land Cover | 1 Comment