1. Atmosphere Protocols and the Great Global Climate Investigation http://globe.gov/science/projects/ggic Marcy Seavey Program Director, Iowa Academy of Science

2. The Great Global Climate Investigation Aim: To involve students in short- term and long-term scientific studies focused on the relationship of temperature and precipitation with climate near their school and in comparisons with schools across the globe as a contribution to scientific research. Present and Review procedures for data collection Discuss classroom implementation ideas Collect feedback from participants

3. Part II Precipitation Protocols

4. Provide a denser network of observations than is available using only official weather stations Provide finer resolution data crucial for investigating localized variations Augment data needed for regional forecasts and climate records © National Center for Atmospheric Research Why do GLOBE scientists research precipitation?

5. Precipitation Measurements Liquid: Amount of rain pH of rain Solid: Amount of new snow Total depth of snow pack pH of new snow and snow pack Water equivalent of new snow and snow pack Ideally daily but allowed to report accumulation for up to 7 days. © National Center for Atmospheric Research

6. Science Content: Rainfall Depth

7. Instruments: The Rain Gauge The units are mm, but it looks like cm. Why? The cross-sectional of measuring tube is 1/10 the cross- sectional area of the outer tube. So, 10 mm of rain falling into the outer tube looks like it fills the measuring tube 10 cm high. Measurement is 10 mm!

8. Collecting Data: Protocol Measuring Rainfall Amount Read bottom of the meniscus Estimate to the nearest 0.1 mm 0 = None, T= Trace, M=Missing

9. Collecting Data: Protocol Solid Precipitation Total snowfall depth Use measuring stick in three different locations Total new snow depth Use measuring stick in three different locations on snow board

10. Looking at the Data

11. When to Collect Air Temperature and Precipitation Data Frequency Finding Solar Noon Universal Time

12. Frequency Atmosphere Protocols are collected daily. Intensive Observation Periods (IOPs) for the Great Global Investigation of Climate – select one or all of the IOP months. Special Note: If you are using a U-tube or single day digital thermometer and not collecting data over the weekends, you will reset the max/min on Mondays but NOT record max/min

13. Finding Solar Noon Solar noon is the time during the day when the sun appears to have reached its highest point in the sky. Solar noon always occurs half-way between local sunrise and sunset. To calculate your local solar noon –find a newspaper from a nearby town that gives the times of sunrise and sunset –convert all your times to 24-hour clock times by adding 12 to any PM times –calculate the average of the sunrise and sunset times. The result is the time of your local solar noon. Re-check your solar noon after time changes!

14. Universal Time Universal Time or UT is the precise measure of time used as the basis for all civil time-keeping. Although their exact definitions differ, most readers can assume that Universal Time is equivalent to Greenwich Mean Time or GMT. We use UT so that all GLOBE data is collected based on the same time reference. Begin by converting local time to a 24 hour clock, then: Time ZoneLocal to UT during Standard Time (winter) Local to UT during Daylight Savings (summer) AtlanticLocal + 4hr = UTLocal + 3hr = UT EasternLocal + 5hr = UTLocal + 4hr = UT CentralLocal + 6hr = UTLocal + 5hr = UT MountainLocal + 7hr = UTLocal + 6hr = UT PacificLocal + 8hr = UTLocal + 7hr = UT

15. Universal Time Universal Time Information and Converter: http://classic.globe.gov/arc/faq/view.cgi?convert-ut 〈 =en http://classic.globe.gov/arc/faq/view.cgi?convert-ut 〈 =en Or Set your GPS Unit time to Universal Time and use it as your data collection clock. Or The GLOBE Data Entry Pages include current UT time as a reference. Record in local time (allowed on all data sheets) and then complete the UT conversion later. Or Use a 2 clock ‘ap’ so that the local and UT time are always on screen.