Energy in the Earth System Surface Temperature measurements

International Polar Year IPY is large scientific programme focused on the Arctic and the Antarctic from March 2007 to March 2009

Snow cover, Feb & May Northern Hemisphere land areas

Surface Temperature study How does surface temperature compares between locations? how does it changes over time? how does it changes for different cover types?

Surface Temperature campaign From the end of November through December Schools will observe surface temperature with snow on the ground while other schools will not have snow on the ground. Students will have the opportunity to compare the temperatures observed for locations with snow and locations without snow.

Why is snow cover important? Snow cover is an important factor affecting Earth's weather and climate system. Snow reflects sunlight back to space and it insulates the atmosphere from the ground. Northern Hemisphere snow extent has decreased at a rate of about 4% per decade

How to measure surface temp. Choose two surfaces to measure every day.

Data # Date and Time (Universal Time) # Location # Surface Temperature (9 readings) # Average Surface Temperature # Snow Depth (9 measurements) # Cloud Cover (as a percentage) # Types of Clouds Observed # Site Cover (Grass, Concrete, etc.) # Site Size (length & width) # Site Moisture (wet/dry) # Comments (qualitative data)