The Bull Shoals Field Station

Weather Station III: Group Assignment:

Each group will examine a different month’s worth of weather parameter graphs. The groups will prepare a summary report on the month’s weather to be presented to the entire class. Each group will investigate the following questions for their assigned month:

          1. Can solar radiation data be used to predict when precipitation
              occurred? Explain.

          2. Does precipitation always result in a rise in soil moisture? Explain why
              or why not.

          3. a. What combination of weather data maps could be used to infer if
                  precipitation was in a liquid or solid form?

              b. Was the precipitation in your month in a solid or liquid form? How
                  certain are you of your conclusion? Explain.

        4. a. When the air temperature map indicates that a warmer or cooler air
                 mass moved over the weather monitoring site, what other weather
                 variable graphs might offer more information about the air mass?

             b. Describe the differences in two air masses that were over the
                 weather station during your month.

        5. a. How constant was fuel moisture during your month?

             b. What factors contribute to variation in fuel moisture?

        6. Why does relative humidity show such wide variations on a daily basis?

        7. a. What is the relationship between air temperature and soil
                temperature?

           b. What other variables might contribute to the rate at which temperature
               changes in the soil?

        8. Compare the soil temperature at a 5 cm depth and a 20 cm depth. Why
            might these readings be different?

        9. a. What is the relationship between the vegetation temperature and wind
                 speed?

            b. What other variables might influence the vegetation temperature?

       10. What other relationships did your group notice about your month’s
             data?

Back to Lesson Plan

Using Biological Field Station Weather Data for Teaching about Data Analysis and Interpretation

Developed by Dr. Gigi Saunders, Biology Department, Missouri State University