Lesson 6 Climatographs
Climatographs
Climatographs are extremely useful tools when looking at and comparing climates.
D6.13 Comparing Edmonton and Calgary Climates
Climatographs are graphs with both a line and a bar graph included. The line graph shows the average monthly temperature of the location being looked at, and the bar graph shows the average monthly precipitation. Being able to see both of these values on one graph gives the scientist looking at the graph a clear picture of that place’s climate. Scientists can quickly see patterns within the climate being shown and can make some quick predictions, such as the biome the place is located in. Scientists can also use climatographs to compare the climates of different locations by using the same scale for precipitation and temperature for each climatograph. It is then easy to see the similarities and differences between the climates of those locations.
In the next section, we will take everything we have learned about how climates are formed and apply it to climate change, both natural and caused by human activity.
In the next section, we will take everything we have learned about how climates are formed and apply it to climate change, both natural and caused by human activity.
Problem-Solving Activity
Which biome is it?
In this activity, you are going to take the information you have learned about creating and reading a climatograph to determine the biome of a mystery area. You will need to either use your computer to make a climatograph of the data given or draw one by hand. You will then analyze the graphs and data provided to determine the biome the climatograph represents. Here is the data for the mystery biome:
Click the procedure tab to continue.
| Month | Jan. | Feb. | Mar. | Apr. | May | June | July | Aug. | Sept. | Oct. | Nov. | Dec. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Precipitation (mm)
|
5 | 10 | 15 | 11 | 11 | 9 | 18 | 22 | 22 | 22 | 22 | 10 |
| Temperature (°C)
|
–22.2 | –22.8 | –21.1 | –14.4 | –3.9 | 1.7 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 1.1 | –3.9 | –10.0 | –17.2 |
Click the procedure tab to continue.
- Using the Background Information to create a climatograph. Use the title “Mystery Biome” instead of a town name and latitude.
- Study the data and the climatograph. Consider the following questions:
- What are the trends you see?
- Are there distinct seasons?
- Is there a large variation in temperature?
- Does this biome receive lots or very little precipitation?
- What are the warmest months? What are the coolest months?
- You may want to review the different biomes found on Lesson 3: Earth’s Biomes and textbook pages 394 to 399.
- Click the analysis tab to complete the analysis questions.
- Is this mystery biome in the Northern or Southern Hemisphere? How do you know?This biome is in the Northern Hemisphere because summer occurs during July and August, while winter occurs in December and January.
- Is this a warm or cold biome?This is a cold biome, as summer temperatures do not go above 5 ËšC.
- Is this a wet or dry biome?This is a relatively dry biome.
- What biome do you think this is? Why? Provide at least two pieces of evidence for your choice.Use this answer in Assignment D2.