Seasons through GLOBE visualization

We are globe team of Rugvica Elementary School from Croatia. We joined the GLOBE program in 2017 and since then we have regularly carried out measurements from all areas, implemented various projects and participated in various campaigns of the GLOBE program. Rugvica is a municipality in the immediate vicinity of the Croatian capital, located along the Sava River.

We decided to do this research because we wanted to explore how the air temperature in the Elementary School Rugvica differs from the air temperature in other schools that they are located in different geographical regions.

INTRODUCTION

• The aim of this study was to investigate how the level of insolation varies depending on latitude and that geographical width determines the air temperature by analyzing the days of the onset of seasons.
• The goal is to compare air temperature of various latitudes and discover how air temperature varies between different geographic altitudes.
• We noticed that the temperature on the first day of the season is always lower at greater latitudes.

The air temperature depends on the season, part of the day and meteorological conditions. Air temperature is the degree of heat in the lowest layer of the atmosphere. It is measured with a thermometer, and the measured value is read in degrees Celsius (°C). The air temperature depends largely on the Sun. The sun's rays pass through the atmosphere and heat the Earth's surface, which absorbs but also rejects some of the sun's energy

In different parts of the world, annual air temperature gaits are different. In the equatorial belt, there are no big differences in temperature between individual months which we have shown in our data. In very high latitudes on land, winter temperatures are extremely low, so the annual amplitude of air temperature is very large which we have also explored in our data. Differences can also exist at approximately the same latitude, if one station is influenced by land, and the other under the influence of the sea which we will confirm at the two stations of Opunake in New Zealand and at our measuring station in Rugvica.

For the research, we used GLOBE data on air temperature on four seasons start dates. (23.09., 21.06., 21.03., 21.12.). The measurements were carried out by students of the Rugvica Elementary School at the atmospheric station located in the school yard. We compared air temperature data at the locations of five schools at different latitudes. The schools are on the world map located in the northern temperate belt, the blazing belt and the southern temperate belt.

Map 2. Display of selected locations on the geographical map, presentation of latitudes, longitudes and altitudes for selected locations

DATA DISPLAY AND ANALYSIS

The data we have at our disposal are obtained from globe visualization. From the data (Tables 1 and 2) it can be concluded that the average daily air temperatures in schools located in the northern and southern hemispheres and that are farther from the equator are lower than the air temperatures in school locations that are closer to the equator. The reason is the angle of intrusion of the Sun's rays that is smaller. Between the tropics, the sun's rays fall almost vertically, so the greatest warming is precisely in this space.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS

• The lowest air temperature at the measuring station at the highest latitude in Innoko River School was recorded on 4 dates out of 8 selected (Tables 1 and 2), which only partially confirms our hypothesis.
• There is a large difference in air temperatures between the measuring stations of Rugvica Elementary School and Opunaka High School in New Zealand although both are located in temperate zones (Tables 1 and 2).
• The highest air temperatures were recorded at the measuring station The Secondary Girls School at Jazan in Saudi Arabia located in the tropical belt (Table 1 and 2, Map 2). Also at that station (station 4th, Map 2, Table 1 and 2) on 21.06. in both observed years, the highest temperatures of the 5 observed stations were recorded, this confirming our hypothesis.
• The hypothesis that the average daily air temperature is lower at higher latitudes has been confirmed in part because air temperature is also affected by the station's altitude.
• The smallest difference in the season between daily air temperatures is in schools in Texas and Saudi Arabia.
• By moving away from the equator to the southern hemisphere, there is no significant difference in seasonal temperatures, which is evident in the example of the Opunake High School located in New Zealand. The hypothesis that seasonal differences are greater moving away from the equator has not been confirmed.
• The farther the location of the school from the equator will have the greater seasonal changes we see in the example of Innoko river school. The least seasonal differences were the two schools Santa Fe Jr. High Schhol and The 2nd Secondary Girls School at Jazan because they are located near the equator or in the tropical belt.