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1. This website covers the climate effects of ENSO on Colorado: http://climate.c

ID: 288918 • Letter: 1

Question

1.

This website covers the climate effects of ENSO on Colorado: http://climate.colostate.edu/co_enso.html. Click on 'What do El Nino and La Nina mean for CO?' (third point on the main headers) On the left hand side of the page, hover over each orange link to explore the El Nino and La Nina effects on US temperature and precipitation in Nov-Mar and May-Sep (there are 8 figures in total).

From the graphs for temperature, one can conclude that during winter (Nov-Mar), El Nino conditions lead to _____ temperature anomalies in eastern Colorado and La Nina conditions lead to ______ temperature anomalies in eastern Colorado.

warmer; colder

warmer; warmer

colder; warmer

colder; colder

2.  

This website covers the climate effects of ENSO on Colorado: http://climate.colostate.edu/co_enso.html. Click on 'What do El Nino and La Nina mean for CO?' (third point on the main headers) On the left hand side of the page, hover over each orange link to explore the El Nino and La Nina effects on US temperature and precipitation in Nov-Mar and May-Sep (there are 8 figures in total).

From the graphs for precipitation, one can conclude that average winter-time (Nov-Mar) precipitation in Colorado is not affected by either El Nino or La Nina.

3.

This website covers the climate effects of ENSO on Colorado: http://climate.colostate.edu/co_enso.html. Click on 'What do El Nino and La Nina mean for CO?' (third point on the main headers) On the left hand side of the page, hover over each orange link to explore the El Nino and La Nina effects on US temperature and precipitation in Nov-Mar and May-Sep (there are 8 figures in total).

From the figures for precipitation, one can conclude that summer-time (May-Sep) precipitation in eastern Colorado is _____ than average during _____.

lower; El Nino

higher; El Nino

higher; La Nina

lower; La Nina

4.

We looked at data from this website in class: https://www.esrl.noaa.gov/gmd/dv/iadv/ In the drop-down list for sampling location, find "[NWR] United States, Niwot Ridge, Colorado". On the right-hand side of the page, click on 'Carbon Cycle Gases' and then 'Seasonal Patterns'. From this figure the maximum in the seasonal cycle at Niwot Ridge is seen in the month of ______ because of the build-up of atmospheric CO2 from respiration.

January

April

August

November

5.  

We looked at data from this website in class: https://www.esrl.noaa.gov/gmd/dv/iadv/ In the drop-down list for sampling location, find "[NWR] United States, Niwot Ridge, Colorado". On the right-hand side of the page, click on 'Carbon Cycle Gases' and then 'Seasonal Patterns'. From this figure the minimum in the seasonal cycle at Niwot Ridge is seen in the month of ______ because of the drawdown of atmospheric CO2 from photosynthesis.

April

June

August

October

A

warmer; colder

B

warmer; warmer

C

colder; warmer

D

colder; colder

Explanation / Answer

1).

C -- COLDER , WARMER

For Colorado, you may notice that the strongest signal shows up in wintertime temperature anomalies during an El Niño, when the entire state is likely to experience overall below average temperatures. During a La Niña, the eastern plains are more likely to see above average temperatures in the winter and summer.

2).

B - FALSE

When looking at precipitation, there's even more uncertainty! The most dominant signal shows up during La Niña summers. At that time, much of Colorado has tended to experience slightly below average precipitation

3).

D - LOWER, LA NINA

When looking at precipitation, there's even more uncertainty! The most dominant signal shows up during La Niña summers. At that time, much of Colorado has tended to experience slightly below average precipitation

4).

B - APRIL

5).

C - AUGUST