Preview - Climate Change In The Great Lakes 2019

Ice Cover in the Great Lakes

Ice cover is another indicator and major factor that affects the Great Lakes' seasonal weather patterns. Ice cover is impacted by a number of different factors, and is especially dependent on the location of the jet stream, a band of fast moving air in the atmosphere. 

 

Questions

Please answer the questions below.

Count the number of data points above the long term average between 1980 and 2000, and the number above the long term average between 2000-2020. What do you notice?

From 1975-2020, in which years are the 5 lowest amount of ice cover?

Your friend tells you that he heard that the ice cover this year is really high. In fact, he heard on the news that it is the highest in 10 years. Given the data you see on the chart, what do you think? Why do you think ice cover is high? Do you think it will continue to stay high in the years following?

What connection(s) can you make about temperature and precipitation trends you noticed in the maps and the data snapshot model? How might these impact ice cover in the Great Lakes?

Notes

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