Introduction:

  Through the course of the 2002 GLOBE Teachers Workshop we became interested in the phenomenon of different temperatures on the same latitude at the same time of year.  For the purposes of this project, we will to compare six schools (three from the east coast, three from the west coast, of the USA) on the same latitudes.  The following research project will be written from the perspective of a fourth or fifth grader, for teachers to use as an example in the classroom.

Figure 1

The above map shows the average temperatures across the United States of America on February 1, 2001.
 
 

Hypothesis:

  After noticing that Oregon, USA and Maine, USA seem to have very different temperatures during the winter, we wanted to know if the two areas are really different temperatures.  Our hypothesis is that on the same latitude the coastal temperatures will be the same.  This question is important because if coastal latitudes prove to be different temperatures, the two areas cannot be used in the same way, the temperatures might effect the population, etc.

Methodology:

  First we found the average temperatures for the months of January and February for 2 schools on the same latitude in northern coastal USA, mid coastal USA, and southern coastal USA.  We chose to look at data from winter because the difference in temperature seemed to be the greatest..  We decided to choose 6 schools because we wanted to see if the difference in temperature happened all along the USA coast.  The data was collected from the GLOBE Program and made into graphs comparing each set of schools.  From the data below,  we concluded the following.

Data:

Figure 2

The above graph is a comparison of mean temperatures for the months of January and February, 2001 for two schools located in the Northern Coastal United States.  The Taft Elementary school is located at 44.9290°N, -124.0118°W.  The Hartland Consolidated School is located at 44.8817°N, -69.4458°W.

Figure 3

The above graph is a comparison of mean temperatures for the months of January and February, 2001 for two schools located in the Mid Coastal United States.  The Dunbar School is located at 38.3558°N, -122.5380°W.  The Bowie High School is located at 38.9595°N, -76.7377°W.

Figure 4

The above graph is a comparison of mean temperatures for the months of January and February, 2001 for two schools located in the Southern Coastal United States.  The Calahan Street School is located at 34.2333°N, -118.5333°W.  The Hoke County High School is located at 34.9792°N, -79.2511°W.
 
 

Conclusion:

    The two schools in the north, Taft Elementary School and Hartland Consolidated School, are on almost the same latitude.  The two schools in the mid-coastal states, Dunbar School and Bowie High School, are also almost on the same latitude.  Last the two schools in the south, Calahan Street School and Hoke County High School, are on almost the same latitude.

    The graphs above show that in the north the average temperature is higher in the west than in the east; in the middle of the coasts the average temperature is higher in the west than in the east; and in the south the average temperature is higher in the west than in the east.  Overall, the mean temperature on the west coast is higher than on the east coast during January and February, even on the same latitudes.

   There may be several reasons for this difference.  

Further Research Needed:

Direction and effects of wind current need to be investigated.

Water current may have an affect on the difference.

Elevation may play a role.

Mountainous protection may cause the different temperatures.

Population already present my have an affect.

The amount of open space in each area may play a role in the different temperatures.

Soil type.

Notes:

A strict analysis of the data was not conducted due to time constraints.  The data was looked at and a visual average was used.