Student Research Reports
Large Bodies of Water Affecting Temperature Patterns
Organization(s):Ottawa Hills Jr/Sr High School
Country:United States of America
Student(s):Owen Christen
Grade Level:Secondary School (grades 9-12, ages 14-18)
GLOBE Member(s):, Gloria Kreischer Gajewicz
Contributors:
Report Type(s):Virtual Science Symposium Report
Protocols:Air Temperature, Water Temperature, Earth As a System
Presentation Poster:
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Language(s):English
Date Submitted:2026-02-02
How does distance from a large body of water affect an area's air temperature patterns?
As global warming continues to intensify it is important for scientists to recognize temperature patterns and know where certain organisms thrive. Large bodies of water absorb heat from the air during the day and release it at night. My hypothesis is that if an area is closer to a large body of water then the area's temperature will change much more over the course of a day than an area further away because the water will absorb heat during the day and release it at night. First, locations were mapped out in different proximity to Lake Erie, Maumee Bay State Park on the shore of the Lake (0 mi), Curtice, OH at 5 miles from the shore, Woodland Forest, OH at 10 mi, Luckey, OH at 15 mi, New Rochester, OH at 20 mi and lastly, Cygnet OH, at 30 miles from shore. At each location a temperature reading was taken 3 times per day, once between 7 and 8 AM, once between 12 and 1 PM and once between 7 and 8 PM. 2 trials of this experiment were conducted and the data was averaged together into one data set. to compare the different location temperature patterns to each other. My hypothesis was not supported by my data because there was no significant difference between the area's distance from Lake Erie and temperature changes throughout the day.