Student Research Reports

View Research Report

How much does elevation affect air temperature, soil temperature, and precipitation? It was predicted that the higher elevation location for the Compton GLOBE weather station would have a colder air temperature, and soil temperature with more precipitation than the GLOBE weather station set up at a lower elevation in Alpena, AR. Following GLOBE protocols, GLOBE weather stations were set up at Compton, AR elevation 2,172ft, and on the Alpena School campus, elevation 1,220ft. Each afternoon, the researcher collected the maximum and minimum air and soil temperatures and precipitation levels at both locations for 37 consecutive days. The average maximum air temperature for Compton was 9.22°C. The average minimum air temperature for Compton was 1.02°C. The average maximum air temperature for Alpena was 9.74°C. The average minimum air temperature for Alpena was 4.39°C. The average maximum soil temperature for Compton was 6.41°C. The average minimum soil temperature for Compton was 5.32°C. The average maximum soil temperature for Alpena was 11.19°C. The average minimum soil temperature for Alpena was 2.52°C. The total rainfall for Compton was 26mm. The total snowfall for Compton was 54.6mm. The total rainfall for Alpena was 20mm. The total snowfall for Alpena was 53.8mm. The GLOBE weather station at Compton averaged -0.52˚C for maximum air temperature and -3.37˚C for minimum air temperature along with +6mm in rainfall and +1.6mm snowfall. The GLOBE weather station at Compton averaged -4.78˚C for maximum soil temperature and +2.8˚C for minimum soil temperature. The hypothesis supported the data except for minimum soil temperature.