3/23/2008
*Ok, let’s start with a polar science riddle to solve. * Everyone learns (when they are very young) that you expect to see snow at the tops of mountains and at the far northern and southern ends of the Earth. In my 9th grade class I teach that snowfall generally increases with latitude and altitude and our school is actually closer to the equator than it is to the poles.
Today’s question is:** Can you explain the following data which shows latitude and annual average snowfall amounts for 6 locations? All of the cities are less than 1000 feet above sea level, except for the South Polar Station. So, how can you explain the fact that Syracuse, NY gets the most snow? Go to the ASK THE TEAM **section of my journal and write to me with your explanation.
Data: Location Latitude Annual Snowfall in inches** South Pole, Antarctica 90 S less than 10 inches McMurdo Base, Antarctica 78 S less than 60 inches Barrow, Alaska 71 N 30 inches Fairbanks, Alaska 65 N 68 inches Anchorage, Alaska 61 N 71 inches Syracuse, New York 43 N 116 inches!!!! Pennellville, New York 43.5 N about 130 inches at my house
On March 10th I arrived home from the PolarTREC training in Fairbanks to find that my neighbor had plowed the snow in our driveway while I was gone. I fired up the snowblower and finished up the job.
I arrived home from the PolarTREC training in Fairbanks on March 10th and the first thing I had to do was get out the snowblower and clean up the driveway. I don’t really mind. I grew up about 10 miles from here and about 25 miles North of Syracuse, and I have always liked the huge change that the seasons bring, including the snow. My wife and I live in Pennellville, which is about equally divided between dairy farms, forests and single family houses. Behind our house is Camp Talooli, a non-profit children’s summer camp where my whole family has worked every summer for the last 24 years. We teach swimming and canoeing in the camp’s kettle lake in the summer and we take kids sled riding on the snow covered hills in the winter. Three weeks ago, we had a school break and 45 kids showed up every day by bus for fun at "Winter Camp”. No, we don’t complain about the weather around here.
Easter morning at my house was sunny and cold. At noon my niece and nephew arrived and found that the Easter bunny had left eggs on top of the 10-20 inches of snow in my front yard.
As Ally puts an egg in her basket, her brother Ben runs for more! The air temperature was only about 20 degrees F so the snow was frozen solid and it made it easy to walk (and run) on top of the snow.
On Easter Sunday, my sister and her husband brought their kids to our house. Everyone was looking forward to a traditional egg hunt and the Easter Bunny did not disappoint us even though our entire yard was buried under about a foot of snow. Ben and Ally found every one of the eggs. At least we think so.
The sun was so bright on the snow in my front yard that my nephew Ben had to squint and keep one eye shut to show me his basket of eggs.
Brightly colored eggs are pretty easy to find on top of the white snow but this pink one was hiding down in a deep boot track!
Believe it or not, I will be leading a group of students on a camping trip to Camp Talooli in about 2 weeks. The focus of our Spring Earth Science Field Camp is supposed to be to study the annual breeding of giant yellow spotted salamanders and noisy wood frogs in a vernal pool in camp. The calendar says that the ice should be gone and the salamanders should make their appearance by April 5th. I have faith that the snow and the amphibians will follow the rules.
I took this photo of my family last week. My daughter, Kelly is a psychology major at Hobart and William Smith College and my son, Matt is a geology major at Hamilton College. My wife, Jan is the Executive Director of our local Camp Fire USA Council.
Today’s Quote: "True happiness is a snowblower that starts on the first pull on the toughest day of the winter” --me
Take care, have fun & make memories.