What can NASA data tell us about the ice-albedo effect and climate change?

A data activity and lesson plan made with data from My NASA Data

Background

We know that our planet is becoming warmer. Rising global temperatures, warming oceans, shrinking ice sheets, and the increase in extreme weather events all point to the same conclusion. However, despite an overall global temperature increase, this change in climate is not happening at the same rate at all locations on earth. By looking at data, we can see differences in how the climate is changing at different locations around the planet.

One reason that different places on our planet may warm at different rates over time is the ice-albedo effect. This effect is said to be a positive feedback loop where a change in the area of the earth’s surface covered in snow and ice changes the albedo, or amount of solar radiation that is reflected from the earth’s surface back out into space. Areas that are snow covered reflect much of the solar radiation back into space and therefore do not warm as quickly. When that snow and ice cover begins to melt the albedo decreases, more solar radiation is absorbed by the earth, and the earth’s surface at that location warms faster than before. 

One way that scientists may be able to observe and measure the impact of the ice-albedo effect is to compare temperature data over time for areas that are not snow and ice covered year round (low latitudes) to areas that once typically were covered with snow and ice year round (high latitudes). By looking for differences in the rate of temperature change at these locations we can infer how the ice-albedo effect is driving temperatures to change at a different rate at high latitudes.

Dataset

This dataset was made by taking a subset of a larger NASA dataset. It records monthly temperature anomalies for nearly the entire globe from January 1880 through March of 2021. For the dataset in this activity, we selected three representative locations each as samples for low, middle, and high latitudes. 

Variables

Year- This numeric variable records the year of the measurement. This dataset has values of 1880 to 2021 for the year.

Longitude- This numeric variable is the longitude (degrees) where the data point was collected. Note that negative longitudes represent the western hemisphere and positive longitudes indicate the eastern hemisphere.

Latitude- This numeric variable is the latitude (degrees) at which the data point was collected. Note that negative latitude represents the southern hemisphere and positive latitude indicates the northern hemisphere.

Average Temp. Anomaly (°C)- This numeric variable is the surface air temperature anomaly, which is the difference between the measured temperature and an average value taken across a time period in the data (in this dataset, the 1951-1980 average temperature).

Latitude Zone- This categorical variable indicates which latitude zone on earth the temperature was measured at and has three possible values in this dataset. High denotes the 60-90 degree range of latitude. Middle is 59-30 degrees latitude and Low is 29-0 degrees latitude.

Activity

1) How does variation in temperature from year to year change among the different latitude zones as you move from low to high latitude? 

Make a graph to compare the variation in temperature among the three different latitude zones. Show Latitude Zone on X and YearAvg on Y. 

2) How has the overall temperature changed on earth since 1880?

Make a scatter plot and Show the variable YearAvg on the Y axis and Time on the X axis. Add a regression line to help visualize the overall trend in temperature. Paste your graph below with your answer below. 

3) How has temperature changed differently since 1880 for high, middle, and low latitude locations on earth? 

Separate the data by the variable by location. To do this Show the variable called Location on Z. Check the Group By Z box to add separate lines of best fit for the high latitude and low latitude locations. 

4) How do these data support the idea that the ice-albedo effect is causing different locations on earth to warm at different rates?

Extension

Are you interested in exploring similar data for other locations?  Check out the Earth System Data Explorer from My NASA Data for access to these data and others in the Earth System.  

MND is part of the GLOBE Mission Earth “Science Activation” project, which is a collaborative of multiple institutions across the United States.  

Contact: My NASA Data, NASA Langley Research Center,larc-mynasadata@mail.nasa.gov.

This data activity and lesson plan made with data from My NASA Data

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