Field study 2 answer key

This field study will begin with the study of sea surface temperatures off the east coast of the United States.

Then, you will analyze a volcanic eruption. Mount Pinatubo’s eruption in 1991 was one of the world’s largest eruptions in the past 40 years. Located in the Philippines, the volcano introduced significant amounts of ash and gases into the atmosphere, enough to cool the temperature of the entire earth slightly over a period of 3 years.

Part 1: What Do These Images Reveal?

Procedure

1. From the list of materials for this lesson, click the image titled Gulf Stream 1. The image may open in a variety of programs. Use the application on your computer that best shows the image.

2. Determine what area you are viewing. Some images have an information legend and key included; others may include geographic clues to the area shown. Look at the information included with the image. This is an image of the ocean temperature near the Atlantic coast of the United States, including parts of the states from North Carolina to New Jersey.

3. Note that each color in this image represents data. Notice the colors closer to and farther away from the coastline. What trends do you see?

4. From the list of materials for this lesson, click the image titled Gulf Stream 2. Consider the two images of the same general region, but further south along the coast. These images were taken several days apart in early September of 1999. What are the substantial differences between them? The first image is prior to the onset of Hurricane Dennis. The second was taken shortly after the hurricane.

Part 2: Analysis of Volcanic Eruptions

Procedure

1. Familiarize yourself with the location of Mount Pinatubo and the details of the eruption. Use the Internet. Determine the longitude and latitude of the volcano.

2. From the list of materials for this lesson, click the image titled Mount Pinatubo 1. All images that you will open for Mount Pinatubo were taken after the main eruption of the volcano. Copy or save the first image. Open it in a program that allows you to zoom in on an image. For the rest of this exercise, it will be assumed that you are using the Paint program that many computers have in the accessories folder. You may choose to use a graphics program or other tool to accomplish the same tasks. For helpful tips on using Microsoft Paint to view images, see Instructions for Using Paint to Analyze Images.