Wednesday, December 14, 2011

The Final Question

     Earth 100 million years ago looked very different than the Earth today, and the Earth 100 million years into the future will look even more different. Tracking one location through all these changes is an imprecise art, but it is interesting to consider how different places we think of today were in the past, and will be in the future.

    The location where Barcelona, Spain, exists hasn't had quite the rapid movement that places like India and Australia have had, and doesn't appear to be setting a course to rocket elsewhere in the next 100 million years. There are some substantial changes about its location in relation to other land masses, and what kind of climate can be expected.

Present Day Barcelona, Spain
http://www.luventicus.org/maps/europe/spain/barcelona.html


   By staying at relatively the same latitude from 100 million years ago, and looking as if to stay in the same area into the future, I can rule out drastic changes like switching to southern hemisphere climates. However, 100 million years ago, the Iberian Peninsula appeared to be an island in a kind of archipelago.

100 Million Years Ago, Barcelona, Spain
http://www.cpgeosystems.com/105moll.jpg
       In this map, it appears that Barcelona, Spain, exists on an island admist several other relatively large islands, with much open ocean around it, with substantially large continents existing just beyond those oceans. It appears, in my opinion, that Barcelona would have existed in a climate similar to what Japan experiences. 


     For 100 million years into the future, I found this map:

100 Million Years in the Future, Barcelona, Spain

    What I gather from this map is that Barcelona will not do much in the way of traveling North or South, but will end up existing in a continental state, as opposed to its maritime one it experiences now. The Mediterranean Sea appears to be swallowed by the continents, taking away Barcelona's beach-front property, and trading it for long stretches of land. However, it is relatively close to the ocean, meaning the maritime effects won't disappear completely.
    As a result, I have decided Barcelona in 100 million years will experience a climate like Sacramento, California. Sacramento is on the West side of a large continent, is relatively close to the open ocean, but is far enough inland that it is still a continental city.

The following are 3 climographs for the previous, current, and expected climates of Barcelona:

   Current Barcelona
http://www.world-climates.com/city-climate-barcelona-spain-europe/
    Weather patterns in Barcelona are currently influenced by the huge Atlantic Ocean that is relatively close. Being in the Northern hemisphere, Barcelona has the characteristic "frown" for temperature as you go through the year. The summer months are warm and the rainfall drops off to a degree, but in relation to other places on the planet, Barcelona doesn't receive much rain to begin with.

Past Barcelona (via Tokyo, Japan)
http://www.world-climates.com/city-climate-tokyo-japan-asia/
   Barcelona in the past would be more like the climate of Tokyo, Japan during current times. The city is still located in the Northern hemisphere, giving it a "frown" shape for the average temperature on the climograph, but there is a change in the amount of rainfall the area experiences. Being surrounded by large water bodies in every direction, there is much more rainfall, especially through the summer months. Where Barcelona during current times tops out at 3.5 inches of rain during the fall months, now we see a value greater than 8 inches in the month of September. The average rainfall throughout the year is also much higher as a result of the weather patterns over the ocean having greater access to the city than current Barcelona, which has substantial landcover North, East, and West of it, not including the Mediterranean Sea.

Future Barcelona (via Sacramento, California)
http://www.world-climates.com/city-climate-sacramento-california-usa-north-america/
   The future of Barcelona, unfortunately, sees the removal of its beach-front property. As the continent of Africa crushes up against Europe, the Mediterranean Sea will disappear. This will take away a substantial amount of maritime climate, but its proximity to the Atlantic ocean will still diminish the overall continentality of Barcelona's climate, though it will still play a part. Once again, still remaining in the northern hemisphere, the temperature chart is a "frown," but the rain patterns have changed. There is very little rain during the summer months, which will result from the absence of the Mediterranean Sea, with more rain during the winter months. The amount of rain, however, will be similar to current Barcelona levels, toping out at a little above 3.5 inches.


    Barcelona reminded me of a more diverse and international version of San Diego. Bright and sunny, warm and moist air, and a very laid-back attitude typical of a beach-side city. Seeing that Barcelona is going to lose the Mediterranean Sea is unfortunate, but I suppose nothing lasts forever.

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Reflection 2

   Like my first reflection post, I have been to the location I am reflecting on. Palm Desert, California is a place I know all too well. I find it funny, however, how the author of the Palm Desert posts appears to genuinely enjoy the Palm Desert area. I, on the other hand, am very happy to no longer live in that area.
   I spent a few years in California a little north of Palm Desert, more specifically in Twentynine Palms, CA. These two cities are very similar in climate, and I have been to Palm Desert enough times to understand its climate.
   Comparing the beautiful, seaside city of Barcelona to the burned out city of Palm Desert seems like a terrible thing to do, but it makes sense seeing that they have such different climates.

http://travel.usnews.com/images/
destinations/97/temperature_f_11.jpg

Barcelona, Spain

http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lt6ynrl2vG1qmafkw.jpg
Palm Desert, CA

   The two graphs above show the differences in average temperature between the two locations. Barcelona rarely gets much higher than the low 80s during the summer months, and will reach down into the mid 50's. Palm Desert, on the other hand, maxes out at the high 110's and gets as low as the low 40s.
   Along with these maximum values, just looking at how different the temperatures are depending on the time of year shows some major differences. Palm Desert is a little over 100 miles inland, so it experiences the continentality effect. Along with this, the desert climate means there is very little vegetation, so temperatures are free to fluctuate readily. Barcelona, on the other hand, exists in a maritime climate, with the Mediterranean Sea just off its coast. This large waterbody means Barcelona's temperatures fluctuate much less, and the area experiences much less seasonality.


http://travel.usnews.com/images/
destinations/97/precipitation_in_11.jpg
Barcelona, Spain


http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lt6yv7n7LT1qmafkw.jpg
Palm Desert, CA

   These precipitation graphs show the extremely different levels of precipitation the two areas experience. Interestingly, Palm Desert experiences more rain in the winter months while Barcelona sees more in the late summer months.

   To sum up, these two locations have very different climates, and even though both have a certain amount of sand making up their surface layer, only one is really worth building sand castles on.

Thursday, December 1, 2011

Blog 3 - Climatology

Barcelona, Spain exists in a Csa Koppen-Geiger climate classification scheme.
http://www.kidsmaps.com/geography/images/fullsized/climatic-map-spain.png
   Csa means Barcelona's annual climate is classified as:
   Main Climate: Warm Temperate
   Precipitation: Summer Dry
   Temperature: Hot Summer

   Barcelona's proximity to the Mediterranean Sea also means its seasons are much less variable than other cities located at similar latitudes. Chicago, Illinois is located at a similar latitude to Barcelona, but there are very obvious differences between the two's climate. Chicago has definite changes in seasons and has common, long-lasting snowfall. Barcelona, on the other hand, has less changes in seasons and very little snow, if any snow at all.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3e/Cordillera_Cantabrica.jpg

   Barcelona also exists in an area between a waterbody and mountain range, which has an effect on the different air masses. Spain can be broken up into two different areas, rainy Spain and dry Spain. To the North of the Cantabrian mountains there is much rainfall and almost constant cloud cover. To the South of Cantabrian mountains, where Barcelona and the majority of Spain is located, the weather is generally dry.

http://icons-ak.wunderground.com/data/wximagenew/s/Sadelux/0.jpg
Overcast San Sebastian, " rainy" Northern Spain
http://travel.roro44.com/europe/spain/Barcelona_beaches_Barcelona_Spain.jpg
Clear Barcelona, "dry" Southern Spain


   In addition to these larger-scale elements controlling the weather around Barcelona, since my weather station is located in the center of this large city, there is sure to be a certain amount of urban-specific weather patterns. For example, the disruption of wind due to high buildings and the influence of the urban heat island effect on overall temperature must be taken into account.


   My weather station only goes back until 2004, so it is not enough time to see if the high temperatures have increased much as time has gone on. However, in August of 2010, Spain experienced the third hottest August this century and was the highest temperature since 1971.

Monday, November 14, 2011

Reflection 1

   For my first reflection, I chose a city that I know very well to compare against my study city, Chicago, IL. I was born and raised in the Chicago, IL area, and know its sometimes difficult weather all too well. The differences between Barcelona and Chicago are very great. It would seem like the two cities may have similar weather as a result of their location to water bodies, but the Mediterranean sea off the coast of Barcelona and the relative closeness of the Atlantic Ocean make for very different weather patterns between the two cities.

   To begin with, comparing the effect of water on limiting the temperature variations during the Summer and Winter months, both cities experience an effect. It goes without saying that the effect of the Mediterranean Sea on Barcelona is much more noticeable than Lake Michigan's impact on Chicago. However, it has been documented that Chicago experiences some mitigation of temperature variances in the neighborhoods closest to the water. Barcelona on the whole experiences temperature variation mitigation at a large scale. The average temperatures of these cities prove this point.


  During summer months, Chicago experiences hot, humid days, which is comparable to Barcelona. In August, Chicago averages at about 84 degrees, while Barcelona lies around 85 degrees.

  In January, Barcelona's daytime temperature average lies between 46 to 63 degrees Fahrenheit during the day, and 36 to 50 degrees during the night.
  Chicago's January average is 23.5 degrees Fahrenheit - a sharp variation from Barcelona's much warmer temperatures. On top of this, Chicago can experience extreme cold spells that last for several days, which is unheard of in Barcelona.


   The topography of Chicago and Barcelona are very different, as well, in that Chicago exists in a very flat area in the middle of a large continent. Barcelona exists in an area between the sea on its Eastern side, and a mountain range on its Western side. Air parcels coming over the mountains will warm adiabatically if moving from West to East over the mountains and out to sea. This kind of event does not occur in Chicago due to the lack of mountain ranges.


http://www.wunderground.com/cgi-bin/wxStationGraphAll?day=15&year=2011&month=11&ID=IBARCELO60&type=0&width=500&showtemp=1&showpressure=1&showwind=1&showwinddir=1&showrain=1

http://www.wunderground.com/cgi-bin/wxStationGraphAll?day=15&year=2011&month=11&ID=KILCHICA92&type=0&width=500&showtemp=1&showpressure=1&showwind=1&showwinddir=1&showrain=1

   As the charts above show, there are some similarities between the cities, but things like temperatures and rainfall throughout the year make for very different living conditions.




http://us.123rf.com/400wm/400/400/ziggysofi/ziggysofi0910/ziggysofi091000067/5757944-panoramic-view-of-chicago-city-buildings--by-the-lake.jpg
View of Chicago's waterfront


http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c5/Barcelona._View_from_Tibidabo.jpg/800px-Barcelona._View_from_Tibidabo.jpg
View of Barcelona's waterfront

Monday, October 31, 2011

Blog Post 2

Weather station name: IBARCELO60

Spain is affected by more than one air mass.The air masses that affect spain are the Continental Tropical (cT), Maritime Tropical (mT), and even Maritime Arctic (mA). Barcelona sits on the Eastern coast of Spain, meaning it is affected greatly by the Mediterranean sea, which moderates temperatures. During the winter months, this air mass can cause unpredictable changes in weather, quickly changing from sunny weather to rain. Barcelona lies in the Levante region, which is characterized by sudden, strong rainstorms during the autumn months as a result of the Mediterranean air mass.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c2/Map_Spain_Levante.png
The Levante region of Spain
http://www.icelandair.destination-guides.net/photos/Barcelona2.jpg
Barcelona beaches

While snow is rare in Barcelona, it has occurred to the delight, and dismay, of local Spaniards.

As for the near future, Barcelona has this to look forward to:
http://www.meteorologica.info/Euroisobars.htm
This actively refreshing image from Meteorologica shows the locations of cold, warm, and occluded fronts over Europe. At the time of this publishing, a cold front is pushing across the Iberian Peninsula, bringing clouds and rain to Barcelona.

http://www.weather.com/weather/tenday/Barcelona+Spain+SPXX0015
10 day forecast for the beginning of November. As can be observed, the autumn months  have an abundance of rain showers that can quickly appear, rain, and disappear unpredictably.
http://www.wunderground.com/webcams/ferrang/1/video.html?month=10&year=2011&filename=20111031.flv
This image from a weather camera located in the hills outside of Barcelona shows some of the clouds moving over the area as a result of the cold front move across the Iberian Peninsula.

http://www.weather.com/maps/geography/europe/index_large.html
A front is moving through Spain and is bringing rain across most of the Iberian Peninsula. Barcelona, on the East coast of the country, is going to experience this front within the next few hours.


Sunday, October 16, 2011

Getting Acclimatized

Weather station name: IBARCELO60

This station sits in the city of Barcelona, just a few blocks south of Camp Nou where FC Barcelona plays.
Barcelona's average temperature sits just below 65 degrees. During the summer months it can get into the 90s and in winter months down to the 50s. Not much precipitation falls in Barcelona, meaning even in the colder months, the sun still shines on a regular basis.


I spent some time in Barcelona during the early part of August. I found the weather to be warm and sometimes humid. Unlike more inland parts of the country, Barcelona maintained a steady warm temperature, never becoming too warm. Cities like Sevilla, which are located inland and are not near large bodies of water, become very hot during the summer.

I also noticed the weather in Barcelona seemed very similar to San Diego, CA.


http://www.thepropertyfinders.com/images/locations/barcelona_map.jpg
Barcelona is located in the Northeast part of the country, on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea.

http://www.wunderground.com/cgi-bin/wxStationGraphAll?
day=17&year=2011&month=10&ID=IBARCELO60&type=0&width=500&showtemp=1&showpressure=1&showwind=1&showwinddir=1&showrain=1

As can be seen from the weather so far this year, Barcelona has experienced its highest temperatures in the month of August, topping out close to 95 degrees Fahrenheit. Shortly into September, temperatures were seen dropping off and becoming cooler. Looking at the rain graph, mostly sunny days with a few periods of downfall up to almost 3 inches during the peak rainfall periods can be observed.