We are delighted to have worked together with the RGS to produce a resource for A Level geography students, using key data skills to investigate the impact of Amazon deforestation on rainfall.
The worksheet is designed to highlight the importance of meteorology understanding in physical geography. There are activities on the statistical tests of Mann Whitney U-Test and Spearman’s Rank Correlation Coefficient.
In a paper that came out in the journal Nature Communications, Self-amplified Amazon forest loss due to vegetation-atmosphere feedbacks, scientists revealed that deforestation can intensify droughts, compounding climate change linked changes in rainfall patterns.
Using data collected by scientists in the School of Earth and the Environment at the University of Leeds, we have created a data skills exercise for A Level geography which allows students to explore leaf area, evapotranspiration and temperature data using various statistical techniques to explore the relationship between deforestation and weather.
With clear links to both the carbon and water cycles, you can find the resources here.
Last week, large parts of the south west were affected by freezing rain.
Geoff Jenkin’s youtube video explains how you can create supercooled water at home:
A
s large swathes of the country are affected by snow, the question of how long it will last and whether we’ll get a white Christmas becomes important – and a great way to revise some weather processes.
Have a look at our resource investigating what weather conditions are required for snow, with some ideas for classroom activities Will it Snow?. You may also like to read the Dreaming of a White Christmas article on the MetMatters site.
Photo credit: Lucy Cunningham