We all know that the inhabitants of the globe live in completely different climatic zones. That is why with the onset of cold weather in one hemisphere, warming begins in the other. Many go on vacation to bask in the sun in other countries and do not even think about the annual temperature amplitude. How to calculate this indicator, children will learn more from school. But with age often just forget about its importance.
Definition
Before you calculate the annual temperature amplitude according to the schedule, you need to remember what this definition is. So, the amplitude, in itself, is defined as the difference between the maximum and minimum indicators.
In the case of calculating the annual temperature, the thermometer readings will be the amplitude. For accurate results, it is important that only one thermometer is always used. This will allow you to independently determine the schedule of temperature in a specific region. How to calculate the annual amplitude in climatology? For this, specialists use the average monthly temperature readings for the past years, therefore their indicators always differ from those calculated independently for their locality.
Change factors
So, before calculating the annual amplitude of the air temperature, several important factors that affect its performance should be taken into account.
First of all, it is the geographical latitude of the necessary point. The closer the region is to the equator, the smaller will be the annual fluctuation of the thermometer. Closer to the poles of the globe, the continents feel the seasonal change of climate stronger, and, consequently, the annual temperature amplitude (as calculated later in the article) will increase proportionally.
Also, the proximity of the region to large bodies of water also affects air heating. The closer the coast of the sea, ocean or even lake, the milder the climate, and the change in temperature is not so pronounced. On land, the temperature difference is very high, both annual and daily. Of course, such a situation can often come from the air masses from the sea, as, for example, in Western Europe.
The amplitude of the temperature also depends on the height of the region above sea level. The higher the desired point, the smaller the difference. With every kilometer it is reduced by approximately 2 degrees.
Before calculating the annual temperature amplitude, seasonal climatic changes must be taken into account. Such as monsoons or droughts.
Daily Amplitude Calculations
Each owner of the thermometer and free time can independently carry out such calculations. To get maximum accuracy for a given day, you should record the thermometer every 3 hours, starting at midnight. Thus, from the obtained 8 measurements, it is necessary to distinguish the maximum and minimum indicators. After that, the smaller is subtracted from the larger, and the result obtained is the daily amplitude of a particular day. This is how experts perform calculations at weather stations.
It is important to remember the basic rule of mathematics that minus minus gives a plus. That is, if the calculations are carried out in the cold season, and the daily temperature ranges from a positive day to a negative night, then the calculation will look something like this:
+5 - (-3) = 5 + 3 = 8 is the daily amplitude.
Annual temperature amplitude. How to calculate?
Calculations to determine annual fluctuations in the thermometer readings are carried out in a similar way, only the maximum and minimum values are taken from the average thermometers of the hottest and coldest months of the year. They, in turn, are calculated by obtaining daily average temperatures.
Getting average
To determine the average readings for each day, it is necessary to add in a single number all the readings recorded for a given period of time, and divide the result by the number of added values. The maximum accuracy is obtained when calculating the average indicator from a larger number of measurements, but most often it is enough to take data from the thermometer every 3 hours.
Similarly, data on average temperatures for each month of the year are calculated from the already calculated daily average indicators.
Settlement
Before determining the annual amplitude of air temperature in a particular region, you should find the maximum and minimum average monthly temperature. Less must be taken away from the larger, also taking into account the rules of mathematics, and the result should be considered the same desired annual amplitude.
The importance of indicators
In addition to calculating air temperature for various geographical purposes, temperature difference is important in other sciences. So, paleontologists study the life of extinct species, calculating the amplitudes of temperature fluctuations in entire eras. For this, various soil samples and other thermography methods help them.
Investigating the operation of internal combustion engines, experts define periods as certain time intervals of fractions of a second. For the accuracy of measurements in such situations, special electronic recorders are used.
In geography, temperature changes can also be recorded in fractions, but this requires a thermograph. Such a device is a mechanical device that continuously records temperature data on a tape or digital media. It also determines the amplitude of the changes, given the set time intervals. Such precision instruments are used in areas where access to people is closed, for example, in areas of nuclear reactors where every fraction of a degree is important, and their changes must be constantly monitored.
