Do Microclimates Exist Around Dulwich College Grounds?

Microclimates are small areas which have a different climate from the surrounding areas. Microclimates can be created by many things. The surface of a place can affect its microclimate. Places with tarmac or concrete type flooring shall be warmer than places with grass ground. Shelters can also be a cause for microclimates to occur. The shelters can block the sun making it cooler or block the wind to make it warmer. The shelters can also give shade which can also make it cooler. The physical features can create microclimates. For example: a place with trees, grass, or lakes will be much cooler and shadier than a place surrounded by buildings.

The direction of a place can affect how or cold it may be during the different times of the day. Microclimates are also affected if there is city near by or if you are living in one. The time of day can also be a crucial element to creating a microclimate. The positioning of the sun can also affect if there is or is not a microclimate. Places with small towns and countryside will be much cooler than large cities. This affect is called “Urban Heating Island Effect”. Microclimates can exist everywhere if the appropriate conditions occur. There could be a microclimate in the two courtyards in between the senior building, or in the junior school inner playground. There could be a microclimate where any of the appropriate conditions might exist.

Hypotheses

Write 4 hypotheses to test.

Here are some examples of how to write a hypothesis:

i. The inner courtyard will be the warmest and windiest site.

ii. The field will be the lightest, warmest and windiest of all the sites.

iii. The field will be lighter and warmer than the courtyard.

The east and west inner courtyards will be the brightest and warmest during the noon and the after noon.

On a usual day my hypothesis is that since the will be shining from the middle of the sky and the sun’s the light and heat will be directed to places with no roof shelter. This means the heat will make it warmer and light will make it brighter.

The middle of the two buildings will be the windiest and coldest place throughout the day.

My hypothesis is that the two building shall create a passage way for the wind to go through. This passage way will make the wind stronger and the area in between the buildings will become colder and windier.

The junior school playground will be the least windy and the sunniest site through out the whole day.

My hypothesis is the junior school playground is a large open area with no rooftop-shelter which means that the sun rays can easily reach it without being stopped or reduced by anything.

The field will be sunniest and windiest of all the sites.

My hypothesis is that the field will be the sunniest and windiest of all the sites because there is no shelter to protect it from any of the natural forces. For example: – if there is a windy day, the field shall be the windiest site.

Method

Write about the way in which you will carry out the fieldwork.

Think about the number of sites that you want to investigate.

Think about how many sets of measurements you want to take i.e. every day at the same time?

At different times of the day?

Include pictures of the equipment that you are going to use.

Include the sheet that you are going to use to collect the data.

Add the location of your sites onto the map on the next page.

You could take a photograph of each site and add them into this section (all 6 photos with titles onto one page)

We shall be investegating six different sites all around the junior and the senior schools. The sites we shall be visiting are as follows : the field,the eastern and the western courtyards, the senior school’s entrance and the area in between the senior and junior buildings. The control for the investegation will be the field. The field is the surrounding and all the other sites shall be compared to. We shall measure these twice a week.. This way we can compare the different readings and see what has changed. We will be measuring twice a day, once in the morning and once in the afternoon. By doing this we will to be able compare the information and see if anything has changed. We will be measuring 3 different elements light, temperature and wind speed.

To measure these elements we will need special equiptment. These special pieces of equipment are as follows :- a luxometer, a thermometer and an anemometer. A luxometer is an unuasl piece of equipment which measures tha amount of light in an area. A theremometer measures the temperature in an area. Finally an anemometer is a special piece of equipment which measures the wind speed. These are all exceedingly important elements of measurment because the same element can be measured in two different places and still be disimliar. Even if they are measured at the exact same time. This happens because there will be different situations for each of the areas.

For example:- if you took a reading from the junior school playground and one from the eastern courtyard. They would probably have different readings because of the many ways a microclimate can be created like:- the amount of shelter an area possesses or the physical features (trees,grass or lakes) that could be surounding it etc. We will be using a sheet to compare our data. The data shall shown by using graphs and will explain what each graph contains. This sheet shall contain lots of information about a particular day and the readings taken from each area. Every area well have measurements from each element. This way all the data can be compared like one area compared to the other or a day can be compared to another so on and so forth. This sheet has 3 graphs each which represent a certain time in one day. The sheet will be an important part of the research because it shall help in explaining and comparing the information that has been gathered in the given amount of time for the measurements of all the areas and thte elements.

Location of the Sites

Data Presentation

Draw graphs to make the data easier to interpret

You could use bar graphs, pictograms, histograms etc

Analysis

Discuss what your results show.

Look at one hypothesis at a time and discuss what your results show.

State whether your hypotheses have been proven correct or not.

Conclusion

Summarize the results of the investigation.

Evaluation

What went well with your investigation?

What problems did you experience?

What would you change if you were to do your investigation again?

How could the accuracy of your investigation be improved?