Topographic and Geographic Influences on Near-surface Temperature under Different Seasonal Weather Types in Southwestern Alberta
Near-surface temperature variability is influenced by geographic and terrain characteristics. My research examines how these influences vary by weather type. This knowledge is used to determine the best methods for modelling temperature in the mountains and prairies in southwestern Alberta, using da...
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Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/11023/3686 https://doi.org/10.11575/PRISM/28465 |
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ftunivcalgary:oai:prism.ucalgary.ca:11023/3686 2023-08-27T04:07:49+02:00 Topographic and Geographic Influences on Near-surface Temperature under Different Seasonal Weather Types in Southwestern Alberta Wood, Wendy Helen Marshall, Shawn Bertazzon, Stefania Yackel, John 2017 application/pdf http://hdl.handle.net/11023/3686 https://doi.org/10.11575/PRISM/28465 eng eng Graduate Studies University of Calgary Calgary Wood, W. H. (2017). Topographic and Geographic Influences on Near-surface Temperature under Different Seasonal Weather Types in Southwestern Alberta (Unpublished doctoral thesis). University of Calgary, Calgary, AB. doi:10.11575/PRISM/28465 http://dx.doi.org/10.11575/PRISM/28465 http://hdl.handle.net/11023/3686 University of Calgary graduate students retain copyright ownership and moral rights for their thesis. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission. Geography Atmospheric Sciences weather Alberta temperature doctoral thesis 2017 ftunivcalgary https://doi.org/10.11575/PRISM/28465 2023-08-06T06:35:33Z Near-surface temperature variability is influenced by geographic and terrain characteristics. My research examines how these influences vary by weather type. This knowledge is used to determine the best methods for modelling temperature in the mountains and prairies in southwestern Alberta, using data collected as part of the Foothills Climate Array (FCA) study. A weather classification system was developed for the area using multivariate statistical analysis, and six weather patterns were identified. Missing temperature data in the FCA are gap-filled using regression equations generated using the most closely correlated station for each site, where correlations are calculated by seasonal weather type. Seasonal weather type correlations improve estimates by ~7% over monthly correlations. The biggest improvements (10 to 20%) occur for chinook and cool-wet days. Cold Arctic air days and hot anticyclonic days in summer show the lowest improvement, indicating strong within-type variability for these weather types. These weather types also show the most variable temperature lapse rates, with frequent inversions. Local weighted regression models outperform multivariate regression models by between 4 and 8% in the mountains. Daily temperature and elevation are not always strongly correlated, most notably during Arctic cold spells. This is true for both minimum and maximum temperatures in the mountains. Therefore, regression models using elevation as the only predictor perform poorly, particularly in winter months. Vertical and horizontal separation are the most important factors in choosing local neighbours, with vertical separation being most important for minimum temperatures and for winter months. Relative elevation and slope, as indictors of cold air pooling potential, influence the selection of local neighbours for minimum and mean temperature models. Spatial proximity is the most important factor determining temperature relatedness in the prairies. Minimum temperatures are strongly influenced by urban and ... Doctoral or Postdoctoral Thesis Arctic PRISM - University of Calgary Digital Repository Arctic |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
PRISM - University of Calgary Digital Repository |
op_collection_id |
ftunivcalgary |
language |
English |
topic |
Geography Atmospheric Sciences weather Alberta temperature |
spellingShingle |
Geography Atmospheric Sciences weather Alberta temperature Wood, Wendy Helen Topographic and Geographic Influences on Near-surface Temperature under Different Seasonal Weather Types in Southwestern Alberta |
topic_facet |
Geography Atmospheric Sciences weather Alberta temperature |
description |
Near-surface temperature variability is influenced by geographic and terrain characteristics. My research examines how these influences vary by weather type. This knowledge is used to determine the best methods for modelling temperature in the mountains and prairies in southwestern Alberta, using data collected as part of the Foothills Climate Array (FCA) study. A weather classification system was developed for the area using multivariate statistical analysis, and six weather patterns were identified. Missing temperature data in the FCA are gap-filled using regression equations generated using the most closely correlated station for each site, where correlations are calculated by seasonal weather type. Seasonal weather type correlations improve estimates by ~7% over monthly correlations. The biggest improvements (10 to 20%) occur for chinook and cool-wet days. Cold Arctic air days and hot anticyclonic days in summer show the lowest improvement, indicating strong within-type variability for these weather types. These weather types also show the most variable temperature lapse rates, with frequent inversions. Local weighted regression models outperform multivariate regression models by between 4 and 8% in the mountains. Daily temperature and elevation are not always strongly correlated, most notably during Arctic cold spells. This is true for both minimum and maximum temperatures in the mountains. Therefore, regression models using elevation as the only predictor perform poorly, particularly in winter months. Vertical and horizontal separation are the most important factors in choosing local neighbours, with vertical separation being most important for minimum temperatures and for winter months. Relative elevation and slope, as indictors of cold air pooling potential, influence the selection of local neighbours for minimum and mean temperature models. Spatial proximity is the most important factor determining temperature relatedness in the prairies. Minimum temperatures are strongly influenced by urban and ... |
author2 |
Marshall, Shawn Bertazzon, Stefania Yackel, John |
format |
Doctoral or Postdoctoral Thesis |
author |
Wood, Wendy Helen |
author_facet |
Wood, Wendy Helen |
author_sort |
Wood, Wendy Helen |
title |
Topographic and Geographic Influences on Near-surface Temperature under Different Seasonal Weather Types in Southwestern Alberta |
title_short |
Topographic and Geographic Influences on Near-surface Temperature under Different Seasonal Weather Types in Southwestern Alberta |
title_full |
Topographic and Geographic Influences on Near-surface Temperature under Different Seasonal Weather Types in Southwestern Alberta |
title_fullStr |
Topographic and Geographic Influences on Near-surface Temperature under Different Seasonal Weather Types in Southwestern Alberta |
title_full_unstemmed |
Topographic and Geographic Influences on Near-surface Temperature under Different Seasonal Weather Types in Southwestern Alberta |
title_sort |
topographic and geographic influences on near-surface temperature under different seasonal weather types in southwestern alberta |
publisher |
Graduate Studies |
publishDate |
2017 |
url |
http://hdl.handle.net/11023/3686 https://doi.org/10.11575/PRISM/28465 |
geographic |
Arctic |
geographic_facet |
Arctic |
genre |
Arctic |
genre_facet |
Arctic |
op_relation |
Wood, W. H. (2017). Topographic and Geographic Influences on Near-surface Temperature under Different Seasonal Weather Types in Southwestern Alberta (Unpublished doctoral thesis). University of Calgary, Calgary, AB. doi:10.11575/PRISM/28465 http://dx.doi.org/10.11575/PRISM/28465 http://hdl.handle.net/11023/3686 |
op_rights |
University of Calgary graduate students retain copyright ownership and moral rights for their thesis. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission. |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.11575/PRISM/28465 |
_version_ |
1775348529476141056 |