Exploration 1

Temperature Anomalies For the Past 125 Years

In this exploration, you will study the past 125 years of instrumental temperature data to identify the changes in temperature anomalies since the industrial revolution.

***To print this exploration and record your responses, download this PDF document  .***

Instrumental Temperature Data for the Last 125 Years

 

Use the interactive, time-series graphing tool to answer the following questions.

  1. What general temperature anomaly trend do you observe during the following time spans?
    1. The past 125 years
    2. 1910 and the mid-1940’s
    3. The mid-1940’s and the mid-1970’s
    4. The mid-1970’s and 2010
  2. How does the variation of decade-long (such as between 2000 and 2010) temperature anomalies compare to the longer time span (such as between the mid-1970s and 2010) temperature anomalies?
  3. What year did temperature anomalies begin to remain above normal?

Data used to create the interactive graph:
GISTEMP_global_mean_temp_anomalies_18802011_YearlyAvg