AU 301-01 Bay Area Environments
Bay Area Microclimates Lab
1. The San Francisco Bay Area offers a significant variety of microclimates because the hills, mountains, and large bodies of water. It is important to understand the topography, the effects of fog and urban heat in the area to apprehend how these microclimates are formed and how it affects different communities in the Bay Area. The purpose of this study is to compare and contrast three different locations in the Bay Area to see how their geographic locations affect the temperatures in each location.
2. The Bay Area has strong microclimates, which is especially apparent in the summer months when San Francisco can be in the clouds for days and the peninsula is pumping hot.
3. Hypothesis 1: If mountains and hills create a barrier for the fog to pass through, and protects certain areas around it from wind, then the temperatures should be higher for locations that are on the east of hills and mountains. The high temperature for the city of Hillsborough should be higher than that of Daly City and SFSU Lakeside locations.
Hypothesis 2: If there are very few trees and tree covers, and the area consists of buildings and other urban developments, this will create a urban heat effect where the location will still experience warmer temperatures into the night. Out of the three locations, both SFSU and Hillsborough locations have trees and tree covers with Daly City location being the most urbanized location; thus, Daly City location will have the highest Low Temperature.
Hypothesis 3: If it is hotter in the summer as you get to closer to the central valley and away from the Pacific Ocean, then Hillsborough location should have the highest temperature when compared with SFSU Lakeside location and Daly City location.
4. For this study, I have created a 5-days High and Low temperature charts for the three locations in the Bay Area. It is important to make this observations over 5-days because anything less would make it hard to get an accurate weather patterns for these three locations. I also chose Hillsborough location to be part of this location because I’ve always admired that location with the million dollar homes and I hope to live there one day. Please refer to the Table 1 and Figures 1-3 below for the 5-days observations of High and Low temperatures in SFSU/Lakeside location, Daly City location, and Hillsborough location.
Table 1: 5-Days High and Low temperatures for SFSU/Lakeside, Station Avenue/Daly City, and Edgehill/Hillsborough locations.
Station Avenue/ Daly City |
||
High |
Low |
|
Sept. 12 |
59.4 |
54.9 |
Sept. 13 |
77.7 |
52.2 |
Sept. 14 |
75.2 |
53.8 |
Sept. 15 |
59 |
54 |
Sept. 16 |
67.6 |
53.1 |
Average |
67.78 |
53.6 |
SFSU/Lakeside |
||
High |
Low |
|
Sept. 12 |
60.1 |
54.9 |
Sept. 13 |
73.2 |
52.3 |
Sept. 14 |
72.7 |
51.4 |
Sept. 15 |
60.1 |
53.8 |
Sept. 16 |
65.5 |
53.4 |
Average |
66.32 |
53.16 |
Edgehill/ Hillsborough |
||
High |
Low |
|
Sept. 12 |
65.3 |
49.1 |
Sept. 13 |
71.8 |
49.9 |
Sept. 14 |
78.3 |
51.8 |
Sept. 15 |
78.3 |
48.2 |
Sept. 16 |
79 |
49.1 |
Average |
74.54 |
49.62 |
3.60 degrees respectivly.aly City average lows were perature, it gets much colder during the night compared to the other two lo
3.60 degrees respectivly.aly City average lows were perature, it gets much colder during the night compared to the other two lo
Figure 1: 5-Days High and Low Temperatures at SFSU/Lakeside
Figure 2: 5-Days High and Low Temperatures at Station Avenue/ Daly City
Figure 3: 5-Days High and Low Temperatures at Edgehill/Hillsborough
5. When comparing the three charts, you can see that the three locations have different Highs and Lows temperatures even though they are all within a 10-mile radius.
6. In conclusion, the Bay Area definitely has strong microclimates. The effects of the topography, advection fog, and urban heat are all very clear when looking at temperatures across the different locations in the Bay Area. One thing that surprised me during this study was how much urban heat can impact the temperatures during the night. I expected Daly City to be cooler at night than SFSU and Hillsborough because of its proximity to the ocean but that was not the case. But looking at the 5-days observations, it is not surprising that many people are often confused by the microclimates we have in the Bay Area, how a place that is about 15 minutes drive away be over 10 degrees warmer on some days? This is why it is important to understand how the microclimates are formed and what is affecting the weather in the Bay Area.
Works Cited
Arrau, Camilo P., and Maroc A. Pena. "URBAN HEAT ISLANDS (UHIs)." URBAN HEAT ISLANDS (UHIs). N.p., 09 Sept. 2015. Web. 22 Sept. 2016.
"Climate of San Francisco Narrative." Golden Gate Weather Services. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Sept. 2016.
Hirsch, By Daniel. "Street Science: Why the Mission Is Sunny." MissionLocal. N.p., 27 Aug. 2013. Web. 22 Sept. 2016.
"San Francisco Microclimates - SF MAC Team." SF MAC Team. N.p., 13 Nov. 2012. Web. 22 Sept. 2016.
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