Field Study Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Field Study - Assignment Example The climate here is extremely similar to that in the coastal areas a long Mediterranean. Even though, temperatures are comparatively constant, there exist two distinct seasons, which are wet and dry with more than three quarters of yearly precipitation occurring between the month of November and March. Possibly the most outstanding characteristic of the typical weather is the banks of mist that can roll in off the ocean, covering several parts of the city within a short time and disappearing again quickly (Seiffert, 23). The fog is remarkably regular on summer mornings, arising from the cooler ocean and backing up adjacent to the hills, though it may also come from the colder local areas throughout the winter. The fog influences various elevations in different amounts, covering San Francisco in complex prototype of fog and sunshine. The latitude as well as longitude of San Francisco in California is 37Â ° 46' 30" N / 122Â ° 25' 5" W. It covers an area of 47 square miles (2000). Its elevation is 155 feet above the sea level. The average temperatures range between January, 52.3Â °F, August, 62.4Â ° F and an annual average of 58.6Â ° F. The average annual precipitation is also22.1 inches. The Sun is in the North facing slopes. According to my observation, in summer the circulation of temperature around the surface is determined in most of the areas by the result of degree of difference in heating between both land and water surfaces. The temperatures vary between coastal ocean water as well as land surfaces. Land surfaces, which are 15 to 20 miles, inland gets to 350F and even more on several afternoons. During the night, this contrast normally reduces to less than 100. During winter, the mean temperature maxima as well as minima reverse the summer one in that during the day the variations are exceedingly small. At the same time, mean minimum, temperatures reflect large variation and strong gradients. The sheltered valley has coldest temperatures, meaning str ong radiation inversions as well as inadequate vertical diffusion. There is evidence of the effects of wind such as the trees shapes and sand dunes. The trees are not straight in shape. The drifting sand caused by wind has created a number of dune lakes, of which Lake Merced is the largest. In addition, there are water bodies surrounding the San Francisco. The water temperature is warmer than the surrounding air. These temperatures differences are based on water depth. The deeper the water body, the higher the temperatures, and the shallow the water body the lower the temperatures. The city of San Francisco has several geographic features, which include the main landforms of coastal lands, deserts, mountains, as well as, the central valley. The San Francisco Bay is characterized by complex terrain comprising of, the coastal mountain, ranges, inland valleys as well as bays. The elevations of 1500 feet are usually common in the higher grounds of this area. It can obviously be seen tha t normal wind move, over the bay would be radically interrupted in the lowest areas. This is true when the air mass is constant, and velocity of wind is not strong. When winds flowing over the area are strong and unstable air masses, this distortion is lowered. The distortion is higher when there are low-level inversions present with the surface air, under the inversion, moving without the air above the inversion (Borzak 111). This condition is much common during the