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Title
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Saharan Air Layer
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Type
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Primary: Laboratory
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Operation
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Monster Storms
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Mission:
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Mission 4: The Hunt
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Print Page
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79
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Subjects
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Science | Earth and space science | Weather | Hurricanes | Wind | Science as inquiry | Science process skills | Analyzing data | Collecting data | Experimenting | Hypothesizing | Interpreting data | Observing | Predicting
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Grades
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5 | 6 | 7 | 8
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Keywords
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Saharan Air Layer, Sahara Desert, dusty air, dry air, air, temperature inversion layer, temperature, air mass, Jason Dunion, Atlantic hurricanes, hurricanes, hot air, hurricane formation, hurricane strength
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Audience
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Teachers | Elementary Grades | Junior High
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Created On
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5/20/2007
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From: Monster Storms Mission 4: The Hunt (pp: 79) |
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Saharan Air Layer Could dust from the Sahara Desert have anything to do with hurricanes? Jason Dunion is trying to determine whether hot, dry, dusty air could influence the formation and the strength of Atlantic hurricanes. In this activity, you will build a model to investigate the Saharan Air Layer phenomenon. |
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Could dust from the Sahara Desert have anything to do with hurricanes? Jason Dunion is trying to determine whether hot, dry, dusty air could influence the formation and the strength of Atlantic hurricanes. Check out the satellite image on page 78 to see what such an air mass looks like. In this activity, you will build a model to investigate the Saharan Air Layer phenomenon.
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| Materials |
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- pencil with a sharp point
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- weights (large metal nut)
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- food coloring (red and blue)
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| Lab Prep |
- Put on your safety goggles. Place a large metal nut in the small cup to act as a weight. Add a few drops of blue food coloring and then fill the cup to its brim with room temperature water. Take the temperature of the water in the cup and record the data.
- Make sure the blue coloring in the cup is mixed thoroughly, and then cover the cup with a piece of kitchen plastic wrap. Pull it tight over the top of the cup, and secure it with a rubber band to ensure a tight seal.
- Position the sealed cup in the center of the large plastic container. Slowly fill the large clear plastic container with ice water at least 3 cm above the top of the small cup. Remove any pieces of ice that might have transferred into the container. Take the temperature of the ice water and record the data.
- With a very sharp pencil, poke several small holes in the plastic wrap covering the small cup. Observe and describe what happens as the colored water mixes with the cold water in the larger container.
Next, you will build a new model to observe a temperature inversion layer similar to that present in a Saharan Air Layer event.
- Clean out both the large container and the small cup. Repeat steps 1 through 3 to set up the experiment again. Be sure to take the temperature of the water in the small cup and the ice water, and record those values again.
- Use a wax pencil to mark the height of the ice-chilled water on the outside of the large container.
- Place a sheet of plastic wrap on the surface of the ice-chilled water so that it goes edge to edge inside the container, like a blanket that covers the water below.
- In the medium-sized container, add warm water, enough to fill another 3–5 cm (about 1–2 in.) in the large container, and add red food coloring. Take the temperature of the warm water and record the data. Carefully pour the warm, red-colored water onto the surface of the plastic wrap inside the large container.
- Gently remove the plastic wrap barrier.
- Once again, use a sharp pencil to gently poke holes in the plastic wrap that is sealing the small cup in the bottom of the large container. Do not cause any stirring motion as you do this.
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| Make Observations |
- Describe what happens when you poke holes into the plastic wrap on the small cup.
- For several minutes, carefully observe the movement of the dyed water that emerges from the cup. What path does it follow? Describe the movement that you observe. Why do you think this is happening?
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| Interpret Data |
- Explain the relationship between the temperatures of the three water samples and the mixing behavior that you observed.
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