Interim: Problem Definition:
Global Warming is one of the world's biggest problems. It is increasing in magnitude every day; however, no one seems to realize what will happen if it continues. Earth's climate has varied since the beginning of time. Our climate changes periodically ranging from ice ages to periods of abnormal warmth. The Earth's atmosphere has been faced with a growing problem. The problem is the UV rays of the sun are not able to escape the Earth's atmosphere because of greenhouse gases, which ultimately cause the world's climate to change. The main factor of the climate that is changing here in Rio Arriba county is the fact that we are getting rain in larger quantities in fewer periods of time, thus causing flash floods in many areas. There are also many other climate factors that are changing in Rio Arriba county.

The purpose of our project is to determine how the climate is going to change in our county in the next twenty years. We hope to use this information to inform people of the consequences of Global Warming; inevitably the consequences of our own actions. We also intend to make a model of the areas of weather that seem to be changing the most. We also hope to create a formula that will help our group determine how the weather will change. Additionally, we would like to relate our project to some of the other students' projects because global warming is, after all, the cause of many of the major problems in the world today, including illnesses such as the Avian Flu.

Problem Solution:
The way we intend to provide a factual solution to our problem is by creating a formula that will be used to model what we hope is a pattern in global warming. The formula we come up with will be derived using the following steps:
1. Collect as much data as posible in the amount of time that we are given
2. Organize all the data we have collected
3. Convert the data to the proper format
4. Interpret all the data
5. Create a formula to determine the future of our small community

Progress to Date:
Our group is currently retrieving the data that we will need. We have also met with our two mentors, meteorologist Jason Stiff of KOAT 7, and Deidre Kann of the National Weather Service based in Albuquerque. They have been valuable pieces in this jigsaw puzzle of a project. They have provided us with vital information on the climate in New Mexico. Both our mentors gave us lots of information and many web sites to use as references. We have, to date, looken up many sites and have gotten lots of data. Currently, we are in the process of organizing the data we have. We plan to have our computer model up and running by the end of January.

Expected Results:
We expect the results of our model to show a pattern of global warming affecting the climate of Rio Arriba county. We also expect to formulate weather patterns, rain percents, hail storm predictions, snowfall (at what elevation), the depth of rivers (namely the Rio Grande), and an estimate on the population causing the problem.

Team Members: Carol Martinez, Molly Irwin, Mario Miranda, Monica Velasquez, and Alicia Salazar

Sponsoring Teachers: Viola Stowe and Michael Throne

Team Members:

  Monica Velasquez
  Alicia Salazar
  Carol Martinez
  Molly Irwin
  Mario Miranda

Sponsoring Teacher: Viola Stowe

Mail the entire Team