Resources for the Global Biomass Model
- Find your Latitude and Longitude
To run the Global Biomass Model, you will need to find the latitude and
longitude of the location you will be modeling. There are a number of
methods that you can use to determine the latitude and longitude of
your area of
interest.
- Use a GPS unit. For
this activity,
you will want to follow the instructions for your GPS unit, and report
your location in decimal degrees to as many
decimal places as your GPS unit reports.
- Visit the www.itouchmap.com
latitude and longitude page. Zoom to your observation site and
record the Lat/Long coordinates in decimal
degrees displayed under the map. You can also use
http://maps.google.com. At this site, you right click on your
location, and the lat/lon will pop up into a box when you select
'directions from here'.
- Use a topographic map
to determine your latitude and longitude. This
website explains the use of paper topographic maps, and under the
'geographic' link, you will see how to determine your latitude and
longitude from a paper map. http://geology.isu.edu/geostac/Field_Exercise/topomaps/index.htm
- Find your biome and annual climate data
For the Global Biomass Model, you will need to determine your biome,
and estimate your mean annual temperature and precipitation. We
provide a link where you can enter your latitude and longitude to find
out what these
values are for your location (click
here to find climate and biome for your site). Keep in
mind
that there are other
ways to find these values. Specifically, there may be local
weather station data that would be more accurate than this global
estimate of climate. And remember, the biome data comes from a
global map, and although this map is good at representing the general
distribution of biomes across the world, it may not be accurate for
your location. Be sure to look at the environment around you to
determine the best biome description for your location.
- Climate Data - the mean
annual temperature and
precipitation reported here is from the work of Legates and
Willmott. More information on this dataset can be found in:
- Legates, D. R. and C.
J. Willmott (1990a) Mean Seasonal and Spatial Variability Global
Surface Air Temperature. Theoretical and Applied Climatology, 41,
11-21.
- Legates, D. R. and C. J. Willmott(1990b) Mean Seasonal and
Spatial Variability in Gauge-Corrected, Global Precipitation.
International Journal of Climatology*/, 10, 111-127.
- Biome
Data - The biome data presented here comes from a global map
generated by the World Wildlife Fund.