Lab: Covid 19. Does weather affect the spread of COVID-19?

Lab: COVID-19
NATS 1780 A - Summer 2020, Version 1.0, May 12, 2020
Purpose 1
Procedure 2
Who? 2
What? 2
Where? 2
When? 2
Why? 3
How? 3
Your Story 3
Considerations 3
Your Submission 3
Assessment 4
Resources 4
General Purpose 4
COVID-19 Specific Examples 5
Purpose
Have any of the following questions occurred to you:
● Does weather affect the spread of COVID-19?
● Does pollution affect the spread of COVID-19?
● Does the spread of COVID-19 require consideration of climate and/or global change?
● Is COVID-19 having a positive impact on weather?
● Is quantitative literacy required to better appreciate climate change and COVID-19?
● Are COVID-19 droplets an atmospheric aerosol?
● Is it possible to understand the dispersal of COVID-19 in indoor spaces?
● Is the atmosphere a (passive) vector for COVID-19?
Are there other questions you have thought about, or want to think about?
The purpose of this lab is to develop a journalistic account that connects COVID-19 andatmospheric science. In other words, an account that juxtaposes this infectious disease with© L. I. Lumb - Sharing prohibited. Violators subject to legal and/or academic consequences. 1weather and/or climate. In so doing, it is hoped that you will actively engage in the process ofthinking and learning as geoscientists do.
Procedure
Note: Various resources are referenced below. Additional resources may be made available viaMoodle.
To develop your journalistic account, answer the following six questions, and summarize yourstory. Hints are provided to assist you in framing your response from a weather and climateperspective (W&CP).
Who?
In answering “Who was involved?”, a W&CP requires you think beyond the biosphere, the virusitself, and the atmosphere. Was it a single event? Are there other spheres of the Earth systemthat are affected?
What?
Again, to emphasize a W&CP, “What happened?” requires you to include the virus and theatmosphere (minimally) in succinctly capturing this part of the account. If the virus is regardedas the effect, what was the atmospheric cause of the event(s)? If the virus is regarded as thecause, were there any atmospheric effects of the event(s)?
Where?
Here, to emphasize a W&CP, locate the affected areas in relative terms (e.g., relative to a city,region, province, country, ...) as well as absolute terms (i.e., via latitude and longitude, ifpossible). In addition to locating places, try to ‘locate’ your subject quantitatively usingobservations from the surface and beyond. In addition to past and present, is there a futureaspect of “Where?” that needs to be accounted for?
(Note: Even if you are located in Ontario (close to York), you do not need to build up a localaccount; in other words, feel free to focus on virus-atmosphere interactions wherever you arelocated.)
When?In responding to the question of “When did it take place?”, is it clear that there is a timespaninvolved - a timespan punctuated by various events that emphasize a W&CP? In addition topast and present, is there a future aspect of “When?” that needs to be accounted for?© L. I. Lumb - Sharing prohibited. Violators subject to legal and/or academic consequences. 2Why?
In emphasizing “Why did it happen?” from a W&CP, is it possible to identify anatural/anthropogenic root cause (with any degree of certainty)? How does the broader setting,beyond humans and the atmosphere, support or oppose ‘the why’ (if at all)? (Note: You are notexpected to delve into the details ... )
How?In emphasizing “How did it happen?” from a W&CP, is it possible to identify processes involvedin initiating and evolving the event(s)? Can these processes be linked (i.e., connected) todelineate process flows?
Your Story
By the time you have answered these questions, you should have developed the story that youwant to tell regarding COVID-19 and atmospheric science. This may mean you have developeda provisional answer for one of the BIG questions posed here at the outset, or one of your owncreation. In so doing, you may have affirmed or debunked a COVID-19 - atmospheric scienceconnection, or been unable to establish a firm position either way - uncertainty is inevitable, andyou are encouraged to embrace it as necessary.
Finally, ensure your story is supported scientifically by your sources. Unsubstantiated opinions,beliefs, positions, have no journalistic credibility.
ConsiderationsRegard this as an opportunity to exercise critical thinking, and particularly the skills that supportit. As you vet sources, be aware that COVID-19 has presented a seemingly inexhaustibleopportunity for fact and fiction; you will need to assume that any journalistic source has takenone of these ‘spins’, or something in between. Translation: expect fake news, conspiracytheories along with ‘the truth’. The intention here is to represent an objective perspective basedupon science in your account.
Your Submission
You may submit your lab in the form of a point-form written response to the questions, apresentation, photo essay, video, mind map, timeline, infographic, annotated Google Map,scrapbook, Milanote, etc. Regardless of the submission format, however, your account muststrive for objectivity by referencing your sources.
© L. I. Lumb - Sharing prohibited. Violators subject to legal and/or academic consequences. 3Submit your lab online via Moodle.
Note: You are encouraged to work together on labs. However, your submission must beoriginal. Translation: Write up your final lab submissions independently, using your ownwords.
Assessment
This is a pass/fail component of the course that accounts for 5% of your overall grade.Completing at least 75% of the lab appropriately will result in a “Satisfactory” assessment and agrade of 3.75 out of 5; an “Outstanding” assessment, and a grade of 5 out of 5, will be awardedto those who completed at least 90% of the lab appropriately.
Resources
General Purpose
Kastens, K. A. et al., 2009, “How Geoscientists Think and Learn”, article available online athttp://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2009EO310001/abstract.
Lumb, I., “A Process-Flow Diagram for Burning Wood”, Youtube video available online athttps://youtu.be/75PuNVpAfLQ.
Lumb, I., Process-flow diagrams and the Hydrologic Cycle, in lecture content on H2O availableonline at
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1WOT-E-UTK7vSe67XglkmiYUZS3jQL-XKq-1dG-WGKrA/edit?usp=sharing.
Porter, J., 2010, “Five Ws and One H: The Secret to Complete News Stories”, blog postavailable online at
http://scienceclass3000.weebly.com/uploads/5/4/5/9/5459088/five_ws_and_one_h__the_secret_to_complete_news_stories_-_journalistics.pdf.
SkillsYouNeed, Critical Thinking Skills,https://www.skillsyouneed.com/learn/critical-thinking.html.
© L. I. Lumb - Sharing prohibited. Violators subject to legal and/or academic consequences. 4COVID-19 Specific Examples
(Obviously, you should not make use of any of these articles in isolation and expect full marks.)What Could Warming Mean for Pathogens like Coronavirus?Scientists expect to see changes in the timing, location and severity of disease outbreaks asglobal temperatures risehttps://www.scientificamerican.com/article/what-could-warming-mean-for-pathogens-like-coronavirus/Spring could impact the spread of the coronavirus, here's howhttps://www.theweathernetwork.com/ca/news/article/spring-weather-warmer-temperatures-humidity-could-change-the-spread-of-the-coronavirus
Air pollution drops as countries shut down amid spread of COVID-19: Large drops of nitrogendioxide seen over Italy and China
https://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/covid-19-air-pollution-1.5501810Supercomputing the spread of the coronavirus in busy indoor spaces (video included)
https://insidehpc.com/2020/04/supercomputing-the-spread-of-the-coronavirus-in-busy-indoor-spaces/Air Pollution Can Worsen the Death Rate from COVID-19: Scientists find that highly pollutedcounties in the United States will have a COVID-19 death rate 4.5 times higher than those withlow pollution if they’re otherwise similar.
https://eos.org/articles/air-pollution-can-worsen-the-death-rate-from-covid-19?utm_source=eos&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=EosBuzz041620