User:KHorton98/sandbox

Article Evaluation: Heat Waves

Everything in this article Heat wave is related to the topic of heat waves, however the first two introductory paragraphs use vague wording that does not clearly explain to the reader what they are trying to get across. For example, the last sentence of the first paragraph confuses me because they author is using the term, "people from a hotter climate," however there is no indication of a reference point as to what temperatures classifies as a warmer climate and over what time span. I think the first paragraph of the article needs to be more precise and specific, so the reader can fully understand the logistic definition of what a heat wave is. There is a section in the article designated to definitions as to what classifies as a heat wave in various counties. I think the definition in Merriam Webster's dictionary should be included in the first paragraph of the article while also writing that definitions vary among countries and link that to the 'definitions section' of the article. This allows for a clear and logical understanding of the term, 'heat wave.'

I think this article focuses heavily on the health effects and not enough on the environmental processes that cause and contribute to heat waves. I was surprised when only one sub section of the article was designated to formation of heat waves. I was even more surprised when there was only one sentence regarding global warming's enhancement of more extreme and more common frequency of heat waves. Being that heat waves are an environmental process on earth, I think there needs to be more information included on more relevant and up to date research regarding heat waves in an era climate chance is very real and working very fast in our lives.

An improvement of this article is the logical flow. Under 'contents' and in the sub section 3, health effects, 'wildfires' is a sub section, yet wildfires is an environmental effect? There is a lack of environmental effects that accompany heat waves such as droughts and urban heat islands. I think a more logic content flow of the article would be Health effects, environmental effects and socio-political effects. That way each of those sub sections have opportunity to flourish in information that allows the reader to understand that a heat wave has many effects on various aspects of the environment and society. For example, there should be a section of information designated to showing how greenhouse gases contribute to increased and more extreme heat waves.

Another vital piece of information missing from this article is a section regarding research on what the future holds in respect to a warming climate and what that means for increased frequency and intensity of heat waves around the globe. Heat Waves will become more common as climate change progresses and our earth warms at a faster rate than ever before. This information needs to be a part of the article for the reader to understand the broad idea of what future work needs to be done.

There needs to be a lot more sourcing in this article, it lacks support claiming its information for many sentences within the article. Just as an example, the second paragraph of the article doesn't have one sentence cited, yet it gives information on what a heat wave is to be considered, this needs solid evidence to back up the points.

Some of the sources used are not reliable and reflect bias opinions. For example, reference 41 is from BBC News, however there are also some reliable sources as well from NASA for example and NOAA and peer reviewed journals. There needs to be evidence of these sources though within the text to show where information was from and the bias sources such as news articles need to be removed.

This article is classified as 'C-Class' meaning that is good but is missing important content and contains some information that is not relevant to the topic. To improve this article to the A-Class more information is needed on the environmental impacts during a heat wave and the changes in heat waves due to a changing global climate. This article is in work with WickiProject Meteorology and the article is of high importance in this project. = Article Selection =

Geology of the Himalaya
This article is rated a C-class therefore it has missing content that needs to be furthered researched and added. Also, it has information that is not relevant to the topic, therefore it requires heavy and careful editing. This article discusses how the Himalayas were formed, however, I think a section needs to be added sharing present movement of the tectonic processes of the Himalayas' and what ecological and social impacts it has on the surrounding area. On top of this much needed information, this article requires more in text citations in order to validate the points.

Heat wave
This is the article i discussed in my article evaluation and it is considered a C-class. It needs a better organizational layout and reliable citations to prove information. It also requires more ecological impacts of heat waves.

Freshwater ecosystem
this article has been classified as a start page and has potential for so much research to benefit the article. It needs more subsections to discuss freshwater on the planet a whole and the different forms it comes in and where. This arcticlles talk page is almost blank, however this is considered an article of high importance of the wicki project of ecology. This article needs a lot of work, much needed research to be added and better organizational flow of the article itself. This is a broad topic and has great potential to cover many subtopics within the scope of freshwater ecosystems and what that means for society today.

Arctic ice pack
This article is rated C-class and requires more research to add to its vicinity. On the articles talk page, there are alphabetized wicki pages/topics of interest that users are debating to add ot this page. Also, this article is need of more references to support information and more visuals to help the reader. Another important evaluation of this article is it is missing information regarding to global warming and its impact on arctic ice and what that means for the entire planet.

Adding Citations Practice
Heat Waves today in Europe and North America happen parallel to the conditions of circulation in atmosphere and with increasing greenhouse gas concentration, this is intensified.

Adding Citations Exercise
Added Citation 14 in the article Heat wave on the first sentence under Formation.

Citation added: https://www.weather.gov/jetstream/hi

My Peer Reviews
I wrote this on Camilles talk page: Camillegiuliano/sandbox

Hi Camille! I really enjoyed reading your draft so far. Your language is scientific and professional, yet very easy to follow and read. Strengths of your article draft so far is your ability to link concepts with other Wicki pages so the reader can further investigate the topic. I think it really makes your article strong and concise.Some areas of improvement I think to polish your work is the structure, for example your causes section includes Anthropogenic causes. I think to make this section stronger is to add non-anthropogenic causes. It will help the reader understand what causes there are as there is not just anthropogenic. Another idea is in regards to your conservation efforts section, I think that including conservation efforts at various levels such as the individual level to regional and national government would help create a more broader yet in depth understanding. Lastly, I really liked how you including an examples sections. In order to make this section flow better, an idea could possibly be to bold, or enlarge or create a subtitle for the topic of each example, like the scorpian of Motecristo or the Ginko. Overall, great work so far. You are on a good track and your work is very well done.

I wrote this on Coadm001/sandbox

Hi, I really enjoyed reading your draft. You used persuasive yet unbiased word choices that created a strong piece of written work. I think your draft is very strong as it focuses on just the factors affecting infiltration but it is also broad as you added many factors. I think you really demonstrated your understanding of the subject great. Some ares of improvement when polishing your work could be adding some links to other wicki pages so the reader can further investigate and understand the topic in a deeper sense. For examples, some words that can be linked to another article if the reader doesnt know much about them are the following that I found when reading your draft; wildfires, infiltration or infiltration rates and runoff. Overall great work, you are on a good track.

There were no peer reviews on my talk page to respond too.

Reflective Essay
During the article evaluation, I learned that Wickipedia is more than just the website your teachers in school tell you not to use because anyone can write on it. During the article evaluation, I learned however, that even thought anyone can write on it, the writers are passionate in what they are contributing to online and work towards finding reliable information. If reliable sources are not found, peer reviews are great through the talk pages, to bring together a community of people around the world to improve information! I approached critiquing the article on heat waves by first, looking at its structure, then its points, then what could be added. After seeing that structure of the article needed work, I took a more broad approach in fixing the structure/layout of the article and then worked on fixing sentence structures and finding reliable sources where applicable. I chose to add, 'future environmental effects', because the article already had a lot of information on past, historic heat waves and the effects they had and the article briefly touched upon climate changes role. Therefore, I thought it was necessary to discuss future predicted effects as well in the article to make it stronger.

A summary of my edits so, was focusing on the role of present day climate change and future effects in heat waves patterns. I added a whole new section on this. I have still yet to add, is how wildfires play a role in relation to the duration and intensity of heat waves, before the due date this week. I think my edits and additions have been valuable to the article because they offer insight into scientists, and scholars work related to future effects and future patterns. I think this is very valuable information because knowing how what the future environmental effects are, will be vital to understanding and trying to tolerate and battle global issues such as climate change. Longer and more intense Heat waves are a direct outcome of a warming climate, and in order to minimize risk to humans and ecosystems, the global community must know what is projected to come in order to try and prepare and battle risks. My article compares to earlier versions by its structure, using appropriate word choice (scientific, yet understandable) and connecting other wicki pages to it, in order to help the reader find easy access to related information on wikipedia.

The peer review was the most valuable to me, because, I learned how review my peers works, give respectful and helpful thoughts on their work, while also learning how to improve my work based on my peers reviews on my work. In the review of my peers articles, I started each review with their strong points so they know what not to change. Then I contributed advice related to the structure of their work, in order for their information to flow better, also I suggested words/phrases they could use to link to another wiki article, in order to strengthen the articles connection to other contexts. Lastly, I ended each peer review on a positive note, to encourage them throughout the process. This is a reason I really like wikipedia, because it allows for user on talk pages to discuss in a respectful way, helping each-other make meaningful contributions. My peers really helped me with their peer reviews, I learned that I need to improve my sentence structure, to use words that flow better. My peer reviews from my peers showed me to work on, simplifying my sentences. I really enjoyed their feedback, they encouraged me, told my strong points and areas I could approve on.

I learned by contributing to wikipedia, that it takes a lot of work, and it requires passion for what you are writing about. I learned it is more than a website in which a person can randomly write on. It is a global, online commuting full of passionate people who want to improve information surrounding their area of interest. Wikipedia offers an avenue to dive into passions, contribute to sharing reliable information and talk with others via the talk pages on the same interests. It is full of passion, inspiration and knowledge, that is being improved upon every day. I love how it can be incorporated with schools, in order to teach about reliable information and also how interact with others through talk pages and peer review process. These are great skills to acquire for future jobs and schooling as well. Wikipedia is different than other assignments I've done in the past because it isn't just me working on an essay, or presentation. This project is contributing and interacting with a global community of passionate people with the same interests of mine. It is more pressure, however it is very rewarding to know I am helping contribute to improvements on a topic that is interesting to me. Wickipedia can be used to improve public understanding on important issues and raise awareness on particular matters. For instance, climate change, in order to battle climate change, changes in everyday lifestyle need to occur. Before reducing ones cabron footprint, one must understand what it is and what the cause is for. Wikipedia is a great resource to learn, discuss and share. This is important because as the world becomes more globalized and interconnected, wikipedia serves as the global, online, sharing grounds of information

Definitions
The World Meteorological Organization, defines a heat wave as 5 or more consecutive days of prolonged heat in which the the daily maximum temperature is higher than the average maximum temperature by 9 °F or more. However, some nations have come up with their own criteria to define a heat wave.

NOTE: this went live in definitions section of Heat Waves Article

Soil Moisture
Soil moisture conditions influence the amount of energy the earth's surface absorbs from the sun. Energy from the sun that reaches the land is considered to be latent and sensible heat. Latent heat, evaporates soil moisture and sensible heat heats the land. Increased evapotranspiration from the land happens when latent heat is in control which happens when there is high soil moisture. Increased evapotranspiration then cools the land also increases concentrations of atmospheric water vapour. Contrastly, sensible heat is in control when soil moisture is low (dry), which causes heating of the land, instead of cooling. Soil moisture played a major role in temperature increases during the European heat wave of 2003, where soil moistures were very low.

Anticyclonic Formations
An anticyclone is when the air pressure in the centre is higher than its surroundings. Long durations of high pressure atmospheric conditions are a result of anticyclones. When anticyclones form, it results in a clear sky because they block-pressure areas. A consequence of these conditions is minimal wind activity and more downward and direct solar radiation, thus leading to increased surface warming and heat waves. Anticyclonic formations are a major driver of heat waves in Australia. Also, anticyclonic atmospheric conditions over Western Russia were responsible for the Russian heat wave of 2010.

Droughts
Heat Waves are a main cause of prolonged droughts. During a heat wave, droughts can either increase of decrease heat wave temperatures. Heat wave temperatures can increase during a drought  because extremely warm temperatures increase evaporation causing longer and more intense drought conditions. However, heat wave temperatures can reach a limit when soil moistures become high during drought conditions. This happens when, incoming radiation from the sun is balanced by latent heat fluxes (evaporative cooling), instead of temperatures rising from sensible heat fluxes (the ground radiating heat).

Wildfires
During a heat wave, as temperatures get higher, drier conditions occur because there is no evaporative cooling. As land dries out, vegetation loses water and become limp through heat. As a result, temperatures rise even more during the heat wave and plants can no longer participate in evaporative cooling. They become combustible vegetation, susceptible to fire. An example of severe wildfires during a heat wave was Texas in summer 2011.

Future Environmental Effects
Climate models reveal that future heat waves have a pattern. The famous heat wave events of Chicago in 1995 and the European heat wave of 2003 will experience longer, more frequent and more intense heat waves in the latter 21st century. Heat waves today in Europe and North America happen in relation to conditions of atmospheric circulation.Increased anthropogenic activities causing increased greenhouse gas emissions show that heat waves will be more severe.

Heat waves that cause extreme droughts, decrease ecosystem carbon uptake. Carbon uptake is also known as carbon sequestration. Extreme heat wave events are predicted to happen with increased global warming, which puts stress on ecosystems. Stress on ecosystems due to future intensified heat waves will reduce biological productivity. This will cause changes in the ecosystem's carbon cycle feedback because there will be less vegetation to hold the carbon from the atmosphere, which will only contribute more to atmospheric warming.

References