Air and Soil Temperatures in Benin
In late October, 1999, the Lycee Behanzin, in Porto-Novo, Benin, West Africa (longitude 6° 38.00' N, latitude 23° 6.97' E, elevation 10 m), installed an Onset H08-006-04 data logger and three Onset TMC6-HA temperature sensors. The GLOBE students describe their soil as "sandy and easy to dig." This school started reporting data in early November. The accompanying figures shows air temperature and soil temperature at 5 and 10 cm, along with the 24-hour running averages of these quantities. I would like to thank Aliou Alidjennatou Emmanuel, the Benin GLOBE Country Coordinator, for her permission to present these data on my web site.
The differences between Benin, near the equator, and my back yard, in a northern temperate climate at 40° N latitude, are striking. Benin is very hot during the northern hemisphere winter season, with maximum daytime air temperatures routinely exceeding 30° C. The soil temperatures are also very hot, into the high 30's during the day, and the diurnal temperature cycle in soil temperature spans up to about 7° C.
There are some possible temperature anomalies, for example, on November 11, 19, and 25-26. If these low values really are anomalous, they are probably due to moisture in the data logger electronics. There are also missing data in one or more channels. These problems are due to damaged cables and, perhaps, moisture in the electronics.
| November 1999 |
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| December 1999 |
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| January 2000 |
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