User:PhatWabbit/sandbox

Envir Sc 3B03 Exercise - Evaluate an Article

Talk:Tipping point (climatology) To start things off, this article uses way too many analogies. In fact, half of the introduction section was just analogies, which may help some understand the topic but seems to be more of a content filler. We begin to see some quality writing in the definition section. The authors define the term "tipping point" using the IPCC AR5 report, which is a very reliable source. They also provided an alternative definition, which I think just confuses the reader since it just dances around the first definition from the IPCC AR5. There are some grammar and spelling mistakes, such as the capitalization of the word "ocean." There is a lack of citations in some parts of the article, which needs to either be cited or be removed.

Envir Sc 3B03 Exercise - Article Selection

Potential topics:

• Tipping point (climatology)
• Ice–albedo feedback
• Soil carbon feedback

Tipping point (climatology)

Need to replace analogies with useful information. Grammar and spelling check. Either cite sources for factual statements, or remove the statement all together.

Ice–albedo feedback

This entire article has 1 citation, which is not a sign of strong reliability. The contents of the article needs to be backed up by more reliable sources.

Soil carbon feedback

This article is incomplete, in the sense that it only covers the topic at a superficial level. This is exemplified by the fact that the article only has an introduction section and a "general" section. The name "general" section is also indicative that this section is more of just a dumping ground for unsorted information that is related to the topic. As more information about the topic is added, the sections need to be well-defined too.

Envir Sc 3B03 Exercise - Add a Citation

Adding a citation to Tipping point (climatology) using https://www.nap.edu/read/13111/chapter/6 as the source.

This article only has one section that actually talks about an example of a tipping point. This citation can be used to add a few additional examples, such as changes in the The North Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC).

Envir Sc 3B03 Exercise - Copyedit an Article

Instead of editing an article directly, I'll showcase my edits here:

Unedited:

A climate tipping point is a point when a global climate changes from one given stable state to another stable state, much as when stemware, after being tilted from its base, finally tips over. After the tipping point has been passed, a transition to a new state occurs. The tipping event may be irreversible, much like the spilling out of the wine originally contained in the glass: standing up the glass will not put the wine back.

Edited:

In climatology, tipping point refers to conditions at which the global climate undergoes a major change in state, often marked by the irreversibly of the process. Tipping points are often associated with thresholds, therefore when certain climatic variables such as temperature break pass the threshold, the system will shift to a new direction.

Envir Sc 3B03 Exercise - Peer review two articles

Article 1: Limnetic Zone by User:Waffles82/sandbox

This is a very good introduction to the Limnetic Zone. This introduction not only describes what the Limnetic Zone is, but also touches on the The citations found in this paragraph are all of high quality and are primary sources. I would also suggest double checking the grammar in the paragraph. For instance, the last sentence began with "because," which is grammatically incorrect.

Article 2: Infiltration by User:Coadm001/sandbox

The first two sentences are good, since they provide a reader that has zero knowledge of the subject on the definition of the term. However, I don't think seguing directly into infiltration capacity is a good way to start an article on infiltration, since infiltration capacity is a subcategory of infiltration rates, which in itself is also a subcategory of infiltration as a whole. The flow of this sequencing just doesn't make sense. If anything, talk a bit more about infiltration, such as how it is dependent on the surface type, and then segue into infiltration rates. Once infiltration rates have been defined and explained, then you can talk about infiltration capacity, which is the maximum infiltration rate.

Envir Sc 3B03 Exercise - My Article

I have changed topics, from Tipping point (climatology) to CLASS-CTEM. This is because the Tipping Point article has undergone severe restructuring and edits since I last checked on it, and in its current state, it is very well-written and does not require my input. No article has been written about CLASS-CTEM yet, so I will be writing this article here in the sandbox.

Introduction

CLASS-CTEM is a Fortran-based terrestrial climate model created by the merging of two individual models: CLASS and CTEM. CLASS stands for the Canadian Land Surface Scheme model, and was developed by Environment Canada for simulating regional and global surface energy and water exchanges. CTEM stands for the Canadian Terrestrial Ecosystem Model and was developed by the Canadian Centre for Climate Modelling and Analysis for simulating terrestrial carbon cycles. Researchers have successfully coupled the two models together, naming it CLASS CTEM. CLASS-CTEM is a component of the Canadian Global Climate Model, which is used by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) for assessment reports.

Forcing Data

CLASS-CTEM requires a standard set of forcing data, in the format of half-hour time series. The input is as follows: Hour, Minute, Day, Year, Shortwave Radiation, Longwave Radiation, Precipitation, Temperature, Specific Humidity, Wind Speed, Pressure. Since CLASS-CTEM is written in Fortran, there is a very specific spacing-based formatting for the forcing data. Refer to the CLASS-CTEM User Guide for more detailed information.

Model Initialization

Edits to the number of simulated years need to be made to the job_options file under the Site folder. To simulate certain conditions such as a thinning event, the .CTM file will also need to be edited to adjust for the initial values of key parameters. The model is hosted on SHARCNET, and to compile the binary needed to run the model, the user needs to use the make function in the Unix shell to compile the executable. From there, the executable can be ran directly from the terminal.

Model Output

The model will output a variety of simulated time series data in the Sites folder. There are two versions of each data file. The first is the _M files, which have separate data for each mosaic tile in the simulated area. The second is the _G files, which contain grid-averaged numbers across all the mosaic tiles in the simulated area.

Envir Sc 3B03 Exercise - Reflective Essay

This assignment has really given a newfound appreciation for Wikipedia. Doing this assignment has given me the realization that Wikipedia is one of the best inventions in history. With just a basic browser and an internet connection, anyone from anywhere in the world can learn about anything and everything. Before Wikipedia, you would have to sift through a textbook or newspapers to find information on a topic, then sift through the updated textbooks/newspapers for more current information on the topic. This is one of Wikipedia's next biggest strengths - the ability to remain up-to-date. As our knowledge of the world and as the world itself changes around us, our records need to be constantly updated. In traditional forms of media (such as textbooks), this would mean having to wait for a long enough time so that enough change has taken place to warrant a new iteration of the textbook. Wikipedia can be updated even with the most minuscule change in information.

Critiquing articles was a very unique task that I took a lot away from. On one end, critiquing an article requires me to have a strong understanding of the content, so that I can make sure whatever I'm reading is correct. On the other end, critiquing an article should also require a healthy amount of organic ignorance. What I mean by this is, I need to simulate what it feels like for a person who has no background on the subject to read the article. A good article should be able to communicate all the necessary information to someone who has no previous knowledge of the subject. When critiquing an article, I found it hard to strike a balance between these two approaches, mainly because they are polar opposite in nature. However, this just goes to show that anyone, regardless of background, can have a part in critiquing an article.

My contributions are very important I think. I started a whole new article on a subject that Wikipedia has not covered yet. I believe that this could proliferate into something bigger in the future, once more editors latch on. The peer review stage was useful because it gave me an idea of what other students in my class were doing. I could also see what was working for them and what wasn't working for them, and incorporate that knowledge into my workflow. I didn't receive any feedback from Wikipedia editors mainly because the article I'm working on has not existed before.

My thoughts about Wikipedia in general was summarized in the first paragraph. However, in the first paragraph I addressed Wikipedia as a whole. Now, I would like to talk about the individuals that form the collective known as Wikipedia, because ultimately, Wikipedia is a platform and a platform is just a platform without the performers. The effort and dedication from every individual editor is what makes Wikipedia great - people taking time out of their day to discuss and write an article that offers no monetary compensation. Wikipedia cannot survive without this act of altruism and not enough credit can be given to each editor on this amazing platform. To end things off, I believe that as the world transitions into an information based society, Wikipedia's role will only increase.