Climate Patterns Viewer Conference/Meeting Name Location Date Presenter University email@somewhere.edu

A Little Bit about U2U Slide starts with graphic of university/institution logos, click to show 2013 team photo (putting faces to universities/institutions), click to reveal USDA-NIFA logo (point out funding source), then click to reveal overarching goal of project. Our goal is to help producers make better long-term plans on what, when and where to plant, and also how to manage crops for maximum yields and minimum environmental damage.

www.AgClimate4U.org Introduce the AgClimate4U.org website. Highlight “Decision Dashboard” for this and other decision support tool links, “Newsletter” for current updates, and “AgriClimate Connection Blog” for quick news/information stories and connection to the Sustainable Corn project (USDA-NIFA Corn CAP project).

Decision Dashboard I like to point out that the Decision Dashboard has not only our decision support tools, but also links to other decision support tools, the latest reports from national/regional climate information centers, and weather/climate graphics for the Corn Belt.

Decision Support Tools Shows participants the links to all of our decision support tools, while highlighting the one to be covered during the presentation.

Climate Patterns Viewer This tool provides a historical (1981-2010) look at how the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and Arctic Oscillation (AO) have affected local climate conditions across the Corn Belt. You can explore the influence on: average monthly total precipitation, average monthly temperature, deviations of these variables from 1981-2000 normals, and deviations of these variables from neutral phases. The maps can help you make decisions about: Climate Risks – Identify periods of more extreme weather. Activity Planning – Consider crop choice and irrigation needs. Marketing – Explore forward pricing alternatives.

Mapping the Relationships The tool connects global climate conditions to their local impacts for precipitation and temperature.

Types of Impacts The user can explore the typical impacts of the ENSO and AO cycles on average monthly precipitation and temperature, deviations from normal, and deviations from neutral phases of the cycles (example: compare El Niño/La Niña vs neutral).

Current Conditions The current conditions for the ENSO and AO cycles is always given by the tool.

Choice of Cycle The first drop box on each map allows the user to choose the part of climate cycle they wish to see (ENSO: El Niño, Neutral, and La Niña; AO: Positive, Neutral, and Negative).

Choice of Weather Variable The second drop box on each map allows the user to choose the weather variable they wish to see (Precipitation or Temperature: Average, Deviation from Normal, and Deviation from Neutral; Corn Yield: Yield, Deviation from Mean, and Deviation from Neutral).

Choice of Month The third drop box on each map allows the user to choose the month they wish to see. The month can also be changed using the arrows at the bottom right of each map.

Click on Your Region… If the user clicks on their region in the map, a graph will appear below the maps, displaying all of the monthly data for the region.

For Example Here’s the data for Iowa, Climate Division #5. The user can use the drop boxes to switch the variables and cycles shown on the graph. Like the graphs we have in other decision support tools, users can click on the legend of the graph to add/remove variables from the graph. If users hover the mouse (pointer) over the graph, a pop-up box will appear, displaying a table of the data for that point in the graph. Users can print or download the graph by clicking on the “Chart Options” graphic at the upper right hand corner of the graph. If the user wishes to zoom in on a particular feature of the graph, they can by clicking and holding the mouse button down and dragging the cursor across the feature.

Comparisons Users can select the “Four Maps” option to create a variety of maps for instant comparisons. Users can also link the maps, where a change in one map will be replicated across all of the linked maps.

Thank you for your time! Any questions? Well, that’s the tour of the decision support tool. Thanks.

https://mygeohub.org/groups/u2u/kit Presenters, remember you can check for the latest version of slides for this decision tool (along with other U2U information) at: https://mygeohub.org/groups/u2u/kit Thanks!