Examples of Seasonal Markers

Page history last edited by Iowasciencegal 1 year, 6 months ago

Examples of Natural Seasonal Markers are:

birds flying south for the winter
the first hard frost of the season
trees losing their leaves

When students in an Iowa school observe birds flying south for the Winter, they know it is a sign that Fall is turning into Winter. Natural Seasonal Markers are useful to scientists as they study climate change, ecosystems, and species populations.

Examples of Cultural Seasonal Makers are:

Christmas lights and decorations in communities
fireworks on the 4th of July
people wearing pastels in the spring and brightcolors in summer

Cultural Seasonal Markers tell us what season we are in just like Natural Seasonal Markers do, however as the traditions change, so do the markers.

Here is an example of how one cultural seasonal marker has changed over the last few decades:

In the 1980's, when I was a little girl, Christmas lights, trees, and decorations would be put in the stores on the weekend after Thanksgiving. On the Wednesday before Thanksgiving - NO Christmas items would be in the stores. On the day after, just like magic, there they would be! Our family would go to the mall at this time just to see what new decorations were available. For us, this was a sign that Fall had become Winter. Today, Christmas lights are available in stores all year long! Christmas trees and decorations begin to appear in stores in early October. Does this mean Winter begins in October now? Of course not! It means that our culture has changed and that Christmas Decorations in stores can no longer be trusted as a sign that it IS Winter. Now this is a sign Winter is coming.

Because Cultural Seasonal Markers are not dependent on Natural Phenomena, they are not helpful to climate scientists and ecologists. They can still be interesting to us. Using this website you will be able to see many different ways that scientists and other citizens keep track of the seasons. You will be able to share with Iowa GLOBE students and other students your ideas about seasonal markers. You can participate in the GLOBE Green-up (Spring) and Green-down (Fall) science project or design a project of your own!

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