Communicating Climate Change: Outreach Through Emigrant Pass Observatory Data

The Emigrant Pass Observatory (EPO) was constructed as a geothermal climate change observatory in remote northwestern Utah. It has been collecting meteorological and subsurface thermal data since 1993 principally to understand the relationship between air and ground temperatures. Beginning in 2004, daily telemetry provides daily online updates of meteorological conditions at EPO. We also have available a single file of all telemetry data. However, this format was not necessarily user-friendly and was particularly difficult for the general public to use in understanding the local climatic conditions and climate change. To facilitate the use of our data for educational and scientific purposes, we are in the process of upgrading our website (http://thermal.gg.utah.edu/facilities/epo/). The upgrade consists primarily of 1) a tutorial for understanding both local climate and climate change, and their relation to diffusion of temperatures into the subsurface, 2) visualization of the local climate, and 3) user-defined accessibility to download available climate data. Additionally, our collaboration with ongoing outreach projects (e.g. GK-12) in Utah will promote the use and understanding of climate change data among students and educators, thus filling a valuable niche in local education.