Warm Up – Vocabulary Check
Surface current
upwelling
climate
convection current
Coriolis Effect
Gulf Stream
El Nino
continental deflection
global winds
deep current
1.The apparent curving of the path of a moving object from an
otherwise straight path due to the Earth’s rotation.
2.The movement of deep, cold, and nutrient-rich water from the deep
ocean to the ocean’s surface.
3.The change in direction of a surface current due to its encounter with
a landmass.
4.A horizontal movement of ocean water that is caused by wind and
that occurs at the top several hundred meters of the ocean’s surface.
5.A change in the surface water temperature in the Pacific Ocean that
produces a warm current across the equator.
Warm Up – Vocabulary Check
1.The apparent curving of the path of a moving object from an
otherwise straight path due to the Earth’s rotation.
 Coriolis Effect
2.The movement of deep, cold, and nutrient-rich water from the deep
ocean to the ocean’s surface.
 Upwelling
3.The change in direction of a surface current due to its encounter with
a landmass.
 Continental deflection
4.A horizontal movement of ocean water that is caused by wind and
that occurs at the top several hundred meters of the ocean’s surface.
 Surface Current
5.A change in the surface water temperature in the Pacific Ocean that
produces a warm current across the equator.
 El Nino
Homework
 Isotherm graphs
 Discussion questions 1-12
El Nino
El Nino Conditions
Normal Conditions
El Nino’s Affect on Global
Climate
 Dry conditions in the western Pacific (Australia &
Indonesia)
 Heavy rainfall in South America (Peru) & Southern U.S.
Buoy Location Across the Pacific Ocean
Below is NOAA buoy
locations to monitor ocean
temperature in order to
track El Nino weather
patterns.
Isotherms:
 Isotherms are lines that connect locations that have equal
temperatures
 Y-axis represents the depth of the ocean
 X-axis represents the
longitude where the
buoy is located
Directions:
1. Glue temperature graphs on page 64 of ISN
2. Draw isotherms for the following temperatures:
 26 ̊, 23 ̊, 20 ̊, 17 ̊, 14 ̊, 11 ̊, 9 ̊
3. Use colored pencils to color the spaces between the isotherms
4. Complete Figure 1
and Figure 2
5. Answer discussion
questions 1 - 12
Homework
 Unit Exam/Current and Climate Test next
Friday February 12th
Learning Target
 I can compare and contrast global winds with
surface currents.
 I can explain the difference between normal
conditions in the ocean/climate with El Nino
years.
Global Winds & Surface
Currents Maps
Isotherm
 How did your isotherm turn out?
 What is each graph showing us?
El Nino Activity- Ocean Thermal Surfaces Maps
El Nino Activity- Ocean Thermal Surfaces Maps
El Nino Activity
 Use notes, graphs, and textbook to complete packet.
 Turn in when complete
El Nino Summary
 Predictable, occurring every 2-12 years
 The South Pacific Trade Winds slow down or stop,
moving less warm tropical water to Australia &
Indonesia.
 Temps rise along the west coast of South America
 Stops upwellings along South America, which
means no nutrients, disrupting the food chain.
 Affects ALL life in ocean & on land
 Change between ocean & atmosphere cause
global climate change.
El Nino Graphing Activity
 Read and annotate the passage on the
front of the packet
El Niño of the late 1990s
It rose out of the tropical Pacific in late 1990s. By the time it had run its course the giant
El Niño of the late 1990s had changed weather patterns around the world, killed an
estimated 2,100 people, and caused at least 33 billion [U.S.] dollars in property damage.
Along the coast of Peru (west coast of South America) weeks of heavy rain caused coastal
rivers to flood their banks, five or six inches of rain a day in some places. Peru was where
it all began, but El Niño’s abnormal effects on climate (including: sunshine, temperature,
atmospheric pressure, wind, humidity, precipitation, cloud formation, and ocean currents)
changed weather patterns across the equatorial Pacific and in turn around the globe.
Indonesia and surrounding regions suffered months of drought. Temperatures reached
108°F in Mongolia; Kenya’s rainfall was 40 inches above normal; central Europe suffered
record flooding; and Madagascar was battered with monsoons and cyclones. In the U.S.
mudslides and flash floods flattened communities from California to Mississippi, storms
pounded the Gulf Coast, and tornadoes ripped Florida.
Aside from the climate related disasters the El Niño of the late 1990s caused it also marked
the first time that climate scientists were able to predict abnormal flooding and droughts
months in advance, allowing time for threatened populations to prepare. Perhaps the most
important effort was the development of the TAO (tropical atmosphere/ocean) array of 70
moored buoys to span the equatorial Pacific. They monitor water temperature from the
surface down to 1,600 feet [500 meters]. Thanks to the TAO buoys, and a variety of other
tools, climate scientists now have information of unprecedented range and accuracy, which
has enabled them to confirm and expand their theories about what occurs both during
normal weather patterns and the arrivals of El Niño.
Normal Conditions (Equatorial Pacific)
The climate in the equatorial Pacific is usually determined by sunlight heating
the surface zone of the western Pacific around Australia and Indonesia, causing
huge volumes of hot, moist air to rise thousands of feet creating a lowpressure system at the ocean’s surface. As the air mass rises and cools, it
sheds its water content as rain, contributing to monsoons in the area.
Now much drier and higher in the troposphere, the air heads east, guided by
winds in the upper atmosphere, cooling even more and increasing in density as
it travels. By the time it reaches the west coast of the Americas, it is cold and
heavy enough that it starts to sink, creating a high-pressure system near the
water’s surface. The air currents then flow as trade winds back toward
Australia and Indonesia. As the trade winds blow westward over the Pacific,
they push the warm top layer of the ocean with them, causing the hottest
water to pile up around Indonesia. All along the coast of the Americas, and
especially off Ecuador and Peru, colder deep ocean currents upwells to replace
the warm water that was carried away by the global winds, bringing to the
surface nutrient rich water from the deep ocean. That wealth of nutrients from
the deep ocean sustains an enormous food web and makes the coastal waters
off Peru one of the world’s best for fishing.
El Nino Conditions (Equatorial Pacific)
El Niño changes all that. For reasons that scientists still do not
understand, every few years the trade winds weaken or even
disappear. Without the trade winds the warm top layer of the eastern
Pacific does not move west. It stays in place, getting hotter and hotter.
This causes the humid air above the extremely warm ocean to rise and
condense as torrential rain on the west coast of the Americas. This, in
turn, reduces the salinity of the coastal seas, where deep ocean
upwellings have already stopped. Marine life that customarily thrives
on upwellings off Ecuador and Peru now search for cooler, richer
waters.
Because El Niño moves the rains that would normally soak the western
Pacific toward the Americas, such places as Australia, Indonesia, and
India may experience severe drought. Meanwhile, back in North
America, the jet streams that travel 5 to 8 miles above Earth’s surface
shift dramatically. The polar jet stream tends to stay farther north over
Canada than usual; as a result, less cold air moves into the upper
United States.
Warm-up:
Using a blank piece of paper sketch the equatorial Pacific.
- Draw arrows to show the Trade Winds
- Draw a circle of warm surface water during a normal year
- Write the normal climate conditions next to each continent
Warm-up:
Using your sketch, indicate the location in the Pacific (Eastern or
Western) and whether it is an El Nino year or normal? Write the
condition and type of year beneath your drawing.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Parts of Australia are experiencing drought conditions.
Southern California had several days of rain.
Indonesia experienced several days of rain.
Peru no longer had the beneficial upwelling.
Peru is experiencing flooding conditions.
South America has average rainfall.
HW Check:
1. Various answers
2. C
3. Even though Scotland is located at a high latitude, its climate
is relatively mild because the Gulf Stream carries warm water
from the Tropics to the North Atlantic Ocean.
4. El Nino can cause flash floods and landslides
5. 540 X .85 = 459 kg
540-459 = 81 kg
6. Description of upwelling should be included in your answer and
the negative effects caused when it does not occur
February 2, 2016
Sketch and describe
the conditions in the
western and eastern
pacific during a
normal year.