El Niño webquest
Name:
Go to http://www.classzone.com/books/earth_science/terc/navigation/home.cfm
Enter esu601 on the upper left for the key code and click the Go! button.
1. Read the opening page and look at the pictures. What kinds of events have been tied to warm
waters in the Pacific?
Click on the blue arrow to go to the next page. Read the second page and examine the diagrams
to answer:
2. Compare to normal conditions, the surface water temperatures during El Niño
3. Why does the depth of the thermocline change when there is more warm water at the surface?
4. How is the thermocline depth along the west coast of South America different during El Niño
than during normal conditions?
Move onto the third page by clicking on the blue arrow. Read the information on the page and
study the diagrams.
5. How do the sea surface heights compare during El Niño and La Niña?
6. Where in the world are most of the El Niño waters located?
Move onto the fourth page and watch the video (it may take several viewings)
7. When does the sea surface height at the equator first begin to increase?
8. When does El Niño seem to end and La Niña seem to begin?
Go onto page 5. Study the images and read the information, then move onto page 6 and watch
the animation. Then move onto page 7 and watch those animations.
9. Summarize what happens to the thermocline and surface temperatures during El Niño and La
Niña events
Go to page 8 read and study the diagrams.
10 How does the North Pacific jet stream change from the mean during the January-March 1998
phase of the El Niño?
11. How does the North Pacific jet stream change from the mean during the January-March 1989
phase of the La Niña?
Go to page 9. Click on the button below the image to switch between weather for La Niña and El
Niño. The button is not labeling the current map, it is to switch to the next map. El Niño shows
first.
12. Fill in the chart below the weather conditions for La Niña and for El Niño for the specfic
places given
El Niño
La Niña
Indonesia
Alaska/Western Canada
Peru
Brazil
South Africa
Go to page 10
13. What are the conditions in the Southern US like during El Niño and La Niña?
Go to page 11. click on the button to switch between temperature and precipitation data. the temperature data will show first. 14. In Massachusetts by how much does the temperature change during El Niño? How much does the precipitation change? 15. Which area in the US seems to experience the greatest temperature change? 16. Which places seem to experience the most precipitation change? Go to page 12 to examine the precipitation and temperature changes for La Niña. the temperature data will show first. 17. Which areas experience the greatest difference in temperature? How much change? 18. Which areas gain the most precipitation? How much? 19. Which areas lose the most precipitation? How much? 20. Finish the tutorial. Can El Niño and La Niña alone explain the strange weather we get in Massachusetts? Explain your answer Go to the following website: http://forces.si.edu/elnino/index.html In the box that says “El Niño’s Powerful Reach” hit “click to explore”. Select “Long Distance Connections” from the tabs at the top of the window. Read the introduction and continue to page 2. 21. Read pages 2 through 7. Complete the chart below to show the connections between El Niño and different events around the world. Event & Location Connection to El Niño/La Niña Drought & famine in India Wildfires in Indonesia Vegetation growth in Australia Hanta virus outbreaks in SW United States Atlantic hurricanes Coral reefs worldwide What else besides El Niño impacts coral reefs? Select “Winners & Losers” from the tabs at the top of the window. 22. Why does El Niño have such a dramatic impact on seabirds and marine mammals? Read the text and examine the diagram on the first slide to understand the “chain reaction” that occurs. 23. Slides 2 through 6 describe how El Niño impacts iguanas, birds, and insects. Summarize the impact on one organism.