El Nino Questions

INSTRUCTIONS: You browser window should be split into two frames. The top frame contains these instructions and questions for you to answer. The bottom frame contains a document on El Nino from NASA-MTPE. Within this NASA document, there is a link to "Normal Conditions" and a link to "El Nino Conditions." In addition to reading the main page of the document, you must also read the two pages associated with these links.

The objective of this lesson is to learn how El Nino alters the normal wind, sea level and temperature, and weather patterns in the tropical Pacific Ocean. By the end of this lesson you should know:

the "normal" wind patterns in the tropical Pacific and how these alter during an El Nino event;

the "normal" sea level and ocean temperature patterns in the tropical Pacific and how these alter during an El Nino event;

the "normal" precipitation patterns on land areas bordering the western and eastern Pacific and how these alter during an El Nino event;

some of the effects of El Nino on weather conditions in areas remote from the tropical Pacific.

Type your answers into the text fields (boxes) below. When you are finished, click on the "submit" button to send your answers to your instructor.

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1. What is the Southern Oscillation?

2. Under normal conditions in the tropical Pacific Ocean and neighboring continents/countries, we generally find:

a. winds blow from to pushing water away from and towards .

b. sea level is higher in the Pacific and lower in the Pacific.

c. ocean temperatures are higher in the Pacific and are lower in the Pacific.

3. How do these differences in ocean temperatures affect precipitation amounts in Indonesia and Peru?

4. During an El Nino, how do each of the following change?

a. winds in the tropical Pacific?

b. sea level in the western & eastern Pacific?

c. ocean temperatures in the western & eastern Pacific?

d. precipitation amounts in Indonesia & Peru?

5. List two regions of the earth not in the vicinity of the tropical Pacific that experience:

a. wetter than normal conditions during an El Nino.

b. drier than normal conditions during an El Nino.

c. warmer than normal conditions during an El Nino.