Geo Pr 2: Power of Nature
Chart/Report on terms (all)
Slide show on one phenomenon
Speech
Slide show to accompany speech
Bibliography (all outside sources used)
Time Log (hours spent on each section)
20/25
18/20
20/25
18/20
5/5
5/5
/100
COMMENTS:
Time
7-715
715-735
735-8
300-400
215-315
835-940
140-250
305-315
230-650
1125-1250
915-1120
Working On
Project plan
Step one
Chart
Step two – power point Earthquakes
Step two – power point Earthquakes
Step two – power point Earthquakes
Step two – power point Earthquakes
Step three - research
Step three – research &
power point
Step three – power point
Step three - speech
2. Next, you will research El Nina/El Nino (Try Google...and use
only articles about the Western World). You can also use
some of the information found in the links below:
http://users.net1plus.com/tdriskell/elnino.html
http://science.howstuffworks.com/search.php?terms=El+Nino
Your task is to imagine you are asked to speak to a group of
Junior High students, explaining the weather phenomenons
of El Nina/El Nino.
Your speech will be thoroughly researched, but will be written
in simple enough language for your audience to understand
and define the what, where, who, when and why.
Your speech should be about 2-4 pages in length, and include
a power point with graphics and text that you could use to
help you in your speech.
Remember, you will not be using overly formal language or
technical terms with this speech; you will be docked marks
for overly technical language.
Also, remember to have an introduction, body and closing for
the speech.
La Nina is characterized by her cold air and water
temperatures unlike El Nino which is characterized by
warm air and water. These are the cold and warm phases
of El Nino Southern Oscillation, and consist of an usually
cold or warm ocean temperatures and the air over the
water. Both can last for up to several months.
La Nina occurs when winds move warm water
away from the land, allowing the cold underwater to rise
to the surface. This causes the water that is closer to land
to become cool. The picture on the top shows a cross
section in the tropical Pacific during normal conditions.
Winds from the east move the water westward along the
equator this is shown by the white arrows. The solar
radiation causes the water to warm, creating warmer sea
surface temperatures. This also causes large amounts of
rain in the western tropical Pacific along with drier
conditions in the eastern tropical Pacific. The picture
below shows a cross section in the tropical Pacific during
La Nina conditions. During La Nina the cold pools in the
pacific intensify as well as the trade winds. Wind from
the east blows water westward along the equator allowing
deep-sea cold water to move up along the coast of South
America. Again this is shown by the white arrows.
Because of the warmer than normal Sea surface
temperatures clouds begin to form over the western
tropical Pacific. This produces great amounts of rain in
the western tropical Pacific and drier conditions in the
eastern topical Pacific.
What does La Nina mean? Long ago the people
living in South America that were affected by this odd
weather decided to name is La Nina, meaning ‘The little
girl’ in Spanish. Why it is called ‘the little girl’, I do not
know. It has also been called El Viejo, meaning ‘old
man’. Other common names used for La Nina are, ‘A
cold event’ and ‘A cold episode’. (I would have put this
section first?)
La Nina occurs due to the changes in the tropical
pacific and large modifications to the jet stream. This
causes the jet stream to shift its usual course over North
America. Abnormalities in the temperature and
precipitation over North American are a result from the
overall changes.
La Nina affects both North America and South
America. In South America, La Nina causes drought
through the coastal regions of both Peru and Chile. While
between the months of December to February there is
much more rain in northern Brazil. La Nina causes more
precipitation in the north Midwest, northern Rockies,
Northern California, and the Pacific Northwest’s southern
and eastern regions, of North America. North America
also gets a below average precipitation in the
southwestern and southeastern states.
Unlike El Nino, La Nina has many recorded dates
of when it has occurred. These dates range from being
two years apart, to being, thirteen years apart. In the past
La Nina has occurred in 1904, 1908, 1910, 1916, 1924,
1928, 1938, 1950, 1955, 1964, 1970, 1973, 1975, 1988,
and 1995.
There are also many different characteristics that
make La Nina original. La Nina consists of unusually
cold ocean temperatures in the eastern equatorial pacific.
It also causes above average precipitation in the north
eastern and north western parts of North America, and
below average precipitation in the south eastern and south
western parts of North America. Droughts occur in the
coastal regions of Peru and Chile. While northern Brazil
receives wetter than normal conditions between
December and February.
Discoveries have led and added to the knowledge
we have about La Nina. In the 1920’s the head of the
Indian Meteorological Service, Sir Gilbert Walker,
realized there was a pattern to the rainfall is South
America. His observation led to the realization of the
changes and pattern of the ocean temperatures and
atmospheric pressure. He called the rising pressure in the
east accompanied by lowering pressure in the west and
vice-versa, Southern Oscillation. Further study led to the
findings that monsoons in Asia, under certain conditions
were linked to droughts in Australia, Indonesia, India and
parts of Africa, as well as mild winters in Canada. The
connection between the changes of weather from La Nina
was not noticed until the late 1960’s by a Norwegian
meteorologist, Jacob Bjerkens. His discovery led to the
recognition that La Nina and El Nino are interrelated, and
led to the full name ‘El Nino Southern Oscillation’.
What is El Nino? Similar to La Nina, El Nino is
the warm phase of El Nino Southern Oscillation. “El
Niño events begin when trade winds, part of the Walker
circulation, falter for many months. A series of Kelvin
waves—relatively warm subsurface waves of water a few
centimetres high and hundreds of kilometres wide—cross
the Pacific along the equator and create a pool of warm
water near South America, where ocean temperatures are
normally cold due to upwelling.” (Wikipedia) El Nino
Causes unusual warmer water along the coasts of North
America and South America. (again, this could have gone
near the beginning)
In the 1500’s, fishermen in South America
wondered about the current of unusually warm water that
came to their shore every few years, around Christmas
time. Because they believed in the birth of Jesus Christ,
and celebrated his birth at Christmas, they decided to call
this odd weather El Nino, meaning ‘the infant’ in
Spanish.
Scientists are still not sure why El Nino occurs.
They are still investigating the causes.
El Nino occurs in both South America and North
America like La Nina. In South America between the
months of December to April, the coasts of northern Peru
and Ecuador experience warm and very wet weather. The
center of Chile gets large rainfalls and mild winters, in the
season of El Nino. Usually during the spring and early
summer, southern Brazil and Argentina have wetter
conditions. In North America the air temperature is
usually higher than normal over most of Canada. In
Northwest Mexico and Southwest United states the
winters are significantly wetter. As for the northwest
United States, northmidwest United States, and
northmideast United States, the climate is warmer and
drier than normal, and gets smaller snowfalls.
The first recorded El Nino occurred in 1986. Since
then there has been another 5 recordings of El Nino.
These are from 1991-1992, 1994-1995, 2002-2003, 20042005, and 2009-2010.
The Characteristics of El Nino consist of, the rise
in surface pressure of the Indian Ocean, Indonesia, and
Australia. The fall of pressure over the central and eastern
Pacific ocean. The weakening or eastern heading trade
winds in the south Pacific. Warm air rises near Peru,
causing rain in the desserts. Warm water spreads from the
west Pacific and the Indian Ocean to the east Pacific
Ocean. Drought in the western pacific and more rainfall
in the eastern Pacific.
La Nina and El Nino are very different but at the
same time they are similar. They look different and feel
different but they share characteristics, even if those
characteristics are in different areas of the world. La Nina
is the cold phase of the El Nino Southern Oscillation, and
El Nino is the warm phase. They occur at different times
and can both occur for long periods of time.
Bibliography
http://www.publicaffairs.noaa.gov/lanina.html
http://www.ec.gc.ca/adsccmda/default.asp?lang=en&n=98231106-1
http://www.ocgy.ubc.ca/projects/clim.pred/enso.canada.html
http://www.fi.edu/weather/nino/nino.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Ni%C3%B1oSouthern_Oscillation
1. I would like you to start by researching the following terms using the sites below and any other
information you wish (be sure to put any sources in your bibliography). You will use this information for
the activities that follow the web sites. (Please do not cut and paste...summarize information).
1. Earthquakes (San Andreas Fault) an earthquake is a series of vibrations in the crust of the earth
cause by the sudden rupture and rebound of rocks in which elastic strain has been accumulating.
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/earthquake
2. Hurricanes A hurricane is a violent, tropical storm of intense severity occurring in the ocean and
moving inland.
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/hurricanes
3. Tornadoes A tornado is a spiralling windstorm that is violent and occurs over land.
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/tornados
4. Floods A flood is an overflow of water on land that is usually not covered by water
5. Monsoons/Tsunamis A monsoon is a seasonal wind of the Indian ocean and southern Asia that
blows southwest in the summer time and northeast during the winter.
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/monsoon
A tsunami is a giant wave that is created by an earthquake under water, commonly called a seaquake
or by a volcano erupting under the water’s surface.
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/tsunami
Create a chart, (or use paragraph format) supplying this information for each of the terms above:
Causes
Geographical
Kind of damage
Fore-warning
Locations
inflicted
systems (if any)
Earthquake An earthquake is caused by Earthquakes can
The damage that
Seismometer. It
the sudden rupture or the
happen anywhere
typically occurs
is used to
rebound of rocks in which
in the world inland. from an
measure the
elastic stains have been
Earthquakes that
earthquake is the
movements of
accumulating
happen
splitting of land
the ground
underwater are
and the crumbling (usually very
called seaquakes.
of buildings
little notice)
(most often occur
along coastlines
and fault lines)
Hurricane
The cause of hurricanes is
Hurricanes occur
Hurricanes bring
GFDL hurricane
converging winds near the on the coast of a
damaging winds
model
surface of the water that
continent and first and lots of rain.
collide, pushing more
accumulates over
They can cause
water vapor upward, and
the ocean and
flooding, and can
increasing the circulation
moves inland.
also tear apart
of warm air, and
homes and tear
accelerating the speed of
down trees and
the wind. While strong
electrical polls.
winds blow at higher
They can also
altitudes pulling the rising
cause flying debris
warm air away from the
that causes
storm’s center sending it
damage
swirling into the
hurricane’s classic cyclone
pattern.
weather radar
Tornados
Tornados are cause(d) by
Tornados occur
Tornados cause
the colliding of warm air
inland and typically damaging winds
Floods
Monsoons
Tsunamis
masses and cool air masses
causing the air to spin.
away from the
coast.
Floods are cause(d) by
excess rain or snow that
then melts quickly in areas
that have a lower land
level. They can also be
caused by Hurricanes that
cause excess rain and by
tsunamis.
?
Floods usually
occur in areas
where the land is
lower than sea
level (often near
rivers which swell
over their banks)
Tsunamis are caused by
seaquakes or volcanoes
that erupt underwater.
Indian ocean and
southern Asia
Tsunamis occur on
the coast of
continents
that can rip apart
houses, tear down
trees and electrical
polls along with
damaging flying
debris and can also
cause damage to
the land in which it
goes over.
Floods more-orless cause water
damage and cause
wet homes that
can grow mould if
not dried fully
flood risk maps
?
Weather Radar
Tsunamis can
cause flooding,
destroyed
buildings and cars,
and can knock over
trees and electrical
polls.
seismicmonitoring
stations and sea
level gauges.
Bibliography for chart and earthquake power point
Chart
http://www.buzzle.com/articles/how-are-earthquakes-detected.html
http://www.solarnavigator.net/tornadoes.htm
http://www.odu.edu/ao/instadv/quest/Hurricane.html
http://ec.europa.eu/research/leaflets/floods/page_94_en.html
http://www.aboutmyplanet.com/science-technology/tsunamis-forewarning/
1906 San Francisco Earthquake
http://www.zpub.com/sf/history/1906earth.html
http://www.learncalifornia.org/doc.asp?id=493
http://geology.rockbandit.net/2009/02/03/buildings-in-san-francisco-unsafe-in-next-quake/
http://www.eas.slu.edu/Earthquake_Center/1906EQ/1906thumb.html
http://makurrah.wordpress.com/2010/01/16/william-james-on-the-san-francisco-earthquake-of1906/earthquake_sm/
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/regional/nca/1906/18april/index.php
http://history1900s.about.com/cs/sfearthquake/p/sfquake.htm
1964 Alaska "Good Friday" Earthquake
http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=328823848568
http://www.greatlandofalaska.com/pictures/geologic/1964/index.html
https://www.geology.ucdavis.edu/iype/march/3_27.html
http://geoinfo.amu.edu.pl/wpk/pe/a/harbbook/c_iii/chapter_3c.htm
http://www.photolib.noaa.gov/htmls/cgs02015.htm
http://www.vibrationdata.com/earthquakes/alaska.htm
http://www.greatlandofalaska.com/reference/GoodFridayQuake.html
http://www.anchorage.net/822.cfm
1994 Northridge Earthquake
http://www.wvdhsem.gov/WV_Disaster_Library/Library/Earthquake/PredctLA.htm
http://muirms.com/General%20Information/History%20of%20Muir/history%20of%20muir.htm
http://berkeley.edu/news/berkeleyan/2006/01/18_resumption.shtml
http://wiki.ocregister.com/Orange_County/History/Disasters/Earthquakes/1994_Northridge_Earthquake
http://www.vibrationdata.com/earthquakes/northridge.htm
http://www.olympus.net/personal/gofamily/quake/famous/northridge.html