Intro: (2 minutes) Everyone has heard of El
Nino but most people do not really understand what happens and how it can
affect us. An over-simplified explanation is that El Nino
(and its opposite La Nina) is a change in the air and water of the Pacific
Ocean that changes weather over most of the planet. To
begin to unravel the mystery of the El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO) you
need to understand what causes the main ocean surface currents in the
equatorial Pacific Ocean, so you may want to go back and review your
exercise on Ocean Currents. If you start with a solid
understanding of ocean currents, each step below should not take any longer
than the time indicated.
Preview:
1. (2 minutes) Read through the questions below before you
start your research so you know what to look for.
2. (12 minutes) "Surf" through the six links below without doing a lot of reading or writing of notes, just look through them to see how understandable they are. Rank them A, B, C, D, E, F from simplest and easiest to understand (A) to most complex and harder to understand (F). Put the letters after the links on this paper.
3. (15 minutes per site, 90 minutes in all) Start with the site you ranked A and begin finding the information you need to answer the questions below. Do not answer them completely at first, just write down notes to help you remember what you understand as you use each site.
4. When you have taken notes from each site in the order A - F, decide if you need to search more to answer the questions and then use a general search site to find what you need.
5. (30 min) Answer the questions in full sentences in the right column.
Links in no particular order:
1. The NOAA El
Nino Theme Page
2.
An ENSO
tutorial from Prentice-Hall
3.
NOVA's Tracking El Nino
site.
4.
National Weather Service ClimatePrediction Center
ENSO Frequently Asked Questions
5.
National Weather Service ClimatePrediction Center
ENSO Cycle Tutorial
6.
El Nino for Dummies
Google Search
| Major Questions Areas | Notes | Answers in Sentences |
| What are El Niņo and La Niņa? What happens during them? |
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| What Causes El Nino and La Nina? |
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| What are the effects around the world of El Nino and La Nina? |
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| Are we now in an El Nino year? La Nina? Neutral? How do we know? |
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| How can people prepare for them? |
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