Warm Water Moves To The East example essay topic

Purpose: Hands on demonstration of the El Nino effect, trade winds, and upwelling. Materials: o Clear plastic oblong container (approx. 18'x 4'x 4', smaller will work, food containers are ideal), o Water, o Mineral oil, o Blue food coloring, o Hair dryer o (Red Oil-based Paint - optional) o Paper sheet map showing the Pacific Ocean Procedures: o Fill the tray with water to within 1' of the top. o Add green food coloring to the water until there is a nice "ocean blue". (Some of the food coloring will settle to the bottom which is fine because this will show the upwelling.) o (Pour some mineral oil in a bowl and mix in some red oil-based paint until the oil is evenly colored. If you do not have oil-based paint, it does not affect the outcome - we don't' use it in our demos here). o Gently pour the oil over the surface of the water.

(It's okay if it mixes a bit because it will separate out again.) o Put the container on the paper and mark East and West at either end, Indonesia and South America. o Plug in hair dryer, being careful to keep it away form any water spills. Conclusion: El Ni~no is a warm current that occurs each year in the month of December. This natural occurrence is the cause of changes over the entire tropical Pacific. When this large phase of warm oscillation happens the surface temperature of the eastern part of the tropical Pacific varies by up to about 4^0 C and there are also changes in the winds and rainfall patterns. El Ni~no lasts anywhere from three to seven years and usually includes a cold phase known as La Ni~na.

During the El Ni~no, trade winds weaken and the piled up water in the west drifts back east, carrying the warm water with it. The most severe effects of El Ni~no occur near the equator. Indonesia undergoes a pattern of deserts, while Peru receives heavy rainfall. There are forest fires in Indonesia and Australia to an awesome degree, while Peru experiences flooding. In our model, the hairdryer represents the trade winds which blow the warm waters from the east to the west. Because of this, the "warm" water tends to pile up in the West and sediment surfaces at the east end.

This sediment upwelling brings nutrient-rich bottom waters to the surface, creating areas which are rich in fish and other sea life. The rising air moves from west to east with the warm pool, and so does the pumping of heat and moisture into the upper atmosphere. This in turn changes the weather throughout the world. As the warm water moves to the east, the up welled water is also not as cool as during normal periods. Our model was an excellent portrayal of El Ni~no because it allowed us to see what actually occurs with a hands-on approach.

It was easy to see the warm water move across the ocean and see the trade winds that were created from the hairdryer. Nonetheless, there were flaws in our model. The model we created had far too much oil, which was quite unrealistic. Furthermore, the warm pool that transcended back to the east moved in a far too uniform manner. Also, our model was not spherical like the earth, it was flat.