Shoes, Rubber Duckies,, and El Niño

Transcription

1 Shoes, Rubber Duckies,, and El Niño How they are related By Laura Maliszewski and Liz Strojny

2 New Gifts found in the Ocean Instead of that chest full of gold... Did you know you could find that new rubber ducky on the beach? How about that new pair of Nike shoes you ve been wanting? Just go to the beach and pick some up!

3 Where do I get this free stuff? During a severe storm in the north Pacific, a ship carrying bath toys from Hong Kong to Washington lost some cargo. These toys were found mostly in Alaska.

4 During a severe storm in the north Pacific, a cargo ship carrying Nike shoes was shipwrecked, releasing 60,000 shoes into the ocean. These shoes were found along the Pacific coast of North America.

5 Path of Shoes Found 1 shoe spill, May 27, recovered, February-March recovered, March 26, recovered, April 4, recovered, May 18, recovered, May 9-10, recovered, January-February several recovered, January-March recovered, November-December several recovered January-July 1994

6 Scientists use this information to help understand ocean circulation and they predict these gifts to be found from Alaska to Hawaii and even along the coast of Europe within the next 10 years. For more information, see

7 What would this have actually cost? A average oceanic drifter costs approximately $5, ,000 Nike shoes were released into the ocean. It would have cost scientists 300 million dollars to release that many drifters into the open ocean, and collect that much data.

8 How does this all relate to the Equatorial Countercurrent? Objective: To understand how it forms, the dynamics of the Equatorial Countercurrent, and its effects on ocean circulation, especially El Niño/La Niña

9 Definition: An eastward flow in the Atlantic and Pacific that flows counter to the direction of the easterly trade winds

10 Ocean Circulation Global winds are formed because of how the sun hits the Earth. As this wind blows across water, the water begins to move. Moving water is affected by the Coriolis effect.

11 Global Sea Surface Temperature

12 Global Wind Speed

13

14 Coriolis Effect In general, water moves to the right in the Northern Hemisphere and to the left in the Southern Hemisphere. It is the basis for the myth that the toilet flushes clockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and counterclockwise in the Southern Hemisphere. For more detailed information, see skinny1.html

15 Ocean Currents Wind patterns, Coriolis effect, and arrangement of landmasses all are responsible for large-scale patterns of wind-driven surface currents.

16 Ocean Currents

17 Equatorial Countercurrent-- Why it occurs South Equatorial Current is located around 5 S and the North Equatorial Current is located around 5 N. Both flow in the same direction, resulting in a piling up of water on one side. Since water flows downhill, a countercurrent is formed, flowing in the opposite direction.

18 El Niño/La Niña Definition: a weather related changing of ocean currents in the Pacific Ocean These changes are every 3 to 7 years and the effects last up to a year. This is the reason South Carolina gets snow, Seattle gets a drought, southern California floods.

19 El Niño For reasons still unknown, the wind-driven Peru current slackens. This allows the warmer Equatorial Countercurrent to occupy the waters next to Peru, causing an El Niño.

20 El Nino Warm Water Pool Decreasing, Jan. 08, 1998

21 La Niña Usually follows an El Niño When the winds strengthen and Peru currents returns to normal Has unusually cold ocean temperatures

22 Not much is known about what causes the El Niño/La Niña cycle, but we do know that it changes weather patterns drastically It may even account for the record highs and lows that have been set in the past 10 years. We do know that they are increasing in strength, possibly because of global warming For more information, see

23 Conclusion The Equatorial Countercurrent is important in ocean circulation and also on the changing weather patterns due to El Niño/La Niña. So the next time you find a pair of Nike shoes on the beach, you ll know how ocean currents played a role in finding your free shoes.

24 Sources /skinny1.html m