Answer to Question 1ANS:Answer
should include:
Thermohaline circulation is the mass movement of water due to variations in density.
These can be horizontal or vertical flows.
As some tropical surface water travels towards the poles, some loses heat to the
atmosphere. Once heat loss occurs, the water sinks to become deep water and bottom
water. This can be pronounced in some regions. Through circulation, the cold, dense
water moves back towards the Southern Hemisphere at great depths. Eventually, this
water wells up to the surface layers once again. This happens in the Indian and Pacific
oceans. This whole exchange of upwelling and downwelling is deemed the global
conveyer belt.
The conveyer belt circuit is very slow moving. It can take nearly a thousand years to
complete.
The conveyer belt moves heat and nutrients throughout the ocean.
Answer to Question 2ANS:Answer
should include:
Southern Oscillation is the change in atmospheric pressure and wind direction in the
tropical Pacific. Normal conditions have trade winds blowing from the high pressure
area over the eastern Pacific to the low pressure area over the western Pacific. When
Southern Oscillation occurs, the pressure areas shift: high pressure area shifts to the
western Pacific. This then causes the trade winds to weaken or even reverse direction.
El Nio refers to the effects the Southern Oscillation has on the ocean currents. When
the trade winds weaken, equatorial currents that usually move water westward stop. The
warm water accumulates in the western Pacific. It begins to flow east along the equator.
A rise in sea level and precipitation occurs during these events.
During El Nio, the cold, nutrient laden current flowing north towards the South
American continent gets interrupted by the warm equatorial waters. This area of the
ocean is dependent on the upwelling of these nutrient-rich waters to sustain the high
levels of biological productivity. Many seabirds and fish migrate or die when those
nutrients are no longer available.
La Nia events are colder-than-normal circulation events. They have strong currents,
significant upwelling, and stormy conditions associated with them. The upper curve of
the thermocline gets depressed in the west Pacific during these events due to the
renewed trade winds. The eastern Pacific thermocline then becomes shallow.
El Nio and La Nia are connected to each other. La Nia events are the response to El
Nio events.
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