La niña questions
True or False:
La Nina is part of the El Nino Southern Oscillation?
True.
ENSO is broken into two phases: a cold phase (la Nina) and a warm phase (el Nino).
Source: National Geographic
What conceptual line moves during an El Nino event and prevents nutrients from reaching the East Pacific coastline?
Thermocline
Source: lecture slides
True or False:
ENSO causes more storms than usual in an average year.
True.
“Suppose that in an average year, your state experiences 10 winter storms. During this El Niño winter, perhaps you get 13. It's impossible to say which 10 were your "normal" ones and which 3 were the "extra" ones.”
Source: NOAA Climate.gov
How do wet episodes in dry regions affect plant populations?
Massive germination of annuals.
Source: readings
Weather phase that refers to a warming of the ocean surface in the central and eastern tropical Pacific Ocean.
El Niño
Source: USGS
La Niña is characterized by lower-than-normal air pressure over the western Pacific. These low-pressure zones contribute to ___________.
to increased rainfall.
Source: National Geographic
What do countries like Asia and Australia experience during an El Nino event?
Drought, wildfires, and cold ocean waters.
Source: National Geographic
Why is predicting La nina and El nino so important?
“Predicting the life cycle and strength of El Niño and La Niña is critical for helping people plan for, avoid, or mitigate potential damages in every sector of society, including agriculture, fisheries, energy, water, transportation, and health care).
Source: NOAA Climate.gov
How do small animals like rodents affect plant communities in dry areas?
Rodents give annuals the space & nutrients they need to colonize by browsing shrub coverage and disturbing the soil.
Source: readings
Weather phase that describes the cooling of surface ocean waters along the tropical west coast of South America.
La niña
Source: USGS
How long does a La nina event last?
1-3 years
Source: National Geographic
El Niño is a periodic climate condition that occurs an average of every _____ years.
3-6
source: USGS
How does El Nino have a negative effect on air quality?
Wildfires caused by droughts in the western Pacific create particulates that are unhealthy to breathe
Source: Climate.gov
Earth Institute, Columbia University
How does La niña cause ecological shifts, such as from grassland to woodland?
“In semiarid Australia, successful seedling establishment of mulga 16, as well as Eucalyptus and conifer woodlands 17, has been linked with wetter periods during La Niña episodes.”
Source: Academia.edu
Process in which wind-displaced surface waters are replaced by cold, nutrient-rich water that comes from deep in the ocean.
Upwelling
Source: National Geographic
True or False?
La Niña usually has a positive impact on the fishing industry of western South America.
True. Upwelling brings cold, nutrient-rich waters to the surface.
Source: National Geographic
El Niño has an impact on ___ temperatures, the speed and ___of ocean currents, and the health of coastal _______.
ocean, strength, fisheries
source: National Geographic
Which regions are affected by El Nino the most?
"Eastern and southern Africa, the Horn of Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, and the Asia-Pacific region.”
Source: World Health Organization
How might ENSO negatively affect secondary consumers?
Big jumps in prey populations allows predators to reproduce too quickly and potentially decimate their prey populations ex. parasitoid wasps to spiders
Source: readings
What is the name of the two regulation mechanisms that control population dynamics?
Bottom-up and top-down mechanisms.
Source: Academia.edu
What is one country that La Nina helps and one that it hurts along the Western Pacific?
"Rainfall associated with the summer monsoon in Southeast Asia tends to be greater than normal, which generally benefits the Indian economy, as it depends on the monsoon for agriculture and industry.
However, strong La Niña events are associated with catastrophic floods in northern Australia. More than 10,000 people were forced to evacuate, and damage from the disaster was estimated at more than $2 billion."
Source: National Geographic
True or False?
You could look at wind velocity and direction are indicators of an El Niño event.
True.
During an El Niño event the trade winds typically weaken and reverse, blowing easterly.
Source: USGS
True or False?
ENSO has a large influence on the US Navy.
False.
“There is little to be found relating this powerful phenomenon and the way it indirectly affects the operations of our Navy.
Nonetheless, the accompanying sea temperatures, wave heights, and atmospheric changes are certain to play a role in these operations.”
Source: NPS Oceanography
Why does the interplay of top-down and bottom-up dynamics seems important?
"It might explain large variations in response and suggest ways to use ENSO events as windows of opportunity for the restoration of ecosystems."
Source: Researchgate
What conceptual model does ENSO affect?
The Walker Circulation
Source: lecture slides