Unit 3El Nino? La Nina?

Part I

D. warmer/ green house effect/ sea levels/climate zones

As 1998 ends and people look forward to the last year of the century, the World Almanac spoke with experts about what comes next. Almanac editorial director says the experts believe the next century will bring lots of changes.

Warm, of course, that our climate is going to continue getting warmer. That’s the subject, by the way, of another new article on the 1999 World Almanac. The greenhouse effect, exactly what causes it, and what steps to be taken to, perhaps to alleviate global warmings. I’ve seen recently that 1998 is going to go down as the warmest year ever on record. And so that’s going to be a major issue of the next century, and possible tremendous consequences of the global warmings, whether it is rising sea levels affecting th coastal areas; changes in climate zones affecting what crops can be grown, and in what regions. This is potentially a very significant trend to be watched.

E. Cyclone: North or south of equator/Typhoon:/Hurricane: Eastern Pacific

Major ocean storms in the northern part of the world usually develop in late summer or autumn over waters near the equator. They are known by several different names. Scientists call these storms cyclones when they happen just north or south of the equator in the Indian Ocean. In the western Pacific Ocean or the China Sea, these storms are called typhoons. In the eastern Pacific and Atlantic Ocean, they are called hurricanes.

Part II

A. Outline1. A. weather pattern/global climate

B. 1. twice a decade2. 12-18 monthsC. 1. warmer weather/2. wetter than usual/ drierD. the decline of windsII. 1. droughts

B. a cyclic weather pattern/ about twice a decade/ wetter/drier/ cold water away from South America’s west/ to expand eastward toward the America’s / move eastward too/ the weather

arond the world/ droughts/ rains and flooding/ on the South American fishing industry/ to

become depletive/ the strength of it/

Satellite readings confirm that conditions are right for another El Nino, a cyclic weather

pattern that affects the global climate.

El Nino’s normally show up about twice a decade and it lasts about 12 to 18 months,

bringing warmer weather to parts of the earth. Some regions become wetter than usual,

others drier. The El Nino, which began in 1991 has lingered through this year. Although

several years might have been expected to pass before the next one, an American-French

satellite observing the oceans has found a sign that El Nino may come back quicker than

expected.

These kinds of things still happen. This is Brig Jacker, an oceanographer of the US Naval

Research Laboratory in Mississippi.

Every year is unpredictable. One year might be El Nino year, one year might not. Generally

El Nino’s come in four year cycles. But there’s nothing to say that you can’t have two

El Nino years in a row.

El Nino’s begin with the decline of winds pulling cold water away from South America’s

west coast to around the equator. This allows warm water in the western Pacific Ocean to

expand eastward toward the America’s. At the same time, the clouds and rain over the warm

water move eastward too. Radar aboard the American-French satellite detected the hint that

such water movement began in early August and reached South America two months later. It

saw a ripple called a “Calvin wave” moving slowly eastward. Such pulses sometimes give rise to El Nino conditions in the eastern equatorial Pacific.

El Nino’s can change the weather around the world, but how much depends on its strength. A

strong one in 1982 and 1983 has been linked to droughts in Australia and Indonesia, rains

and flooding in South America, and unseasonably in 1991 has caused trouble. It has been

associated with devastating floods in the US southeast last year and in the US Midwest this

year. El Nino’s are hard on the South American fishing industry. The warm waters prevent

nutrients rich cold water from rising to the surface, causing fish stocks to become

depletive. Mr. Jacker said a new El Nino apparently would be mild but he is not betting on

it yet.

The US Naval oceanographer says predictions are difficult because the strength of El Nino

depends on how winds affect the Calvin wave that has moved across the Pacific.

Part IIILick Observatory

B. location: an hour’s drive/ summit/

Origin of the name: a wealthy businessman

Size: one meter diameter/ second

Time: 1888

Present function: research/ an educational tool

C. way of observation: human eyes;in the cold/TV screen

Gains and losses: Romance/ the sky/ efficiency/ reality/ universe

Questions:

Because lick Observatory is near “Silicon Valley”, a region of the states high-

technology.

Because Lick Observatory was built on his estate and he was buried at the base of the

telescope at this won request.

By using the 19th century telescope, you have a feeling of romance with direct viewing with

the human eyes. By sing the modern devices, you lose that romance but gain the efficiency.

That’s an exchange.

It’s about an hour’s drive from the outskirts of San Jose, California, near the upper

side of the state’s high-technology region known as Silicon Valley. As a visitor drives up

the narrow winding road past red flowers, and eucalyptus trees, one of the first two

seismographic stations in the world, it’s almost a surprise to glimpse the largest dome of

Lick Observatory’s eight telescopes. Overlooking the world of computer age manufacturing

are telescopes from the turn of the century which help shape our understanding of the

universe.

The huge dome, housing Lick Observatory’s giant, one meter wide reflecting telescope, is

one of the few instruments in motion this morning on Mount Hamilton. At the 1260-meter

summit of Mount Hamilton is a small village of 55 permanent residents, some of them

students in a one-room school house. But most at the research complex are visiting

astronomers catching their first hours of sleep in an old dormitory after a night’s work

at the telescopes. Reminton Stone, director of operations at Lick Observatory has worked at

the top of Mount Hamilton for three decades. Now a part of the University of California,

Lick Observatory got its name from a welthy businessman who never studied astronomy as MR.

Stone explains: “Andhe came to San Francisco, just before the gold rush and he made a huge

amount of money on real estate. When he died, he specified that some portion of his estate

should be used to build the largest and most powerful telescope yet made and which was a 36

inch at that time. And at his own request he is buried at the base of the telescope. So

this s a memorial to himself.”

The telescope with its ode-meter-diameter reflecting lens was the largest telescope in the

world for seven years following its completion in 1888. and today, its’ still the second

largest telescope of its kind. Although the one meter reflecting telescope is still used

for some research, its hard to adapt today’s electronic instruments to the old historic

telescope. Now, it is used mostly as an educational tool for teachers and the thousands of

visitors who come each year. While the other telescopes at Lick Observatory are connected

to electronic imagine devices that allow the astronomers to view celestial objects on

television screens, the 19th century telescope allows direct viewing with the human eye. It

’s one of the few giant telescopes in the world tht still requires some users to sit out

in the cold under the dark sky and the dome. That brings a feeling of nostalgia to Reminton

Stone.

I really do miss being able to see the sky, and seeing these wonderful data appear in the

computer screen is really nice, but it’s very divorced from the reality, from the

universe. I miss a lot being in a dark place in these fields to look up to see the stars.

We go out every now and then if we are working at…, we’re at the control room, we do go

out to keep track of the skies, where the clouds are, and so forth, but one loses the

romance and one gains greatly the efficiency. It’s a trade-off.

Astronomer Reminton Stone, who manages the Lick Observatory complex at the top of mount

Hamilton, California.

Part IV. The national climatic DataCenter.

Outline

I. A. 1951B. headquartersC. satellites, radar, solar radiation system, airplanes, ships

II. B. collecting weather records from around the worldD. publications about earth

environment. E. requests fro information from all over the world.

questions.

The Department of Defense, the National Weather Service, the coastguard

The office has written weather observations made by early American diplomat Benjamin

Franklin and by the third President of the U.S.

You can get the information by computer, microfilm and telephone

American cities. Another publication has monthly reports from 1500 observation stations

around the world.

The center had more than 900,000 requests from government officials, business owners,

weather researchers and the general public last year.

More and more people need to know about the weather. Anyone wanting information about past

weather conditions can turn to a center supported by the United States government.

The National Climatic Data Center reportedly has the world’s largest active collection of

weather information. The National Climatic Data Center or NCDC was formed in 1951. it was

established as a record center for America’s Department of Commerce. Its headquarters is

in the southern city of Asheville, North Carolina.

The NCDC collects weather records gathered by a number of weather observers and the Untied

States government agencies. The Department of Defense, the National Weather Service and the

coastguard are among those providing weather information. The center also collects weather

records from around the world. Some information held by the NCDC is only a few hours old.

Other records are a lot older. For example, the office has written weather observations

made by early American diplomat Benjamin Franklin and by the third President of the United

States Thomas Jefferson.

Today modern scientific equipment including satellites, radar and solar radiation systems

help people learn about the weather. Information collected by airplanes and ships also is

used. The NCDC organizes this information and helps prepare it for publication and other

uses. The center assists in the production of written records, weather maps and pictures.

The information also is shared by computer, microfilm and telephone. The NCDC produces

several publications about earth environment. One has monthly and yearly records about

weather conditions in about 270 American cities. Another publication has monthly reports

from 1500 observation stations around the world. It also has information from about 800

pper air stations which measure weather conditions at all levels of the atmosphere. The

National Climatic Data Center receives requests for information from all over the world.

Last year the center reportedly had more than 900,000 requests from government officials,

business owners, weather researchers and the general public.

Part VDo you know…?

Meaning: little girl

Time: the western coast of South America / The Pacific coast of Peru and Ecuador

Time: winter months

Duration: one to two years.

Evidence: the eastern Pacific ocean

Impacts: those of EL Nino/ drier than normal and others wetter.

Scientists say the weather event known as El Nino is ending. Scientific instruments have

shown that the Pacific Ocean waters warmed by El Nino are becoming cooler. Many weather

experts are expecting the change in ocean temperatures to lead to conditions known as La

Nina. El Nino means the little boy in the Spanish language, La Nina means the little girl.

La Nina develops when winds near the western coast of South America strengthen. This causes

cold air to form near the Pacific coast of Peru and Ecuador. Unusually low water

temperatures in the eastern Pacific Ocean are evidence of La Nina. Ocean surface temperatures there drop almost 4 degrees. La Nina is strongest during winter months in the northern part of the world. It usually lasts one to two years. La Nina’s effects can be just as severe as those of EL Nino.

Recently weather experts met in Colorado to exchange their findings about La Nina. The National Center for Atmospheric Research organized the conference. The experts agreed that the colder Pacific Ocean waters might influence weather conditions around the world. La Nina could make some places drier than normal and others wetter. Some reports presented at the conference said Southeast Asia is likely to receive a lot of rain during the present la Nina, so could South America, Central America and Africa. The northwestern part of Canada and the United States could be wetter than normal. The studies found that the southern untied States could be warmer and drier and more severe storms are possible in the western Atlantic Ocean.