Student Activity

Introduction: The focus of this activity is for your class to use the information and concepts learned during the oceanography lessons as a basis for understanding the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) phenomena. You will study the way energy moves between the hydrosphere and atmosphere during "normal" times as compared to an El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) event (either El Niño or La Niña) and the effect this has on the Earth's other systems and spheres. You will investigate how an ENSO event begins, follow it through its life-cycle, and learn how scientists use remote sensing and in-situ data to study the ENSO phenomena.
 
Most teams will conduct a laboratory investigation based on their research topic.
 
Scenario: Your class has been hired by a television station to produce a TV quality documentary video on El Niño / La Niña and the affects they have on the Earth. In order to accomplish this task, your class will be divided into teams of 2 to 3 students who will conduct research on one aspect of ENSO and produce a video segment.
 
Each team is responsible for researching and producing one 6 - 10 minute section of the video documentary on ENSO which will be cut and edited together with the other team's segments to form a single 50 to 55 minute video.
 
The information and activities provided here are designed to give you and your team members a background into some aspect of ENSO. After condicting your team's activity (or activities), going through the resources provided, and conducting any other research your team feels is necessary, you are to present your team's findings in an entertaining, yet informative, manner on video tape which will be combined with the other team's efforts to form one single ENSO video documentary.
 
You are free to use any of the reference materials, such as graphics, videos, interviews, radio programs, etc. in your segment as well as anything else you or your team can think of. Use your science teacher, other teachers or staff members in your school, the media specialist, technology specialist, and your parents as resources for your production. They may offer help and assistance with the video's content as well as production ideas.
 
If your team decides that you need to investigate aan ENSO topic or topics not already assigned to another team, present that information to your teacher. Be prepared to defend the reason for your team's decision. If you have thoughts on the production aspect of the video, think them through and then "pitch" your ideas to your teacher and the other teams.
 
Background Activities and Information: All research teams will begin by completing the same research activites so that everyone has a common background of information and experiences. After completing the initial background experiences, each team will be on their own to complete their research and activities, then produce their own video segment.
 
Additional web resources: can be found on as a seperate link.
 
The research / production teams and their assignments are as follows:
 
Team 1:What is Normal? This group is responsible for presenting the "normal" conditions of the atmosphere and the ocean, as these conditions relate to El Niño. They will research and explain:
  • the Earth's general wind systems with a focus on the trade winds and the equatorial low pressure.
  • convection as a method of transporting heat
  • energy flow in the evaporation/condensation of water
  • the normal western build-up of water in the Pacific Ocean.
  • a review of ocean temperatures at depth
  • an explanation of what the trade winds do which triggered the beginning of recent ENSO events, and
  • conduct either investigation, El Niño Pudding or investigation, Kitchen El Niño

Team 2: The Effect of El Niño on productivity. This group will look at how El Niño has historically affected the fishing industry as well as its affect on various agriculture products. This group will:

  • conduct the investigation, What Happens to Fish Populations During El Niño?
  • investigate the world-wide effect that recent El Niños have had on agriculture production and the fishing industry. Students should be encouraged use the provided resources as a starting point but to seek out additional resources in the school's media center and web sites including those of appropriate government agencies, such as the Department of Agriculture, in countries affected by El Niño.
  • conduct a case study on the effect of an ENSO event on life on the Galapagos Islands.

Team 3: The westward intensification. Under normal conditions, the Trade Winds, blow from west to east causing a buildup of ocean water on the western side of the Pacific. When an El Niño occurs, the Trades either lessen in severity or reverse direction allowing the buildup of water on the western edge of the Pacific to "slosh" eastward. This marks the beginning of an ENSO event. This group will

  • conduct the investigations, How Level Is Sea Level? and Sea Surface Topography
  • use TOPEX/Poseidon data and derived maps to observe and identify changes in sea level based on the season, ocean basin topography, and surface winds and water density.
interpret a TOPEX/Poseidon image to construct a 3D map of the ocean's topographic contours.

Team 4: Looking for ENSO, Analyzing Ocean Temperatures. As the waters slosh eastward, they alter the "normal" temperatures of the ocean to a great depth. They also cut off normal upwelling which occurs along the coast of Peru. The changing temperature of the sea surface is monitored by satellite and by buoys in the ocean. This group will:

  • analyze satellite images of sea surface temperature, sea surface topography, and wind data from an El Niño period and compare and contrast these data with non-El Niño conditions
  • use data derived from the PMEL/TAO buoys in the Pacific Ocean to analyze the effect an ENSO event has on the temperature of water in the Pacific Ocean.
  • research and explain current Pacific Ocean conditions

Team 5: The Return of El Niño. Is there a pattern to ENSO events? Only relatively recently have scientists recognized the dramatic effect an ENSO event has on global systems. In order to determine if there is a recognizable pattern to these events, this group will

  • conduct the investigation, So When Is The Next El Niño Coming?
  • analyze historical data to determine if there is a trend to ENSO occurrences.

Team 6: The Effect of El Niño on Global Weather. Scientists recognize that an ENSO event has global implications on weather, and possibly climate. While research is continuing in this area, we do know that a single event CAN NOT be explained by El Niño, in spite of what is reported in the popular news. Scientists are analyzing data looking for long-term trends in weather changes which occur during ENSO events. This group will:

  • research and explain the affects of past ENSO events on weather patterns in various parts of the world.

Team 7: The Way We Study an ENSO event. Both NASA's Earth Science community and NOAA's scientists and meteorologists, along with numerous other scientific organizations are collecting and analyzing data about ENSO events. This group will research and explain:

  • how the NASA's TOPEX/Poseidon mission data are used to study ENSO.
  • what the NOAA / PMEL / TAO mission is, and how the data are used to study the ENSO.

Team 8: What are El Niño and La Niña? El Niño and La Niña are oceanographic phenomena which have global implications on weather and living things. This group will:

  • describe and define El Niño
  • describe and define La Niña

Team 9: The Effect of El Niño on humans. From the fishermen in Peru to the flood victims in Africa ENSO events have an affect on humans. This group will:

  • research the various diseases which are thought to be "enhanced" by ENSO
  • determine the financial affect that ENSO has on various industries
 
Additional Team: So you'd like to be an oceanographer? Oceanographers study many different aspects of the ocean from the water conditions to the affects on ocean life. this group will:
  • do a case study on many different oceanographers.