Transcript Oceanic Systems - Maryville University

By: Megan Holloway
12 Climate Regions
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Tropical Wet
Tropical Wet and Dry
Semiarid
Desert (arid)
Mediterranean
Humid Subtropical
Marine West Coast
Humid continental
Subarctic
Tundra
Icecap
Highland
Continental Climatic Region
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Climate characteristic of the interior of a landmass
of continental size, marked by large annual, daily,
and day-to-day temperature ranges, low relative
humidity, and a moderate or small irregular
rainfall
 Hot Summer and Cold Winters occur because the
ocean does not influence.
 These regions makes up much of the Northern
States of US, Siberia, and Canada
http://www.answers.com/topic/continental-climate
http://www.ace.mmu.ac.uk/eae/Climate/Older/Continental_Climate.html
Maritime Climatic Region
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Also known as Oceanic Climate
 Climate is influenced by the oceans climate
and the airflow of the maritime airflow
 Usually the Winters are warmer and
Summers are cooler because the ocean takes
longer to heat up
 Climate is found around the coasts and
Southeastern Australia
http://www.ace.mmu.ac.uk/eae/Climate/Older/Maritime_Climate.htmla
Oceanic Circulation
Global Warming is causing the ocean’s
temperature to rise.
 Ever since 1976 the cycles have been longer
and more extreme
 Imbalance between the cycles. In 1998,
there were 5 El Niños and 2 La Niñas. This
was due to the increase in greenhouse gases
in the atmosphere.
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Tim, Flannery. The Weather Makers. New York: Atlantic Monthly P, 2005. 84-94.
El Niño- La Niña Cycle
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El Niño cycle begins with
a weakening of tropical
winds, allowing the warm
surface water to flow back
eastward. The warmer
water releases humidity
into the atmosphere
bringing floods to the
Peruvian deserts.
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La Niña cycle begins
when winds blow
westward across the
Pacific, accumulating the
warm surface water off the
coast of Australia and the
island lying north. With
the warm water blowing
westward, colder water is
surfaced carrying nutrients
that feed the most prolific
fishery in the world, the
anchovetta.
Tim, Flannery. The Weather Makers. New York: Atlantic Monthly P, 2005. 84-94.
Diagrams of Cycles
Thermocline: Layer in water where
temperature changes at a rapid rate.
El Niño Theme Page: images
El Niño @ nationalgeographic.com
El Niño @ nationalgeographic.com
Affects of El Niño
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If the temperature rises- more
severe storms are going to
occur.
If no warm water is displaced
with cold water then the storm
will continue.
Eventually El Nino could
become a semi-permanent
condition in the atmosphere.
Temperatures in the winter are
warmer than normal in the
North Central States, and cooler
than normal in the Southeast
and the Southwest States
Flooded area
in Lakeport,
California as a
result of the
1998 El Nino
event
Bush fire in
Australia as a
result of the
1998 El Niño
event.
"El Niño and La Niña:." National Academies. 2004. 24 Mar. 2007 <http://www7.nationalacademies.org/opus/elnino.html>.
"El Niño and La Niña:." National Academies. 2004. 24 Mar. 2007 <http://www7.nationalacademies.org/opus/elnino_6.html>.
Tim, Flannery. The Weather Makers. New York: Atlantic Monthly P, 2005. 84-94.
"What is La Nina?" El Nino Theme Project. 24 Feb.-Mar. 2007. NOAA. 24 Mar. 2007 <http://www.pmel.noaa.gov/tao/elnino/la-ninastory.html#impact>.
Affects of La Niña
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Less Nutrients are being carried
if less La Nina’s occur do to
warmer temperatures.
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Winter temperatures are warmer
than normal in the Southeast
and cooler than normal in the
Northwest.
http://sealevel.jpl.nasa.gov/elnino/20070212.html
"What is La Nina?" El Nino Theme Project. 24 Feb.-Mar. 2007. NOAA. 24 Mar. 2007 <http://www.pmel.noaa.gov/tao/elnino/la-ninastory.html#impact>.
Is Global Warming causing more severe weather??
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Global Warming is causing warmer temperatures
around the world.
 These warmer temperatures are causing more
instability in storms.
 The Midwest is the prime target for these storms
because it is between the equator and the poles.
So most of the warm and cold air is colliding in
the Midwest region.
 Warmer temperatures means less rain in some
areas and more rain in other areas, or more
tornados because of the instability of the air
masses.
How Storms Are Formed
•Warmer air from the equator moves to the poles.
•Through the movement of the warm air a jet stream is formed.
•Waves in the jet stream occur when the air from the equator
mixes with the cold air from the poles.
• The cold and warm air masses then collide.
•Cold air sinks under the warm air forming a low pressure
system.
•This produces storm clouds as the warm air is lifted and
cooled.
Tornado vs. Storm Cloud
Gallatin TN, Tornado Damage
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Tornado are then formed when the warm air
rises up because it is lighter then cold dry air.
As the warm air rises, it starts to spin in all
different wind directions. When the wind starts
to get strong, a funnel cloud is produced .
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The funnel cloud stays strong until precipitation
starts to weaken the cloud by slowing down the
wind speeds and equalizing the pressure
between the cold and warm air.
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If there is more warm air, storms not just
tornados will become more frequent and
unpredictable causing a lot of damage.
"How Does a Tornados Form?" Tornadochasher.Net. 2007. 23 Mar. 2007 <http://www.tornadochaser.net/tornado.html>.
Severe Storms Effects
According to Nasa, tornados are not going to be
the biggest threat in the future. Instead droughts
and floods will be devastating.
Due to the change in temperatures some areas will have
high precipitation whereas other areas will have no
precipitation at all.
http://www.ipcc.ch/present/graphics/2001syr/large/08.17.jpg
Henson, James. "How Has Economic Damage From Storms Been Changing in the Last 7 Years in the Midwestern and Northeastern United
States.“ GISS ICP. 07 Dec. 2004. NASA. 23 Mar. 2007 <http://icp.giss.nasa.gov/research/ppa/2002/brown/>.
Ocean Life and Carbon
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Mainly affecting the
species in the top 10 % or
surface level of ocean
water.
Small single cell
organisms and mollusks
use calcium carbonate to
make their shells.
Organisms will be
displaced because of
higher concentration of
CO2 in the oceans.
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Coral is starting to die and
therefore leaving many
creatures defenseless
Has the ability to change
the entire ocean ecosystem
http://www.planetark.com/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/26065/newsDate/16-Jul-2004/story.htm
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/12/061207084052.htm
Phytoplankton
High plant productivity is green
Low plant productivity is blue
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Plants that grow on the surface of the ocean
 Are responsible for the same amount of
photosynthesis as all the plants on land
combined
 The plants will move deeper in the water
until the water becomes to warm for the
phytoplankton to survive
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/12/061207084052.htm
Current of the Ocean
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If global warming continues and ice shelves continue to melt in
Greenland, the conveyor belt will stop and force an ice age.
"The Ocean and Temperature." MaineBio. 5 Mar. 2007. 23 Mar. 2007 <http://marinebio.org/Oceans/Temperature.asp>.
Carbonate Compensation Depth
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CCD- is the depth level in
the ocean where shells
dissolve releasing CO2
into the ocean water. This
process takes thousands of
years to happen.
Because CO2 is increasing
in the ocean the CCD is
moving deeper into the
ocean. This depth is
causing the ocean to
contain and hold more
CO2
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The shells are from dead
plankton. Once the
plankton dies, its shell
falls into the depths of the
ocean. When it reaches
the lysolcine, it begins to
dissolve.
The lysolcine is different
in each ocean depending
on the solubility and
temperature.
"Carbonate Compenstion Depth." Answers.Com. 2007. 23 Mar. 2007 <http://www.answers.com/topic/carbonate-compensation-depth>.
Melting Ice
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As the oceans are warming more and more ice is
starting to melt away
Visionlearning Viewer
Visionlearning Viewer
So basically the kinetic energy is transferred from
the liquid molecules to the solid molecules. The
solid molecules vibration energy starts to increase
resulting in the melting of the ice.
Energy is measured in temperature
http://www.visionlearning.com/library/module_viewer2.php?mid=57&l=&let1=Che
Sea Level Rising
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Sea levels have already been rising. The sea
level has already risen 4 to 8 inches.
 If half of Antarctica and half of Greenland
melts into the ocean or all of Greenland melt
into the ocean the level will rise 18 to 20 feet.
 Basically the maps of the world will have to
be redrawn if the ice continues to melt away
 http://www.ipcc.ch/present/graphics/2001syr/l
arge/01.17.jpg
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/04/0420_040420_earthday.html
In Conclusion:
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Global Warming is slowly increasing the
temperature of the oceans.
 If the oceans get warmer the ocean currents
and oceans circulation will greatly be
affected.
 These affects will be seen throughout the
ocean including dying marine life and
hurricanes but also on land through severe
weather and rising sea levels
LINK BACK TO WEB PAGE
http://accweb.itr.maryville.edu/globalwarming/student05