Monday, August 6, 2012



El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO), or El Niño/La Niña–Southern Oscillation, is a quasiperiodic climate pattern that occurs across the tropical Pacific Ocean roughly every five years. The Southern Oscillation refers to variations in the temperature of the surface of the tropical eastern Pacific Ocean (warming and cooling known as El Niño and La Niña respectively) and in air surface pressure in the tropical western Pacific. The two variations are coupled: the warm oceanic phase, El Niño, accompanies high air surface pressure in the western Pacific, while the cold phase, La Niña, accompanies low air surface pressure in the eastern Pacific Mechanisms that cause the oscillation remain under study.
The extremes of this climate pattern's oscillations, El Niño and La Niña, cause extreme weather (such as floods and droughts) in many regions of the world. Developing countries dependent upon agriculture and fishing, particularly those bordering the Pacific Ocean, are the most affected. In popular usage, the El Niño–Southern Oscillation is often called just "El Niño". El Niño is Spanish for "the little boy" and refers to the Christ child, because periodic warming in the Pacific near South America is usually noticed around Christmas.

I learned that El Niño is a warm ocean current that flows along the equator from the date line and south off the coast of Ecuador at Christmas time.
I want to know more about El Niño, how it forms, how it develops, and what are the benefits and disadvantages of it.
I would like to research on different factors that affects the formation of El Niño.
I appreciate the fact that El Niño makes a fair and sunny weather. With this mater,l plants grow tall and green!
I can apply my learning and insights in understanding why there is sunny and warm weather. I can also share my knowledge to others to be able them to know what an El Niño is.




La Niña is a coupled ocean-atmosphere phenomenon that is the counterpart of El Niño as part of the broader El Niño-Southern Oscillation climate pattern. During a period of La Niña, the sea surface temperature across the equatorial Eastern Central Pacific Oceanwill be lower than normal by 3–5 °C. In the United States, an episode of La Niña is defined as a period of at least 5 months of La Niña conditions. The name La Niña originates from Spanish, meaning "the girl," analogous to El Niño meaning "the boy."
La Niña, sometimes informally called "anti-El Niño", is the opposite of El Niño, where the latter corresponds instead to a higher sea surface temperature by a deviation of at least 0.5 °C, and its effects are often the reverse of those of El Niño. El Niño is famous due to its potentially catastrophic impact on the weather along both the Chilean, Peruvian, New Zealand, and Australian coasts, among others. It has extensive effects on the weather in North America, even affecting the Atlantic Hurricane Season. La Niña is often, though not always, preceded by an El Niño.


I learned that La Niña is a coupled ocean-atmosphere phenomenon that is the counterpart of El Niño as part of the broader El Niño-Southern Oscillation climate pattern.The La Niña is usually described as a cooler than average sea surface temperature in this area of the Pacific. 
I want to know more about La Niña. How, when and where it forms and develop.
I would like to research on different factors that affects the formation of   La Niña. I also want to research about different technique on how to predict La Niña.
I appreciate the fact that La Niña has some influence in the climate. Like, it brings cold weather that helps other people for better production of their work or better life.
I can apply my learning and insight in understanding the weather conditions that occur in our country. I can also share my knowledge to other ordinary people like me to know what LaNiña is and how does LaNiña affects the country.











I learned that monsoon is a period of heavy rainfall, especially during the summer over South and Southeast Asia

I want to know more about monsoon, how it forms, how it affect the country, what are the benefits and disadvantages of it.

I would like to research on different factors that affects the monsoon and its effect on the weather.

I appreciate the fact that it brings rain into our country and helps to supply our water supply needs. It also helps us to prevent  suffering from drought.

I can apply my learning and insights in understanding why there is a rain during summer over.  


Sunday, August 5, 2012

Tail End of a Cold Front
 The TAIL-END of a COLD FRONT is grouped as a LINEAR SYSTEM. This means that this 
phenomenon can be easily seen or detected. And I really agree on that because there are certain times of the year, like this, in which we experience this kind of weather.

A tail-end of a cold front is usually defined as a front 


boundary of two air masses, found in mid-latitudes.


And as I have personally experiences, cold fronts are usually 


associated with rainfall and cloudiness which 


further brings colder temperature to such regions at a certain


 period of time.
:) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :)


I learned that  TAIL-END of a COLD FRONT is grouped as a LINEAR SYSTEM. This means that this phenomenon can be easily seen or detected. And I really agree on that because there are certain times of the year, like this, in which we experience this kind of weather. 


I want to know more about the tail end of a cold front, on how it is formed, how does it affect the country, and its advantage and disadvantages.


I would like to research on different factors that affect the formation of tail end of a cold front and its step by step, and also I would like to learn on how does it affects the weather.


I appreciate the fact that it brings rain into our country and it helps to maintain our water supply needs. In addition, tail end of a cold front helps us to prevent suffering from droughts.


I can apply my learning and insights in understanding about our weather.It serves as a guide and answers to some questions,like, why there is the so called drought and flood?


I've enjoyed reading some facts about tail end a cold front! Hope you had enjoyed reading it too! :)














Saturday, June 30, 2012

ITCZ

(Intertropical Convergence Zone)



The Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ), known by sailors as the doldrums, is the area encircling the earth near the equator where winds originating in the northern and southern hemispheres come together.
The ITCZ was originally identified from the 1920s to the 1940s as the "Intertropical Front" (ITF), but after the recognition in the 1940s and 1950s of the significance of wind field convergence in tropical weather production, the term "ITCZ" was then applied. When it lies near the equator, it is called the near-equatorial trough. Where the ITCZ is drawn into and merges with a monsoonal circulation, it is sometimes referred to as a monsoon trough, a usage more common in Australia and parts of Asia. In the seamen's speech the zone is referred as the doldrums because of its erratic weather patterns with stagnant calms and violent thunderstorms.
The ITCZ appears as a band of clouds, usually thunderstorms, that circle the globe near the equator. In the Northern Hemisphere, the trade winds move in a southwestern direction from the northeast, while in the Southern Hemisphere, they move northwestward from the southeast. When the ITCZ is positioned north or south of the equator, these directions change according to the Coriolis effect imparted by the rotation of the earth. For instance, when the ITCZ is situated north of the equator, the southeast trade wind changes to a southwest wind as it crosses the equator. The ITCZ is formed by vertical motion largely appearing as convective activity of thunderstorms driven by solar heating, which effectively draw air in; these are the trade winds. The ITCZ is effectively a tracer of the ascending branch of the Hadley cell, and is wet. The dry descending branch is the horse latitudes.
The location of the intertropical convergence zone varies over time. Over land, it moves back and forth across the equator following the sun's zenithpoint. Over the oceans, where the convergence zone is better defined, the seasonal cycle is more subtle, as the convection is constrained by the distribution of ocean temperatures. Sometimes, a double ITCZ forms, with one located north and another south of the equator. When this occurs, a narrow ridge of high pressure forms between the two convergence zones, one of which is usually stronger than the other.
ITCZ Effects on Weather

It may affect our weather temperature.

Variation in the location of the intertropical convergence zone drastically affects rainfall in many equatorial nations, resulting in the wet and dry seasons of the tropics rather than the cold and warm seasons of higher latitudes. Longer term changes in the intertropical convergence zone can result in severe droughts or flooding in nearby areas.
In some cases, the ITCZ may become narrow, especially when it moves away from the equator; the ITCZ can then be interpreted as a front along the leading edge of the equatorial air. There appears to be a 15-25 day cycle in thunderstorm activity along the ITCZ, which is roughly half the wavelength of the Madden-Julian Oscillation (MJO).
Within the ITCZ the average winds are slight, unlike the zones north and south of the equator where the trade winds feed. Early sailors named this belt of calm the doldrums because of the inactivity and stagnation they found themselves in after days of no wind. To find oneself becalmed in this region in a hot and muggy climate could mean death in an era when wind was the only effective way to propel ships across the ocean. Even today leisure and competitive sailors attempt to cross the zone as quickly as possible as the erratic weather and wind patterns may cause unexpected delays.


-Source: wikipedia

Near the equator, from about 5° north and 5° south, the northeast trade winds and southeast trade winds converge in a low pressure zone known as the Intertropical Convergence Zone or ITCZ. Solar heating in the region forces air to rise through convection which results in a plethora of precipitation. The ITCZ is a key component of the global circulation system.
Weather stations in the equatorial region record precipitation up to 200 days each year, making the equatorial and ITC zones the wettest on the planet. The equatorial region lacks a dry season and is constantly hot and humid.
The location of the ITCZ varies throughout the year and while it remains near the equator, the ITCZ over land ventures farther north or south than the ITCZ over the oceans due to the variation in land temperatures. The location of the ITCZ can vary as much as 40° to 45° of latitude north or south of the equator based on the pattern of land and ocean.
In Africa, the ITCZ is located just south of the Sahel at about 10°, dumping rain on the region to the south of the desert.
The Intertropical Convergence Zone has been called the doldrums by sailors due to the lack of horizontal air movement (the air simply rises with convection). The ITCZ is also known as the Equatorial Convergence Zone or Intertropical Front.
There's a diurnal cycle to the precipitation in the ITCZ. Clouds form in the late morning and early afternoon hours and then by 3 to 4 p.m., the hottest time of the day, convectional thunderstorms form and precipitation begins. These storms are generally short in duration.



-Source: geography.com





I learned that ITCZ or  Intertropical Convergence Zone is  is the area encircling the earth near the equator where winds originating in the northern and southern hemispheres come together. The intense sun and warm water of the equator heats the air in the ITCZ, raising its humidity and making it buoyant. Aided by the convergence of the trade winds, the buoyant air rises. As the air rises it expands and cools, releasing the accumulated moisture in an almost perpetual series of thunderstorms.


I want to know more about the Intertropical Convergence Zone, on how it is formed, how does it affect the country, and its advantage and disadvantages.


I would like to research on different factors that affect the formation of ITCZ and its step by step, and also I would like to learn on how does it affects the weather.


I appreciate the fact that it brings rain into our country and it helps to maintain our water supply needs. In addition, ITCZ helps us to prevent suffering from droughts.


I can apply my learning and insights in understanding about our weather.It serves as a guide and answers to some questions,like, why there is the so called drought and flood?


I've enjoyed reading some facts about the Intertropical Convergence Zone or ITCZ! Hope you had enjoyed reading it too :)

Thank you for reading! :)