Abstract The writer explains the causes and effects of the El Nino, which has an ocean warming effect, and the La Nina, which creates unusually cold ocean temperatures. The paper describes how the winds, the ocean surface temperatures and atmospheric circulation affect the natural climatic conditions in the Pacific region. The writer explains the impact these effects have on weather and climate in the United States. The paper examines the effect that climatic changes have on the economy. In conclusion, the paper states that the effects of the El Nino and La Nina create significant changes to the weather patterns, which are naturally created and affected, by changes in sea temperatures.
Table of Contents
Introduction
Causes
Ocean Surface Temperature and Atmospheric Circulations
- During Normal Conditions
- Conditions During El Ni"o
- Conditions During La Ni"a
Effects of El Nino and La Nina
Impact on Weather and Climatic Changes
Impact on Economy
Ecological Impact
Conclusion
Bibliography
References
From the Paper "Under "normal" conditions, the tropical trade winds blow from east to west, collecting warm water in the western Pacific. In the eastern Pacific, the trade winds pull up cold, deep, nutrient-rich waters down the equator from the Ecuadorian coast to the central Pacific. The warmth of the western Pacific results in a predominantly vigorous hydrologic cycle there with towering cumulus clouds and tropical storms that "radiate" atmospheric waves and disturbances across vast area of the globe. Heat and moisture lofted into the upper atmosphere by the clouds and storms are dispersed by high-altitude winds across vast regions of the globe.
During an El Ni?o, this situation is interrupted and the trade winds weaken, thus reducing the upwelling of cool waters in the eastern Pacific and permits the pool of warm water in the west to drift eastward toward South America. As the central and eastern Pacific warms, atmospheric pressure gradients along the equator decline, and the trade winds lessen even more."
Abstract This paper discusses the relationship between forest fires and weather. The paper argues that forest fires result in higher temperatures, higher temperatures in turn result in higher evaporation rates and higher evaporation rates result in more precipitation. It argues that due to this chain of events, we can see the relationship between forest fires and the weather.
From the Paper "Forest Fires and Weather The connections between weather conditions and forest fires are quite well known. For example, in Weatherwise Malcolm Geast says, The high temperatures combined with low rainfall amounts to exacerbate an already -bad forest fire situation across most of the west (Geast 71). What Geast is saying is that weather conditions are an important precondition for forest fires. Fire fires don't occur when it is cold and wet, they happen when it is hot and dry. Not only are weather conditions a precondition for forest fires but they also trigger them in many cases."
Abstract This paper is mostly about seasonal weather effects on humans. It discusses the correlation between long dark winters and suicide rates, seasonal affective disorder, the lowering of immunity from infections in cold weather and the spread of disease in hot weather. Also mentioned are the effects on animals of El Nino and how weather changes bring certain predators and prey closer together.
From the paper;
"Weather is the No. 1 talked about topic among people. Just for small talk and conversation's sake, the state of the weather is always brought up. Weather has a deeper effect on animals than determining what to wear for the day or providing a topic of conversation. During the winter, people claim to have cabin fever. When spring arrives, they catch spring fever. While these two terms have taken on meaning as figures of speech, there is scientific research showing that weather effects humans and animals on a physiological and psychological level. Weather changes alter mood, behavior, and general well being. In certain climates, people tend to be healthier than others."
Tags: El, Nino, disease, depression, seasons, temperature
Abstract The paper discusses the monsoon, one of the most intense climate phenomena in the world. Global weather patterns rely on monsoon rains and weather conditions, and individuals within the monsoon climate areas rely heavily on the monsoon rains for agricultural production and water supplies. Variations in these monsoon climates can produce deadly results, including drought, flood, and a lack of food supplies. By understanding the basics behind the monsoon climate, and its weather patterns, it is possible to comprehend the global effects of this climate pattern. The paper provides information on a variety of different media sources regarding the monsoon climate, its causes, effects on other regional weather patterns, and effects on global production through an
annotated bibliography. Additionally, the resources provide information regarding the prediction of those monsoon variations in an effort to assist residents in predicting proper growth seasons.
From the Paper "This chapter focuses on the major influences over the weather and climate of tropic regions, including the conditions that create the monsoon season in summer, as well as monsoon depressions, north-east monsoon flows, south-west monsoon flows, and the seasonal conditions which cause the monsoon climate. This is of particular interest, in that the authors carefully and meticulously examine each season in Asia in relation to its effect on the creation of a monsoon climate. This chapter's focus is on the monsoon climate in detail, so its usefulness in examining this weather pattern cannot be exagerated. Further, the information is recent, providing the latest information available about the monsoon weather climate."
Abstract The paper focuses on the impact of weather on insurance rates and policies and on the construction of buildings and homes. The paper looks at the effect of weather on agricultural vs. urban regions and discusses how insurance companies have adopted risk assessment and management strategies for insuring meteorological hazards. The paper then discusses the development of building code guidelines and how the weather impacts housing and the structures of electrical power generating stations. The paper concludes that it is very easy to see, using Canada as an example, how weather impacts many areas of day-to-day functioning.
From the Paper "The weather is an often over looked feature of our environment in terms of its deeply seeded impacts on our day-to-day lives. While most individuals are aware of the fact that the weather dictates what they might wear during the day, which coat or jacket to choose, and what activities they may be able to participate in, the broader impacts of weather are not as often a topic of concern. Everyone is aware of the impact of natural disasters related to weather, as these events can often wreck havoc with individual areas of the country or world for an extended period of time. Recent examples within Canada include the hurricanes that occurred in the fall of 2003. Although hurricanes are very uncommon in Canada, due to its northern location, the tail ends of a tropical storm hit parts of southern Ontario causing power outages and structural damage to a variety of buildings."
Abstract This paper contrasts the weather on Mars and Venus with the weather on Earth. The paper first reveals that Mars is a desert planet of extremes that can be exceedingly cold and enormously windy, while Venus is a planet covered in clouds and extremely hot. The paper then relates that, while both planets have several weather-related events that are quite similar to Earth, there are major differences, as well. The paper believes that eventually, scientists may discover a way for humans to survive, or at least visit, these remarkable planets that are "right next door."
From the Paper "Mars weather resembles the Earth's weather in many respects. Clouds form on the planet on occasion, and they are usually made up of ice crystals or carbon dioxide. The ice crystals come from Mars polar ice caps, but since Mars is a desert, it seems that these ice crystals rarely fall back to the planet in the form of rain. Storms are also quite common on Mars, and there have even been sightings and photographs of cyclones and other major storm disturbances on the planet, just as we have here on Earth."
Abstract The paper illustrates how, although "Frankenstein" and "Jane Eyre" have very different plots, both authors use weather and the description of nature to show the hidden feelings of the characters or alert the reader to upcoming events and changes in the novel. The paper offers examples that show how appealing weather or beautiful nature cause the reader to feel that positive changes are about to happen, while bad weather and a wild environment forecast negative changes.
From the Paper "Mary Shelley and Charlotte Bronte, like many other authors, use metaphors to help the reader better understand hidden messages in their writing. Although these two authors wrote novels that differ in a number of ways, they both used the same technique to make their books more understandable to the reader. Mary Shelley's novel Frankenstein tells the story of a person who brings a creature to life and does not take care of him, which has destructive effects on both of their lives. Charlotte Bronte in Jane Eyre shows the life of a governess in nineteenth century England who has to face many obstacles before she can achieve happiness. The use of weather and nature as metaphors in these two books forecasts incoming events and help the reader understand the inner feelings of the book's characters."
Abstract The paper describes the different weather patterns focusing on storms. The paper deals with small-scale weather patterns, the causes of storms and the nine different types of storms. The paper concludes with a discussion on predicting storms.
From the Paper "The primary weather producers in the middle latitudes are large centers of low pressure that generally move from west to east, called middle-latitude cyclones. Middle-latitude cyclones begin along a front where air masses are moving in opposite directions. The frontal surface usually takes on a wave shape, which becomes more defined as the cyclone matures, and a cold and a warm front evolve."
Abstract This paper describes the important role played by the National Weather Service (NWS) and the crucial information it provides, not only to residents of the United States, but also to the airline industry, cruise industry, and major national concerns, such as NASA. The paper examines the different methods employed to forecast extreme weather conditions.
From the Paper "The National Weather Service (NWS) is a government agency that affects every resident of the United States in important ways. Because of its skill in predicting extreme weather such as hurricanes and tornadoes, potentially thousands of lives have been saved. However, most people don"t realize that the NWS has a somewhat checkered history. Government leaders have been interested in predicting and recording the weather since shortly after the first colonists arrived in what would become the United States. A Swedish military chaplain living in what is present-day Delaware started keeping a weather diary in 1644. Such diaries were the main source of information about weather through the early 19th century (Waite, 2004). Many of the early Founding Fathers, including Franklin, Washington and Jefferson, recorded weather conditions (Waite, 2004). It wasn"t until 1814, however, that the United States Government began to systematically gather weather data, a job assigned to the U. S. Army Surgeon General and his medical corps assigned to barracks and forts across the country (Waite, 2004)."
Abstract This paper focuses on the Weather Underground, a radical branch of Students for a Democratic Society. It examines why the Weather Underground never was able to radicalize the general United States population. Most importantly, it uses the microcosm of the Days of Rage in Chicago to explain why the Weathermen were unable to mobilize support for their revolution.
Table of Contents:
Case Study: The Days of Rage
The Consequences of the Days of Rage
The Failures of the Weathermen
From the Paper "The Weather Underground, also briefly named the Weathermen, comprised largely of middle class college students from the East Coast and Midwest. They borrowed their name from a Bob Dylan song titled "Subterranean Homesick Blues". They were a militant organization which conducted protests and bombings in hopes of achieving a revolutionary overthrow of the established power. They also were against the United States involvement in the Vietnam. After working for years within the framework of the Students for a Democratic Society, members of the Weather Underground decided to break away from SDS in 1969 to "bring the war home" and "get it on in this country" by committing armed resistance against the U.S. government. However, it is evident through of The Days of Rage and its consequences that the Weather Underground was ineffective at sparking larger resistance. The self-indulging and elite attitude of the Weather Underground caused them to isolate themselves from the other New Left groups, ultimately rendering their violent protests and terrorist activities ineffective against stiff government opposition and an unsympathetic public."
Abstract This paper examines how "The Great Gatsby" exemplifies the extraordinary inclusion of seasons and contrasting weather situations to display the fantasy relationship between Daisy and Gatsby, the confrontational association between Tom, Daisy, and Gatsby, as well as the internal struggles within each character. It looks at how by doing so, the reader catches a glimpse into the characters' perspective towards life's changing emotions and relationships. The paper also discusses how the changing weather patterns symbolize the conflict and emotional outpourings by creating a relationship between a season and a sentiment. This creates greater representation and a deeper perspective into each character's life.
From the Paper "Towards the ending of the novel, Fitzgerald attempts to create a tense scene when the love triangle between Tom, Daisy, and Gatsby is revealed. "Our eyes lifted over the rose-beds and the hot lawn and the weedy refuse of the dog-days alongshore" (118). Here, the stressed situation is expressed through the depiction of hot summery weather. Roses represent a bright red color that is associated with heat and tension. Tom, Daisy, Nick, and Gatsby decide to escape the heat by going into the city, which in turn, translates in an effort to escape the rising anxiety between the two men vying for one woman's love. As they leave, it is illustrated that "Tom pushed the unfamiliar gears tentatively, and we shot off into the oppressive heat, leaving them out of sight behind." Oppressive is a term used to usually tell about cruel or harsh behavior that someone may feel when another person is above them, perhaps a "suffocating" situation. "
Abstract This paper differentiates between the dangerous slab avalanche, and the often harmless powder avalanche. It explains what weather conditions contribute to the worst avalanches. It also examines the significant impacts avalanches have on the environment and shows certain preventative techniques to protect and limit the damages and deaths caused by avalanches.
From the Paper "There are two types of avalanches; powder avalanches and slab avalanches. In very cold, dry weather, light powdery snow grains don"t stick together. If this snow is pushed down the slope, it forms a powder avalanche, which swirls along like an enormous white cloud. Normally these avalanches aren"t that dangerous as there isn?t much snow in them, they are also easy to get away from, most of the time. The slab avalanche is the most dangerous, and causes the most damage. A slab avalanche starts off as a solid chunk of frozen snow about the size of a soccer field and about 30 feet thick ( McClung, David and Schaerer, Peter, 129). It usually forms on sunny days that are followed by frosty nights and snow that melts and freezes again. These slabs are cracked, commonly by the edge of a ski, and break into many different thick pieces that haul down the slope, taking out whatever is in its path."
Abstract This paper examines the radical anti-Vietnam war, social justice movement, The Weather Underground. The movement is described in terms of its own history and the political climate of the times. The movement's ideology is described, as well as some of their activities. Finally, the paper concludes with the legacy of the movement and where its leaders are today.
From the Paper "Of all the groups that evolved from the SDS, the Weather Underground was the most notorious. This was due to the fact that even early in the history of the organization there were violent clashes with the police and authorities. An infamous example of the organizations penchant for violence protest was the "Four Days of rage". This refers to the violence in Chicago perpetrated by the Weathermen in 1969. Violence during this period included the destruction of property and buildings and attacks on the police. During these four days a total of seventy-three policemen were injured and about three hundred members of the organization arrested - some of them on charges of attempted murder. (George & Wilcox, 1996, p. 135)"
Abstract This paper discusses the many social and economical reasons for Canada not to ratify the Kyoto Accord of 1997, an international agreement aimed at addressing the issue of climate change. The paper argues, for example, that there is no concrete evidence that global warming is in fact ocurring. The paper shows that many provincial governments in Canada are opposed to the ratification of the Accord, whereas the federal government is in full support. This could be attributed to the fact that Jean Chretien knows that he will soon no longer be the Prime Minister of Canada, ratification of the Kyoto Accord may be his way of making a grand exit. The paper argues that the federal government has obviously not taken into account the economical impacts of the Kyoto Accord. If the Accord is ratified, many Canadian jobs will be lost as a result, some project even a second brain drain to the USA.
From the Paper "If Canada ratifies the Kyoto Accord, the country would be a much better place to live in now as well as in the future. At least this is what many "experts" would like Canadians to believe. The United Nations Kyoto Protocol is an international agreement aimed at addressing the issue of climate change. The protocol was agreed to in 1997. It commits developed countries to collectively reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 5.5% below 1990 levels by the period 2008-2012. Canada's share is a 6% reduction below 1990 levels. Other developed countries are being obligated with different emission reduction commitments. Developing countries and, of course, countries that are not party to the agreement are not required to meet targets for greenhouse gas emissions (CM&E, 2001)."
This paper discusses the possibility of more accurately forecasting weather through the application of Edward Lorenz' chaos theory as based on James Gleick's book "Chaos: Making a New Science".
Abstract This paper explains that James Gleick in his book "Chaos: Making a New Science" reports the work of meteorologist and pioneer of the chaos theory, Edward Lorenz, to computerize the forecasting of weather based on physical laws. The author points out that Gleick explains, even though the straight-forward mathematical attempt by Lorenz to find weather averages was a "failure", Lorenz discovered that the phenomenon of climate instability was related to the chaos theory. The paper relates that Lorenz' two non-linear discoveries are (1) that models of chaotic systems have an exquisitely sensitive dependence on initial dependence called the butterfly effect and (2) that even simple systems can show complex, chaotic behavior proving that the "clockwork" universe doesn't exist.
Table of Contents
Gleick's Belief of the Possibility to Forecast Weather The Butterfly Effect
Nonlinear and Linear Systems
Similar to Predicting the Motions of Planets
Link between Aperiodic Behavior and Unpredictable Behavior
Thermal Convection
From the Paper "The very act of predicting weather is "fragile" when it comes to computer modeling, even though the data may be "reasonable trustworthy" and the laws of science are "purely physical" (20). But the computer modeling of weather patterns and air movement and temperatures and all the other ingredients that go into the stew, are only good for a day or two; "beyond two or three days the world's best forecasts" are / were speculative, and "beyond six or seven," Gleick writes, "they were worthless." Why were they worthless? "The Butterfly Effect was the reason.""
