Ocean and Weather Current Event Worksheet Student Name: Directions: You will be given a claim. You will need to find a current event that provides the evidence you need that supports the claim. Be sure to read the assessment instructions for resources and the student example in the lesson. Claim: The ocean has a significant influence on climate change by absorbing, storing, and moving heat and water. Find Current Event: Be sure to include the source for the article or media piece that includes title, author, publication (or posting) date, and/or the website link of the video or podcast. Source: Write the Current Event Summary: Summarize the main idea of the article in one paragraph (2-4 sentences). This should be in your own words, not a copy and paste of text from the article. Summary: Provide Evidence from Source: Use information from your current event to provide two pieces of evidence that support the claim. You can use direct quotes from your source. The Use Reasoning to Explain Evidence: Use information you learned about ocean and weather to explains why each piece of evidence supports the claim. The ocean absorbs heat Making Connections: Use information from the lesson to answer the following questions in complete sentences: Explain how the ocean circulates water and heat around the world. Identify the two factors that influence convection in ocean waters. What causes El Niño? List two conditions associated with El Niño.
Claim: The ocean has a significant influence on climate change by absorbing, storing, and moving heat and water.
Find Current Event:
Title: "The Role of the Oceans in Climate Change"
Author: Dr. Benjamin I. Cook
Publication Date: May 1, 2021
Website Link: https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/features/RoleOfOcean
Current Event Summary:
In this article, Dr. Benjamin I. Cook explains the various ways in which the oceans play a crucial role in climate change. He highlights how the oceans absorb a significant amount of heat and carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, acting as a heat sink and reducing the impact of global warming. Additionally, the oceans store large amounts of water, which affect regional and global climate patterns through ocean currents and circulation.
Evidence from Source:
1. "The ocean absorbs about 93% of the heat trapped by excess greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide, in the atmosphere."
2. "In addition to absorbing heat, the oceans absorb about 26% of the world’s carbon dioxide emissions, reducing the impact of global warming."
Reasoning to Explain Evidence:
1. The fact that the ocean absorbs about 93% of the heat trapped by greenhouse gases supports the claim because it demonstrates the ocean's capability to store and remove heat from the atmosphere. This process helps regulate the overall temperature of the Earth and has a direct influence on climate change.
2. The evidence that the ocean absorbs about 26% of the world's carbon dioxide emissions supports the claim because carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas directly linked to global warming. By absorbing a significant portion of these emissions, the ocean is able to mitigate the impact of global warming, thereby influencing climate change.
Making Connections:
1. The ocean circulates water and heat around the world through a process known as thermohaline circulation or the ocean conveyor belt. Surface waters are heated near the equator, becoming warmer and less dense, causing them to move towards the poles. As the warm surface waters cool at higher latitudes, they become denser and sink down to the deeper ocean layers. This sinking creates a conveyor belt-like circulation that transports heat and nutrients from the equator to colder regions and vice versa, influencing global climate patterns.
2. The two factors that influence convection in ocean waters are temperature and salinity. Variations in temperature and salinity create differences in water density, which drive the circulation of ocean currents. Warmer and less salty waters are less dense and tend to rise, while colder and saltier waters are denser and tend to sink. These density-driven movements, combined with wind patterns, govern the complex circulation patterns of the oceans.
3. El Niño is caused by the weakening or reversal of trade winds in the equatorial Pacific Ocean. This leads to a massive redistribution of warm surface waters, which usually accumulate in the western Pacific, towards the central and eastern Pacific. The change in winds disrupts the typical patterns of ocean circulation and increases sea surface temperatures, resulting in abnormal climate conditions worldwide.
4. Two conditions associated with El Niño are increased rainfall and warm ocean temperatures in the eastern Pacific along the coasts of Peru and Ecuador. The altered ocean and atmospheric conditions during El Niño can lead to heavy rainfall, flooding, and droughts in various regions around the world, such as South America, Africa, and Southeast Asia. Additionally, El Niño also affects marine ecosystems, disrupting fish populations and marine food chains.
Claim: The ocean has a significant influence on climate change by absorbing, storing, and moving heat and water.
Current Event Source:
Title: "Ocean ecosystems under threat from irreversible warming"
Author: Damian Carrington
Publication Date: November 13, 2019
Website Link: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/nov/13/ocean-ecosystems-under-threat-from-irreversible-warming
Current Event Summary:
This article discusses a study that highlights the impact of global warming on ocean ecosystems. It mentions how the ocean acts as a major regulator of the Earth's climate as it absorbs and stores heat. Due to rising global temperatures, the ocean is experiencing irreversible warming, which poses a significant threat to marine life and ecosystems.
Evidence from Source:
1. "The oceans have already sucked up 93% of the extra heat pumped into the atmosphere by human activities since the 1970s."
2. "Ocean heat also drives weather systems."
Reasoning to Explain Evidence:
1. This evidence supports the claim by demonstrating how the ocean absorbs heat. The statistic shows that the ocean has been a significant heat sink, absorbing the majority of the extra heat generated by human activities. This absorption of heat by the ocean indicates its role in regulating the Earth's climate.
2. This evidence supports the claim by indicating that ocean heat drives weather systems. As the ocean absorbs and stores heat, it influences the formation and movement of weather patterns globally. This process showcases the significant influence of the ocean on climate change.
How the ocean circulates water and heat around the world:
The ocean circulates water and heat around the world through a process called thermohaline circulation, also known as the ocean conveyor belt. This process involves the movement of water at different depths and temperatures, driven by factors such as differences in salinity and temperature. Cold, denser water sinks in the polar regions, while warm, less dense water rises in the equatorial regions, creating a continuous flow of water and heat.
The two factors that influence convection in ocean waters:
The two factors that influence convection in ocean waters are temperature and salinity. As mentioned earlier, differences in temperature and salinity affect the density of water. Cold and/or salty water is denser and tends to sink, while warm and/or less salty water is less dense and tends to rise. This convection process plays a crucial role in the circulation of heat and water throughout the ocean.
Causes of El Niño:
El Niño is caused by the interaction between the ocean and the atmosphere in the tropical Pacific Ocean. It occurs when the trade winds weaken or reverse, causing warm water to spread eastward from the western Pacific. This disruption of normal oceanic and atmospheric patterns leads to a shift in weather patterns globally.
Two conditions associated with El Niño:
1. Weakening of trade winds: El Niño is characterized by a weakening or reversal of the trade winds, which are the prevailing winds that blow from east to west across the tropical Pacific. This weakening allows warm water to move eastward, altering oceanic and atmospheric conditions.
2. Warmer ocean temperatures: During El Niño, the sea surface temperatures in the tropical Pacific become significantly warmer than average. This increase in ocean temperatures has widespread impacts on global climate patterns, leading to changes in weather and precipitation.