Learning Exercise

Learning Assignment for the TAO/Triton Java Applet

Learning Goals
The TAO/Triton Java applet presents real-time data from the TAO/Triton weather
buoy array stretched across the tropical south Pacific. This array, made up of
70 buoys deployed to collect oceanographic and meteorological information,
provides critical early warning information for El Nino-La Nina events. Such
events may have severe human, economic and social consequences; hence, these
data are important for practical as well as scientific applications.

In this assignment, you will explore the data provided by this array and provide
a ?weather report? on oceanographic and meteorological conditions in the
tropical Pacific. By the end of this activity, you should be able to:
? interpret color contour maps of sea surface temperature
? describe the distribution, range and trends of oceanographic and
meteorological data reported by the buoy array
? understand how the information obtained by the buoys and depicted by the
applets is used to predict El Nino and La Nina events
? appreciate the benefits and limitations of fixed-point sampling for
understanding ocean processes

I. Familiarize yourself with the TAO/Triton Buoy Array.
The TAO/Triton Java applet at
http://www.pmel.noaa.gov/toga-tao/java/taoinfo.html is a project managed by the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration?s Pacific Marine Environmental
Laboratories. The Project Home page is located at http://www.pmel.noaa.gov/tao/
and you should start here first.

(You may also click on the TAO Buoy array link at the top of the applet page to
get to this site).

From the TAO Project Home Page, view the TAO Story and answer the following
questions:
1. What does TAO stand for?
2. What are the scientific goals of the TAO array?
3. How are TAO buoys deployed?
4. How do the data from the buoys get to the Internet?
5. What are the beneficial uses of the data?

Click on the tab marked Project Overview.
1. Describe the buoy array. What does it consist of? (see Technical Information
? Moorings)?
2. What exactly do the buoys measure (see Technical Information ? Sensors)?
3. How often do the buoys collect data (see Technical Information ? Sampling)?
4. How do scientists know the data are reliable (see Technical Information ?
Data Quality Control)?
5. What types of data are available for the buoy located at the intersection of
the equator and the International Date Line? What depths are measured for sea
temperature at this location (see Technical Information ? Data availability)?
6. How often are data updated on the TAO web pages (see Technical Information ?
Data telemetry

Click on the El Nino/La Nina tab.
1. What is El Nino?
2. What is La Nina?
3. What are the global impacts of El Nino?
4. Pick one of the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) and summarize the answer
here (be sure to include the question).
5. What are the benefits of El Nino prediction?
6. What are today?s predictions and news releases concerning the possibility of
an El Nino event occurring in the near future?

II. Familiarize yourself with the TAO/Triton Java applet
Go to the applet site here at
http://www.pmel.noaa.gov/toga-tao/java/taoinfo.html

Familiarize yourself with how the applet displays buoy locations and
oceanographic data. When you have completed each task, put an ?X? in the check
box.

1. Roll your mouse cursor over one of the diamond symbols (i.e., buoy locations)
displayed on the color contour map. Observe how information in the box marked
Most Recent Data changes as you move from one buoy location to another. ٱ

2. Roll your cursor over a colored region away from one of the buoys. Observe
how the latitude and longitude of your cursor are displayed at the lower left
corner of the data display (above the Most Recent Data box) ٱ

3. Roll your cursor over the buoy located at the intersection of the equator and
the International Data Line. Hold down the Shift key and click your mouse. You
should see the TAO Buoy Summary Plot for 0, 180W. ٱ

4. Enlarge the image (the graphs depicting the buoy?s data) by clicking on it.
Observe the graphs for wind speed and direction, dynamic height (essentially,
the height of the sea surface above a fixed depth in the water column ? don?t
worry if you don?t understand this; it?s a fairly advanced topic) and water
temperatures from the surface to 300 meters from November 2001 to N ovember 2002
(and beyond). Observe that the colors on the temperature map correspond to
specific temperatures. ٱ

5. Return to the applet. Find one of the square symbols on the map and roll your
cursor over it. What is the difference between the square symbols and the
diamond symbols? Shift-click on one of the square symbols. Observe the image
summarizing, wind, dynamic height and temperature data for this station. ٱ
6. Remain on this page and click on the link for the Glossary of TAO
Terminology. Look up and make sure you understand the following terms: Mean,
Anomaly, SST, WSPD, WDIR, T1-T10, Humidity, Isotherms, DYN (Dynamic Height),
Heat, Transport, Ocean Measured, Ocean Derived. ٱ

III. Prepare a Weather Report on the Tropical Pacific
Return to the applet and prepare a weather report on current conditions in the
Tropical Pacific as indicated by the TAO/Triton array. Your report should take
the format of a typical weather report as presented by a weatherperson on a TV
or radio news program. Make it fun. Include the following:
? the latitude and longitude from the most northwestern Atlas buoy to the most
southeastern Atlas buoy; this is the geographical region (the TAO region) for
which you are reporting oceanographic and meteorological data
? the dates over which your data were collected and are being reported (the
five-day mean)
? an assessment of current sea surface temperatures within the TAO region,
commenting on the range of temperatures observed (highest to lowest) where the
highest and lowesttemperatures occur (use lat-long data and/or directional
information, i.e. in the center, at the southeast corner, at the upper
northeastern quadrant, etc); and any north-south and east-west trends (does it
get warmer or cooler as you travel from west to east, south to north?)
? a detailed report of data specific to one buoy each within the warmest,
coolest and moderate temperature regions (that is, provide air temperature, sea
surface temperature, 20-degree isotherm, dynamic height, heat content, wind
speed, wind direction and humidity for three buoys, one in the warmest region,
one in the coolest region and one in a region with temperatures between the
warmest and coolest
? a report on the annual variations in wind speed and direction, dynamic height
and water column temperatures for one buoy in a hot region and one in a warm
region
? a summary of the current forecast for El Nino and its potential impacts where
you live (i.e. above-normal air temperatures in the northeastern US; drought in
the western US; heavy rainfall in Hawaii, etc)
? a statement about the limitations of benefits and limitations of weather buoys
for understanding ocean processes (including statements about the spatial and
temporal resolution of the array, its advantages and disadvantages compared to
satellites, its costs and limitations on what it can and can?t measure.