Are temperatures off the west coast of Equatorial South America slightly warmer or slightly colder than surrounding water to the west?

(Chapter 5) Go to the Unisys Weather page at http://weather.unisys.com/. Click on “Surface Data” under Analyses, and then click on “Daily Plots” under Other Pages. Click on “SST Data” under Plots to bring up a current sea surface temperature map. 1. Based on sea surface temperatures, where do you think warm ocean currents are located? Cold ocean currents? Compare your answers to the ocean current map in Figure 5.21. 2. Are temperatures off the west coast of Equatorial South America slightly warmer or slightly colder than surrounding water to the west? Based on the temperature pattern, which direction are surface winds blowing from in the Equatorial Pacific Ocean? How can you tell? Click on “SST Anom” to display the sea surface temperature anomalies map. These anomalies are the difference between the current temperature and the 1981-2010 average temperature. 3. Are the temperatures in the western part of the Equatorial Pacific Ocean warmer or colder than average? Central part? Eastern part? 4. Based on what you know about the Southern Oscillation, is the eastern Equatorial Pacific Ocean currently exhibiting El Nino, La Nina, or normal characteristics? Another reference to check and compare to the last site is: NOAA’s Southern Oscillation Index (SOI) page at https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/teleconnections/ensolindicators/soi/. What do you find?

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