Browse > Article
http://dx.doi.org/10.5467/JKESS.2021.42.3.296

A Review on the Analysis of the Equatorial Current System and the Variability during the El Niño Period: Focusing on the Misconceptions in the Field of Secondary Education  

Chang, You-Soon (Department of Earth Science Education, Kongju National University)
Publication Information
Journal of the Korean earth science society / v.42, no.3, 2021 , pp. 296-310 More about this Journal
Abstract
El Niño is a typical ocean and atmospheric interaction phenomenon that causes climate variability on a global scale, so it has been used as a very important teaching and learning material in the field of earth science. This study summarized the distribution and dynamics of the equatorial current system. The variability of the equatorial current system during the El Niño period and the associated misconceptions were also investigated. The North Equatorial Current, South Equatorial Current, and Equatorial Under Current significantly weaken during El Niño years. However, the variability of the North Equatorial Counter Current (NECC) during the El Niño period cannot be generalized because the NECC shows southward movement with weakening in the northern area and strengthening in the southern area, along its central axis. In the western Pacific, the NECC is further south during El Niño years, and thus, it has an eastward flow in the equatorial western Pacific. Our analysis of a mass media science article, a secondary school exam, and a survey for incumbent teachers confirmed disparate ideas about the equatorial current system's variability during El Niño periods. This is likely due to inaccurate interpretations of the existing El Niño schematic diagram and insufficient understanding of the equatorial current and wave dynamics.
Keywords
El Nino; equatorial current system; misconception; North Equatorial Counter Current; schematic diagram;
Citations & Related Records
Times Cited By KSCI : 2  (Citation Analysis)
연도 인용수 순위
1 Chang, Y.-S., 2005, Intercomparison of the global ocean reanalysis data (review), The Sea, Journal of the Korean Society of Oceanography, 20(2), 102-118. (in Korean)
2 Kug, J.-S., Jin, F.-F., and An, S.-I., 2009, Two types of El Nino events: Cold tongue El Nino and warm pool El Nino, Journal of Climate, 22(6), 1499-1515.   DOI
3 Hsin, Y.-C., and Qiu, B., 2012, The impact of Eastern-Pacific versus Central-Pacific El Ninos on the North Equatorial Countercurrent in the Pacific Ocean, Journal of Geophysical Research, 117, C11017,doi:10.1029/2012JC008362.   DOI
4 Kwon, S.M., Lee, H.N., Jin, M.S., Boo, Y.P., Kim, T.J., Cho, Y.W., 2019, High school earth science I, Kumsung, Seoul, Korea, 248 p. (in Korean)
5 Cromwell, T., Montgomery, R. B., and Stroup, E. D., 1954, Equatorial undercurrent in the Pacific Ocean revealed by new methods, Science, 119 (3097) 648-649.   DOI
6 Gill, A.E., 1982, Atmosphere-Ocean Dynamics. Academic Press, Florida, USA, 662 p.
7 Knauss, J. A., 1960, Measurements of the Cromwell Current, Deep Sea Research, 6(4), 265-286.   DOI
8 Meyers, G., and Donguy, J.R., 1984, The North Equatorial Countercurrent and heat storage in the western Pacific Ocean during 1982-83, Nature, 312(5991), 258-260,   DOI
9 Ministry of Education (MOE), 2015. 2015 revised science curriculum. Ministry of Education 2015-74, issue 9. (in Korean)
10 Park, K.-A., Park, J.-E., Lee, K.-Y., Choi, B.-J., Lee, S.-H., Kim, Y.-T., and Lee, E.-I., 2015, An analysis of the change of secondary Earth Science teachers' knowledge about the East Sea's currents through drawing schematic current maps, Journal of the Korean Earth Science Society, 36(3), 258-279. (in Korean)   DOI
11 Philander, S.G., 1990: El Nino, La Nina, and the Southern Oscialliation, Academic Press, Florida, USA, 290 p.
12 Reid, J. 1959, Evidence of a South Equatorial Countercurrent in the Pacific Ocean. Nature 184, 209-210.   DOI
13 Stewart, R.H., Introduction to physical oceanography, Texas A & M University, 345 p.
14 Taft, B.A., and Kessler, W.S., 1991, Variations of zonal currents in the central tropical Pacific during 1970 to 1987: Sea level and dynamic height measurements, Journal of Geophysical Research, 96(C7), 12,599-12,618.   DOI
15 Webb, D. J., 2018, On the role of the North Equatorial Counter Current during a strong El Nino. Ocean Science, 14, 633-660.   DOI
16 Kessler, W.S., and Taft, B.A., 1987, Dynamic heights and zonal geostrophic transports in the central tropical Pacific during 1979-84, Journal of Physical Oceanography, 17, 97-122.   DOI
17 Delcroix, T., Eldin, G., Radenac, M.-H., Toole, J., and Firing, E., 1992, Variation of the western equatorial Pacific Ocean, 1986-1988, Journal of Geophysical Research, 97(C4), 5423-5445.   DOI
18 Ham, Y.G., Kim, J.H., and Luo, J.J. 2019, Deep learning for multi-year ENSO forecasts. Nature, 573, 568-572.   DOI
19 Johnson, G.C., Sloyan, B.M, Kessler, W.S., and McTaggart, K.E., 2002, Direct measurements of upper ocean currents and water properties across the tropical Pacific during the 1990s, Prog. Oceanogr., 52(1), 31-61.   DOI
20 Knauss, J. A., 1997, Introduction to physical oceanography. Prentice-Hall Inc. New Jersey, USA, 309 p.
21 Lee, J.W., Ryu, H.K., Chu, B.S., Moon, M.H., Lee, I.S.,Seo, K.W., Cho, M.A., 2019a, High school earth science I, Mirae-N, Seoul, Korea, 247 p. (in Korean)
22 Lee, K.Y., Kim, H.S., Park, J.Y., Lee, S.M., Jeong, J.H., and Choi, Y.O., 2019b, High school earth science I, Visang Education, Seoul, Korea, 240 p. (in Korean)
23 McPhaden, M.J., 2001, El Nino and La Nina: Causes and Global Consequences, Encyclopedia of Global Environmental Change, v1, 353-370.
24 Yeh, S.-W., Kug, J.-S., Dewitte, B., Kwon, M.-H., Kirtman, B. P., and Jin, F. F., 2009, El Nino in a changing climate, Nature, 461, 511-514.   DOI
25 Lee, Y.J., Park, S.I., Lee, J.K., Chang, H.Y., Kim, Y.K., and Chang, Y.-S., 2019c, High school earth science I, Kyohak, Seoul, Korea, 304 p. (in Korean)
26 McPhaden, M. J., Santoso, A., Cai, W. 2020, El Nino Southern Oscillation in a changing climate, American Geophysical Union and John Wiley & Sons, Ins, Washington D.C., USA, 506p.
27 Ministry of Education (MOE), 2007. 2007 revised science curriculum. Ministry of Education 2007-79, issue 9. (in Korean)
28 Ministry of Education (MOE), 2009. 2009 revised science curriculum. Ministry of Education 2009-41, issue 9. (in Korean)
29 Wyrtki, K., 1975, El Nino-The dynamic response of the equatorial Pacific Ocean to atmospheric forcing, Journal of Physical Oceanography, 5, 572-584.   DOI
30 Wyrtki, K., and Kilonsky, B., 1984, Mean water and current structure during the Hawaii-to-Tahiti shuttle experiment. Journal of Physical Oceanography, 14, 242-254.   DOI
31 Kim, J.S., Lee, H.K., Kwon, O.S., Chang, S.K., Kwon, H.J., and Park, H.K, 2019, High school earth science I. YBM, Seoul, Korea, 240 p. (in Korean)
32 Pond, S., and Pickard, G.L., 1983, Introductory Dynamical Oceanography, Pergamon Press, Oxford, UK, 329 p.
33 Suarez, M.J., and Schopf, P.S., 1988, A delayed action oscillator for ENSO. Journal of Atmospheric Science, 45, 3283-3287.   DOI
34 Tomczak, M., and Godfrey, J. S., 1994, Regional oceanography: An introduction, Pergamon, Oxford, UK, 551 p.
35 An, S.-I., and Jin, F.-F., 2001, Collective role of thermocline and zonal advective feedbacks in the ENSO mode, Journal of Climate, 14, 3421-3432.   DOI
36 Balmaseda, M.A., Vidard, A., and Anderson, D.L.T., 2008, The ECMWF Ocean Analysis System: ORA-S3, Mon. Weather Rev., 136, 3018-3034.   DOI
37 Qiu, B., and Joyce, T.M., 1992, Interannual variability in the mid- and lowlatitude western north Pacific, Journal of Physical Oceanography, 22, 1062-1079.   DOI
38 Oh, P.S., Cho, H.K., Oh, S.J., Lee, H.I., Moon, B.K., So, Y.W., Jeon, H.J., and Park, C.E., 2019, High school earth science I, Chunjae Education, Seoul, Korea, 222 p. (in Korean)
39 Chang Y.-S., Lee, D.-U., Seo, J.-W., and Youn, Y.-H., 2005, Forecasting the sea surface temperature in the tropical Pacific by neural network model. Journal of the Korean Earth Science Society, 26(3), 268-275. (in Korean)
40 Wyrtki, K., 1979, The response of sea surface topography to the 1976 El Nino, Journal of Physical Oceanography, 9, 1223-1231.   DOI
41 Chang Y.-S., 2012, A review of the quality control of global ocean temperature and salinity data, Journal of the Korean Earth Science Society, 33(6), 554-566. (in Korean)   DOI
42 Chang, Y.-S., Jeon, D., Lee, H., An, H.S., Seo, J.-W., and Youn, Y.-H., 2004, Interannual variability and lagged correlation during strong El Nino events in the Pacific Ocean. Climate Research. 27(1), 51-58.   DOI
43 Bryden, H. L., Brady, E. C., 1985, Diagnostic model of three-dimensional circulation in the upper equatorial Pacific Ocean. Journal of Physical Oceanography, 15, 1255-1273   DOI