Questions of the week

1...The Dead Sea is completely landlocked and it gets saltier with increasing depth. The surface, fed by the River Jordan, is the least saline. Down to about 130 feet (40 meters), the seawater comprises about 300 grams of salt per kilogram of seawater. That's about ten times the salinity of the oceans. Below 300 feet, though, the sea has 332 grams of salt per kilogram of seawater and is saturated. Salt precipitates out and piles up on the bottom of the sea.
2..
La Niña translates from Spanish as "the girl-child". The term "La Niña" has recently become the conventional meteorological label for the opposite of the better known El Niño.

The term La Niña refers to the extensive cooling of the central and eastern Pacific Ocean. In Australia (particularly eastern Australia), La Niña events are associated with increased probability of wetter conditions.

A Changes to the atmosphere and ocean circulation during La Niña events include:

1.Cooler than normal ocean temperatures across the central and eastern tropical Pacific Ocean.
2..Increased convection or cloudiness over tropical Australia, Papua New-Guinea, and Indonesia.
3.Stronger than normal (easterly) trade winds across the Pacific Ocean (but not necessarily in the Australian region).
4..High (positive) values of the SOI (Southern Oscillation Index).
3...A monsoon is a wind pattern that reverses direction with the seasons. The term was originally applied to seasonal winds in the Indian Ocean and Arabian Sea. The word is also used more specifically for the season in which this wind blows from the southwest in India and adjacent areas that is characterized by very heavy rainfall, and especially, for the rainfall associated with this wind.
4....
Three distinct types of ocean resource are commonly mentioned as possible energy sources: tides, waves, and ocean temperature differentials (ocean thermal energy conversion, or OTEC). For example, tidal energy schemes capture water at high tide and release it at low tide. Wave energy generation devices fall into two general classifications, fixed and floating. In both cases, the oscillating motion of an incoming and outgoing wave is used to drive turbines that generate electricuty. Tide energy systems traps high tides in a reservoir. When the tide drops, the water behind the reservoir flows through a power turbine, generating electricity. Ocean thermal energy conversion uses the difference in temperature between warm surface water and cold deep ocean water to make electricity.
5...
light wave, like any wave, is an energy-transport phenomenon. A light wave transports energy from one location to another. When a light wave strikes a boundary between two distinct media, a portion of the energy will be transmitted into the new medium and a portion of the energy will be reflected off the boundary and stay within the original medium. The actual percentage of energy which is transmitted and reflected is dependent upon a number of variables; now,we review and internalize the basic concepts and terminology associated with boundary behavior. Reflection of a light wave involves the bouncing of a light wave off the boundary, while refraction of a light wave involves the bending of the path of a light wave upon crossing a boundary and entering a new medium. Both reflection and refraction involve a change in direction of a wave, but only refraction involves a change in medium.