I just came across an article from NASA's Earth Observatory that was released yesterday entitled "A Dry Start to South America’s Wet Season". The article describes the current lack of precipitation in South America, and includes the map below. In this map, we are seeing the accumulated deficit of rainfall that is both flowing onto the surface and accumulating under the ground as of this October.
This got me wondering how South America might be impacted by the La Nina conditions in the near future. I did a little research, and found this article, also from NASA's Earth Observatory, which focuses on the changes that may occur when La Nina conditions are in place. It states that "Wetter than normal conditions are also observed over southeastern Africa and northern Brazil, during the northern hemisphere winter season" (see http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Features/LaNina/la_nina_2.php) I will be very interested to see the data from our GLOBE Schools all over the world, and especially in South America, to see if the La Nina conditions will bring more precipitation to this region.
