Congrats Roz

And the final answer is...

On September 6, 2009, Roz landed on the island of Tarawa at 2:00 PM local time. Congrats Roz for another amazing adventure. See you next time.

Final Question for Leg 2?

Thanks to Alofa Tuvalu for the wonderful comments to last week's question. Check them out to see the detailed information about the important issues this island faces. For this week: Roz is in her final stages of her row, now to Tarawa. Use the Roz Tracker to predict when she will land. Give the date you think she will make it. Post your answers in the comments section of this blog. Good luck to all and good luck to Roz!

Tuvalu

Did you try last week's question? It was answered on Thursday the 20Th as Roz crossed the International Date Line, or anitmeridian at a little before 4 in the afternoon Hawaii time while still a few days away from crossing the Equator. Go Roz. And now it is on to Tuvalu. Roz keeps saying that Tuvalu is an important symbol of climate change. Can you find out why? Do some research on line and post your answers in the comments section. What's so special about Tuvalu?

A photo of Tuvalu from the Wikipedia commons.

Will Roz cross the Antimeridian or the Equator?

This week's question has to do with Roz's position in the Pacific. As of Sunday, August 16th, her position is 1.47 North 178. 5 West. The Ecuador is just 75 miles away and the Antimeridian (180 degrees longitude) is about 100 miles away. Which will she cross first? When? Make your predictions using the comments section on the blog.

Here is Roz's Expedition track on Google Earth. Do you see the line of clouds that run roughly parallel to the equator? That is the Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone or ITCZ. It is an area of storms which are formed by winds, called tropical easterlies or the trade winds, that move from east to west just north and south of the equator. These two wind currents cause air between them to rise. When warm wet tropical air rises, it cools and storms quickly form.

Roz will have to push through this area in order to reach the southern hemisphere. What do you think will happen as she pushes through? Do you think she will be forced to stay in the northern hemisphere? Do you think she will get to the southern hemisphere? If so, when? Write your answer in the comments section of the blog. Good luck!

Intertropical Convergence Zone

A sea-mount is a mountain on the bottom of the sea who's top does not reach the surface of the ocean. These are typically formed by volcanoes under the water which go extinct before the top gets high enough to rise above the surface of the ocean and form an island, like Hawaii.

Roz is about to pass through something called the Intertropical Convergence Zone, and it may effect her voyage. So what's the big deal with the ITCZ? Research this unique area of the ocean and comment back to the blog. What is the ITCZ and how do you think it might effect Roz's voyage?

How Deep is the Water

Thanks for responding. We will see who is right when Roz arrives at her final destination: Tuvalu, or somewhere nearby, later this summer.

Now for this week’s question: We all think of Roz as being over deep ocean water, but you may be surprised to learn that some of the ocean she is sailing over is relativly shallow. As of Wednesday, June 24th, Roz is near a feature called the Harrision Seamount. The water she is over is much shallower than the ocean she has been traveling on. So for this week, what is a seamount? What causes them to form? Will Roz notice a difference?