Weather is something that we often take for granted, but it varies greatly from location to location. Here in South Texas, we are accustomed to it being hot and windy. Did you know weather plays a huge part in what pollution is being brought into the ocean? Remember, the ocean is becoming more acidic because of the high amounts of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Just because you do not live on the ocean does not mean your choices do not affect it. By burning fossil fuels, even in the middle of the country, the polluted air moves to the ocean.
We can measure the weather in many ways, but the main ways are: temperature, weather conditions, wind speed, and wind direction. When we monitor these conditions they start to show trends, weather patterns, and how the ocean and weather are connected. For example, in Corpus most of the year our winds blow cool from the southeast. The wind is coming directly off the ocean. However, during a big cold front, the winds blow from the northwest and all the air is blowing past our oil refineries. Even though the wind is cold and feels great, it brings a lot of pollution with it. The pollution can settle onto our local ecosystems like our wetlands. By monitoring weather conditions we can understand weather patterns and how the air and ocean are connected.
