El Nino Essay

El Nino: Past, Present, and Future Essay example
El Nino: Past, Present, and Future
El Nino is both an atmospheric and oceanic phenomenon affecting weather patterns all around the
world. It is complemented by La Nina in a cycle that occurs approximately every 4 years, varying as
much as every two years to every six years (Wang 1999, 3331). La Nina has almost the opposite
effect, however differs in its strength and duration randomly, as does El Nino (Fedorov 2000,
1998). The cycle is often paraphrased as ENSO, standing for El Nino–Southern Oscillation (Flugel
1997, 3230). It is called this because the El Nino phenomenon is especially strong in the Southern
Hemisphere, and has greater effects in areas of the pacific near the equator. Although ENSO is
prominent in certain areas, it alters...show more content...
Scientists believe the depth of the layer in between, the thermocline, will help us predict the
occurrence and strength of an El Nino Event (Fedorov 2000, 1997). Changes in surface water
temperature of the oceans determine the strength of the winds, which in turn affect the occurrence
of an ENSO event, and it would only take a brief disturbance of westerly winds near the equator
to create an ENSO occurrence (Fedorov 2000, 1998). Another possible way of predicting an
ENSO event is by looking at strength of the trade winds. If they weaken, more warm water will
flow eastward creating even weaker winds, and thus creating a positive feedback mechanism
(Fedorov 2000, 1998). Although these theories have credibility, there have been times when
ENSO events have not been caused when westerly winds occurred, however ENSO events have
also happened when no westerlies were reported (Fedorov 2000, 1999). Many scientists say that
the ENSO event has been changing, however no hard proof has shown this. One factor of the
ENSO cycle that is now changing is the background state of the climate (Fedorov 2000, 2000).
The background state is the foundation on which the ENSO event is based. If the background state
is different during the time of an ENSO event, different outcomes will be the result (Fedorov 2000,
2000). This may be the cause of the strength of both the 1982 and 1997 ENSO events, and the
extended 1992 event (Fedorov 2000, 2000). These recent irregularities in the ENSO
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El Nino Essay
El NiГ±o and La NiГ±a Worksheet
After exploring the websites, you will have enough information to answer the following questions.
There are 19 true/false questions and 1 short answer question that need to be answered. Submit your
work to your instructor and then complete the El NiГ±o and La NiГ±a Quiz.
The information below explains how to answer the questions.
* If the statement is True, answer True for full credit. * If the statement is False, answer False for
half credit and then rewrite the sentence to make it a True statement. To make it True, you will
likely only need to swap no more than 2–4 words that describe the main concept to make it true.
Here are a couple of examples.
Example #1: True/False: Most...show more content...
Answer:
7. Warm ENSO episodes result in abnormally wet conditions over northernAustralia, Indonesia, and
the Philippines in both winter and summer seasons.
Answer:
8. During a warm ENSO episode, storms tend to be more vigorous in the Gulf of Mexico along the
southeast coast of the U.S. resulting in wetter than normal conditions in that region.
Answer:
9. During a La NiГ±a episode, higher than normal pressure is observed over Indonesia and northern
Australia and lower than normal pressure is observed over the eastern tropical Pacific.
Answer:
10. The southeastern U.S. becomes warmer and drier than normal during a cold La NiГ±a episode.
Answer:
11. El Nino is closely related to global atmospheric oscillation known as the Northern Oscillation.
Answer:
12. La NiГ±a represents the warm phase of the ENSO cycle and El Nino represents the cold phase of
the ENSO cycle.
Answer:
13. NOAA's Climate Prediction Center declares the onset of an El NiГ±o episode when the

6–month average sea–surface temperature departure exceeds 2.5 deg Celsius in the east–central
equatorial Pacific.
Answer:
14. El NiГ±o and La NiГ±a episodes typically occur every 2–7 years. However, in the historical
record this interval has varied from 3–5 years.
Answer:
15. El NiГ±o and La NiГ±a are

El Nino And Its Effects
El NiГ±o and its Effects Recently, the weather has varied greatly from traditional for many areas
within the United States; the East Coast has had next to zero snow, while Midwest states have been
hit by several heavy snowstorms. Although this change in weather patterns, compared to the average
year, may appear unordinary and confusing, it can be attributed to the fact that a very strong El
NiГ±o is currently underway. El NiГ±o occurs when trade winds in the Pacific Ocean decrease in
magnitude, which in turn results in less upwelling in the ocean off the east coast of South America.
Without the usual amount of upwelling occurring, not as much cold water is brought to the surface,
and the water in the Pacific Ocean, particularly around the equator, becomes much warmer than
normal. Although it may not be blatantly obvious why the temperature of water in the Central
Pacific would have such an effect on the United States, ocean currents and atmospheric circulation
are the backbone for climatic conditions worldwide. The El NiГ±o currently occurring is one of
the most powerful on record, and its effects can be seen, and will increasingly continue to be seen,
this winter throughout the United States. When referring to the strength of an El NiГ±o, researches
look at the change from average of temperature in the Pacific Ocean waters, and the duration of this
change. If an El NiГ±o has a temperature greater than previous El NiГ±o's for at least three months,
then it is considered to be

El Nino Essay
El Nino
Typically, the level of ocean water around the world is higher in the western Pacific and lower in the
eastern, near the Western coast of South and
North America. This is due primarily to the presence of easterly winds in the
Pacific, which drag the surface water westward and raise the thermocline relatively all the way up to
the surface in the east and dampen it in the west.
During El Nino conditions, however, the easterlies move east, reducing the continuing interaction
between wind and sea, allowing the thermocline to become nearly flat and to plunge several feet
below the surface of the water, allowing the water to grow warm and expand. With the help of the
National Oceanic and
Atmospheric...show more content...
Where the surface water moves away, colder, nutrient–rich water comes up from below to replace it
which is called upwelling. The winds that blow along the equator also affect the properties of
upwelled water. When there is no wind, the dividing layer between the warm surface water and the
deep cold water would be almost flat; but the winds drag the surface water westward, raising the
thermocline nearly all the way up to the surface in the east and depressing in the west.
The resulting changes in sea–surface temperature will have an effect on the winds. When the
easterlies are blowing at full strength, the upwelling of cold water along the equatorial Pacific
chills the air above it, making it too dense to rise high enough for water vapor to condense to form
clouds and raindrops. As a result, this part of the ocean stays indubitably free of clouds during
normal years and the rain in the equatorial belt is mostly confined to the extreme western Pacific.
However, when the easterlies weaken and retreat eastward during the early stages of an El Nino
event, the upwelling slows and the ocean warms.
The moist air above also warms. It would produce deep clouds which make heavy rain along the
equator. The change in ocean temperatures thus causes the major rain zone over the western Pacific
to shift eastward. In this way, the dialogue between wind and sea in the Pacific can become more
and more

El NiГ±o: Caribbean Sea
This summer we've already been slightly impacted from El NiГ±o. Near the Caribbean Sea and the
other parts of the Atlantic basin there's been strong wind shear. El NiГ±o occurs when there's
warming of ocean water in the Pacific Ocean. El NiГ±o occurs in a cycle of three to seven years. El
NiГ±o will be present winter 2015–2016 and will weaken towards spring. In the United States El
NiГ±o lasting into spring is important because precipitation and temperature go from moderate to
storm. El NiГ±o can cause major damage to our agriculture,people, and many other

How Does El NiГ±o Affect The Weather Patterns
El NiГ±o is an anomalous, yet periodic, warming of the central and eastern equatorial Pacific
Ocean. During an El NiГ±o, these trade winds weaken, and may at times reverse from west to east.
The most persistent thunderstorms will shift from the western to the eastern and central Pacific
Ocean in an El NiГ±o. Day–to–day variability in the weather pattern, including blocking patterns,
forcing from climate change and other factors all work together with El NiГ±o to determine the
overall weather experienced over the timeframe of a few months. El NiГ±o's clearest impact on
northern hemisphere weather patterns occurs from late fall through winter.
The weak El NiГ±o in the winter of 2006–07 provided a totally different story than what we saw in
the very

The Influence Of El NiГ±o Effects On North America
El NiГ±o refers to the wide ranging ocean–atmosphere climate interchange linked to a cyclical
warming in ocean surface temperatures across the central and east–central Equatorial Pacific.
Distinctive El NiГ±o effects will potentially manifest over North America during the approaching
winter season. They involve warmer–than–average temperatures over western and central Canada,
and over the western and northern United States. Wetter–than–average conditions are probable over
parts of the U.S. Gulf Coast and Florida, and drier–than–average conditions can be expected in the
Ohio Valley and the Pacific Northwest. The presence of El NiГ±o can significantly influence
weather patterns, ocean conditions, and marine fisheries across large portions of the

How Does El Nino Alter Ocean Life
Easterly trade winds, can filter and transform into westerlies. Thus, allowing great masses of warm
water to flow from the western Pacific toward the Americas. This then can reduce the upwelling of
cooler, nutrient–rich waters from the ocean and shut down or reverse it completely. Overall, El
Nino alters ocean life by reducing the fish populations along the eastern Pacific shores and it does
this in a couple distinctive ways. As El Nino weakens upwelling of cool nutrient–rich water to the
ocean surface, the amount of phytoplankton decreases.

The El Nino Southern Oscillation
Abstract The El–NiГ±o Southern Oscillation is a complex sequence of natural climate variations
that take place in the tropics of the Pacific Ocean, yet affect the climate of the entire globe. The
climate phenomenon, known as ENSO, has three main phases that each differ markedly in their
atmospheric and oceanic conditions. El NiГ±o, also known as "the warm phase", is the first cycle
that begins when warm water in the eastern Pacific Ocean shifts to the west toward South America.
During El NiГ±o, the east–to–west trade winds halt and sometimes reverse directions, causing
significant disturbances in the biological life of the Pacific Ocean. Conversely, La NiГ±a is the
complete opposite of El NiГ±o. La NiГ±a, also called "the cold phase" brings unusually strong
east–to–west winds and colder temperatures along the equatorial Pacific. Both phases have
consequences that affect the regular atmospheric conditions of the world; El NiГ±o is linked to
both droughts and floods, La NiГ±a is linked to extreme tropical cyclones and monsoon rains. The
climatic events also have relationships to forest fires, economic changes, famine, plagues and
widespread crop failure. The study of ENSO is necessary in order to attempt to reveal patterns and
key factors that can affect the intensity and severity of this phenomenon that occurs globally on
average every two to seven years.
Introduction
The El NiГ±o–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is one of the most important natural climatic
phenomena on

El Nino Essay
El Nino
We live on an incredibly large planet. Even broader than the size of the planet are the amount of
changes and relationships between humans, animals, environment, weather, and the effects of each.
Many times with busy schedules and modern lifestyles we forget the interaction that goes on
between any number of concepts or ideas. We fail to realize that a specific weather occurrence in
the Pacific Ocean can have an effect on every day life in the United States. El Nino is one of the
largest scientific phenomenons that scientists have ever explored. The main concepts of El Nino are
very simple and there are many variations, causes, affects, and relationships to study.
The main idea behind El Nino is that the wind changes...show more content...
The theory of El Nino was originally explored and documented in the 1560's. Mayell (1997)
discussed how fishermen from Peru wondered why in certain years the normally cold water would
become warm and the flow would reverse in an opposite direction. The change in water temperature
would kill the majority of the fish and thus cause major problems for fishermen and many others
who relied on fish. The changes in the water temperature usually began near Christmas, therefore the
fishermen called this phenomenon El Nino, which means The Christ Child in Spanish.
Scientists who studied El Nino stayed only on the South American coast until the early 1900's.
British scientist Sir Gilbert Walker was stationed in India to study weather patterns after a monsoon
in 1899 devastated the country. As he studied the monsoon's he noticed a connection between water
temperature and rainfall. He also discovered that the barometer readings of eastern and western
Pacific Ocean were almost always identically opposite. He noticed that when pressure rises in the
east, it usually falls in the west, and vice versa. He coined the term Southern Oscillation to dramatize
the ups and downs in this east–west seesaw effect. He also linked the affects of the wind and water
temperatures to drought or rainfall, depending on which side of the ocean you studied. Sir Gilbert
Walker took large amounts of grief for his bold statements, but

Pros And Cons Of El Nino
The Pros and Cons of
Elnino
By RoderiEl Nino is a climate pattern that causes extreme weather conditions. El Nino occurs when
there is large–scale warming of the surface of the Pacific Ocean, which can cause droughts, floods
and even fishing and agriculture issues as its warm waters move east.
Contrary to popular belief, global warming did not cause El Nino. It is a natural climate change that
occurs as semi–regular intervals. El Nino is Spanish for Christ Child, and it was named this
because El Nino usually begins to appear around the Christmas season. When El Nino occurs, there
is a lot of disruption of sea life, especially in coastal regions. This often has negative effects for the
livelihood of many fishermen. In 1982–83, and in 1997–98, we experienced the strongest El Nino
effects in the 1900s. Australia suffered its worst drought of the century and there were very strong
storm systems in the SW United States. El Nino has been responsible for floods, droughts,
thunderstorms, extreme rainfall, milder Canadian winters, lowered cyclone and hurricane activity,
and dryer–than–normal monsoons. During El Nino, the United States experiences wetter and cooler
weather. During El Nino, California experiences wetter weather.
El Nino can be predicted with two major different systems, either the hydrodynamic coupled
ocean–atmosphere model, or with statistical models. Mark Cane and Steve Zebiak were the first to
successfully predict El Nino. They were using an

El Nino, La Nina and Hurricanes Essay
El Nino, La Nina and Hurricanes
How does the change in climate affect the frequency and the path of those powerful hurricanes and
tropical storms in the tropical Pacific and Atlantic Oceans? Global warming has a profound vast
impact on the Earth. Besides landmasses, ocean is warmed unevenly. Additionally, unexpected
changes in ocean current will aggregate the uneven distribution of water temperatures along the
globe. Warmer or cooler than normal sea surface temperatures occur along the Tropical Pacific will
provide good indications of the future climatic change. These weather scenarios are also known as El
Nino, and La Nina. They are indicated by the Southern Oscillation Index, which shows the prevailing
winds in the...show more content...
The opposite holds too also. Recent El Nino occurred in 1983–84, 1987, 1991–94, 1997–98, and
2004. Recent La Nina occurred in 1989–90, 1999–2001 (NOAA). From the Southern Oscillation
Chart, we can see that El Nino and La Nina is occurring more frequently and having a greater
intensity. Theoretically, El Nino will suppress growth, while La Nina will promote the growth of
hurricanes. We will examine whether the theory holds too by looking at the archive hurricane paths.
In 1997 and 2004, there were 29–33 tropical systems in the Pacific Ocean. Most of them curve to the
north and six of them hit Japan, while the Philippines was being hit only once in 1997. This year,
Japan was hit eight times while the Philippines were only hit once. There were less hurricanes, and
they tended to curve north in El Nino year. In Atlantic, there were 8 hurricanes formed in 1997.
None moved west to hit Texas or Mexico. In 2004, there were 13 hurricanes and 3 hit Florida. All
Hurricanes made the curve to the north during El Nino. None hit the West Gulf Coast (Unisys).
In 1999–2001, the La Nina years, there were 16–18 tropical systems formed in the Atlantic. Two to
five tropical systems hit the Western Gulf Coast. In the Pacific, there were more than 33 tropical
systems formed each year, while 5–8 tropical storms hit the Philippines. There were less systems
hitting Japan during El Nino years (Unisys).
Closing

El Nino
We live on an incredibly large planet. Even broader than the size of the planet are the amount of
changes and relationships between humans, animals, environment, weather, and the affects of each.
Many times with busy schedules and modern lifestyles we forget the interaction that goes on
between any number of concepts or idea's. We fail to realize that a specific weather occurrence in
the Pacific Ocean can have an affect on every day life in the United States. El Nino is one of the
largest scientific phenomenons that scientists have ever explored. The main concepts of El Nino are
very simple and there are many variations, causes, affects, and relationships to study. The main idea
behind El Nino is that the wind changes direction...show more content...
The most recent El Nino years were 1982–1983, 1991–1992, 1994–1995, and 1997–2000. The
longest recorded El Nino activities in the last 50 years occurred between June 1998 В– May, 2000.
Although sometimes being very mild, ENSO was still present. Every El Nino occurrence varies
in some way such as the magnitude, duration, or measured causes around the globe (NOAA C,
2004). The reason that ENSO is documented and measured in the Pacific Ocean instead of any
other ocean seems to be for one main reason: the overall size of the Pacific as compared to the
Atlantic or Indian Oceans (Daly, 2004). The size of the Pacific Ocean allows the water to swell in
size and temperature as it moves in one direction or another. There are similar occurrences in the
Atlantic and Indian Oceans, but there is not enough space for the water and wind to become large
enough to make a significant impact. There are several general environmental patterns that are
dictated by El Nino and La Nina. The first is tropical storms and hurricanes. The National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration (2004) states that during El Nino year's tropical storms and
hurricanes develop easier and more often in the Pacific Ocean than in a normal non ENSO year. At
that same time, tropical storms and hurricanes occur less frequently and seem to be less drastic in
the Atlantic

Descriptives Of El Nino
El nino is a temporary change in climate in the pacific ocean,in the region around the equator.You
can see Typically,the ocean surface warms up by a few degrees celsius.
El NiГ±o is a climate cycle in the Pacific Ocean with a global impact on weather patterns. The cycle
begins when warm water in the western tropical Pacific Ocean shifts eastward along the equator
toward the coast of South America
Normally, this warm water pools near Indonesia and the Philippines. During an El NiГ±o, the
Pacific's warmest surface waters sit offshore of northwestern South America.
Forecasters declare an official El NiГ±o when they see both ocean temperatures and rainfall from
storms veer to the east. Experts also look for prevailing trade winds to weaken and even reverse
direction during the El NiГ±o climate phenomenon. These changes set up a feedback loop between
the atmosphere and the ocean that boosts El NiГ±o conditions. The El NiГ±o forecast for 2015 is
expected to be one of the strongest on record, according to Mike Halpert, the deputy director of the
Climate Prediction Center, part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
"We don't want to see just the warming in the ocean. We want to see the atmosphere above the
ocean respond to the changes," said Michelle L'Heureux, a climate scientist and lead for the El
NiГ±o forecasting team at the Climate Prediction Center.
The location of tropical storms shifts eastward during an El NiГ±o because atmospheric moisture is

Similarities Between El Nino And La Nina
El nino and la nina are like brother and sister. just like me and my brother they are very different
but have similarities at the same time, the fisherman near ecuador and peru named el nino and la
nina. el nino and la nina stand for the boy or the little girl in spanish. These two events are one of
many parts that complete the ocean.
What is el niГ±o and la niГ±a?
El nino and la nina are total opposites. They usually happen one time every three to seven years
near christmas time or mid winter. El nino is a warm pool of water that heats the ocean and takes
place in the pacific ocean and normally west of south america.el nino can spread and have effects on
many places around the globe.el nino uses the earth's atmosphere to form. using the atmosphere

The El Nino Southern Oscillation
Introduction
The El Nino Southern Oscillation is a large scale circulation of atmospheric and oceanic interactions.
It is a natural climate phenomenon where the tropical Pacific Ocean experiences higher than normal
ocean temperature. The opposite, La Nina, refers to the unusual cooler than normal sea surface
temperatures. It gained its name "the Christ child" in Spanish ("the girl" for La Nina) because the
characteristic is most obvious around Christmas alone the western coast of South America where it
was first discovered.
Originally, there is a thermocline where warmer water is transported to the central Pacific Ocean and
deeper cold water upwells to the surface at eastern Pacific Ocean. During El Nino years, the strength
of the ocean and wind transport that causes the thermocline becomes weaker, causing the warmer
water to move backwards closer to the eastern Pacific Ocean. The warmer water can hold more
nutrients which are better conditions for fishes that led the fishermen to recognize this climate
pattern. The tropical Pacific Ocean is divided into different regions for detail observation and
forecasts. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) defines ENSO for five
consecutive 3–month temperature average at El Nino region–3.4 to warm at least 0.5 degrees
Celsius (Cool at least 0.5 degree Celsius for La Nina) (Figure 1). ENSO not only changes the
location of fishes, but also affects local weather at various locations in the northern hemisphere;

Year after year, increased carbon dioxide output is contributing to an increase in Earth's climate.
Carbon dioxide is the main greenhouse gas causing climate change, but many people forget that
there are other ones which can amplify the effect of carbon dioxide many times over. In fact, water
vapor itself is the most abundant greenhouse gas, and it can increase the amount of warming from
carbon dioxide twice over. I want to know how data collected from NASA satellites about the El
NiГ±o weather phenomenon and its effect on water vapor in the environment can help to understand
long–term trends in Earth's climate. The 2015 El NiГ±o is projected to be the strongest one in over a
decade, leading to record–high temperatures. El NiГ±o causes variability

How El NiГ±o Affects The Real World
I think that the article was very interesting. El NiГ±o effects many things. El NiГ±o can affect the
weather, the amount of rain a place gets now or later, and the temperature. I would think that
dropping the instruments into the winds would be very dangerous. When traveling to make the
long journey, why would they need 11 people to go along? If they go along, do those people get
paid or is this a free ride? It seems more effective if less people went. Maybe then, they could do
more experiments. The model that Dr. Barnson was talking about seemed really neat. Instead of
having just statistical models, they have dynamical models that actually show how the real world is.
Those models do a better job at predicting an El NiГ±o than statistical models.

Elnino: A Global Impact On Weather Patterns
Elnino is a warming cycle in the water that had been warming up every year. Every year the
temperature has come to increase. This is very dangerous if the water gets too hot something can
happen to the crops air and destroy everything in society if it becomes hotter. For now in 2017 the
water cold increase in hurricane season . Thats is not good because it could damage our world even
more , by creating more hurricanes. Heer are many topics on ElЕ„ino What is ElВґnino:" El Nino is a
climate cycle in the Pacific Ocean with a global impact on weather patterns. The cycle begins when
warm water in the western tropical Pacific Ocean shifts eastward along the equator toward the coast
of South America."(Jet Propulsion Laboratory)
ElNino is characterized by unusually warm ocean temperatures in the Equatorial Pacific, as opposed
to La NiГ±a, which is characterized by unusually cold ocean temperatures in the Equatorial Pacific.
...show more content...
"ElNino is the warm phase of the El Nino–Southern Oscillation cycle"(ENSO). The ENSO cycle is
the way scientists describe the fluctuations in temperature between the atmosphere and the ocean in
the east–central Equatorial Pacific. Basically, ElNino is a naturally occurring phenomenon that is
linked to a periodic warming in sea surface temperatures across the central and east–central
Equatorial Pacific.
What causes El Nino: "Scientists do not yet understand in detail what triggers an El Nino cycle.
Not all El Ninos are the same, nor do the atmosphere and ocean always follow the same patterns
from one ElNino to another. There isn't one big cause, which is one of the reasons why we can't
predict this thing perfectly,"

The El Nino : A Weather Phenomenon
The El NiГ±o story starts on the eastern Pacific Ocean. Peruvian fisherman have alway known the
usually very cold and plentiful waters every so often become exceptionally warm, followed by the
collapse of fish stocks. These unusual events return every 3–7 years and, and peak around December
(Christmas), the fishermen named the phenomenon "El NiГ±o" (Spanish for boy child). For
decades, El NiГ±o was considered to be a weather phenomenon only correlating with the countries
of western South America. Scientists begin to realize, only early in the 20th century, that El
NiГ±o and monsoon conditions in Southeast Asia were actually related. El Nino has effected
countries around the world. A refugee crisis was started in northeast Kenya as tens of thousands
abandoned their camps in Somali, Uganda, Ethiopia and Sudan. The United Nations predicted
five million people in southern Africa would be in famine in November of 1997/98. Ecuador, and
certain areas os southern America, were hit by flash floods in November. Families in southern
California were warned to prepare for one of the worst winters in recent history. The drought from El
Nino is even blamed for assisting in the increase of coffee prices, as well as affecting crops in
Africa, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and parts of South America. But were the years of 1997/1989
of disaster simply a preview of more terrible El Nino 's to come? Should we expect to see more El
NiГ±os because of global warming? Will they be more intense storms

El Nino Essay

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