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El Nino!. The Climate Event of the Century. By: Katie Durham & Mike Magnuson. Que es el nino?. El Nino is a crucial climatic disturbance of the ocean and the atmosphere.
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El Nino! The Climate Event of the Century By: Katie Durham & Mike Magnuson
Que es el nino? • El Nino is a crucial climatic disturbance of the ocean and the atmosphere. • Characterized by a large scale deterrent of the trade winds and warming of the surface areas in the central and east equatorial Pacific. • Usually occurs at intervals of 2-7 years, averaging every 3-4 years, lasting 12-18 months at a time.
When did El Nino occur? • It has always been a natural, world-wide phenomenon. • Strongest El Nino intensity occurred from 1982-83 and 1997-98. • Impacts seen most clearly in the winter.
Before and After • Made with a coupled ocean-atmosphere model of the tropical Pacific • Data is collected using tide gauge stations
Delayed Oscillator Theory • Theory of origin • El Nino is due to rossby waves, which are reflected from the western boundary of the atmospheric system. • Causes kelvin waves to propagate eastward, driving the cold water that gives rise to El Nino.
E.N.S.O. • “El Nino Southern Oscillation” • Multi-annual shift in tropical sea level pressure between the eastern and western hemispheres. • Events monitored by satellites.
El Nino v. La Nina • Antipodes of one another. • La Nina brings colder than normal sea surface temperatures in the equatorial Pacific. • It also causes drier, warmer conditions to much of the southern U.S. during winter.
Impacts of El Nino in the U.S. • Winter temperatures in the continental U.S. tend to be warmer than normal in the N and W coast states and cooler than normal in the SE. • Conditions tend to be wetter than normal over central and southern California, the SW states and across much of the South. • Conditions are drier than normal over the N portions of the Rocky Mountains and in the Ohio valley.
Global effects of El Nino • El Nino brings wetter than normal conditions to Peru and Chile. • It brings dry conditions to Australia and Indonesia.
El Nino: 1997-1998 • Lasted 14 months. • Largest and warmest El Nino to develop during the past 100 years. • Received more attention at all levels than had any previous climate event. • Scientists were able to use El Nino conditions to successfully predict climate conditions of the winter 6 months in advance.
Works Cited • Caviedes, Cesar N. El Nino in History: Storming Through the Ages.Gainesville: University P of Florida, 2001. 46-49. • Changnon, Stanley A., ed. El Nino: 1997-1998. New York City: Oxford UP,2000. 3-4. • D'Aleo, Joseph S. The Oryx Resource Guide to El Nino and La Nina.Westport, Conneticut: Oryx P, 2002. 9-17. • "El Nino and La Nina." World Almanac and Book of Facts. 2004: 701-702.Academic Search Premier. Dayton. 25 Mar. 2004