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El Nino and La Nina
El Nino and La Nina are opposite phases of ENSO (El Nino Southern Oscillation), a coupled ocean-atmosphere oscillation in the Tropical Pacific Ocean that exerts an influence on weather throughout much of the world. Being an oscillation, it moves between these two phases every few years, triggered initially by changes in the atmospheric circulation with ocean temperature changes following. It is measured by the Southern Oscillation Index, which compares surface pressures at Tahiti and Darwin, Australia.
313 Questions
What is the El Nino Southern Oscillation?
El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is an coupled ocean-atmosphere cycle that oscillates between its cold phase (La Nina) and warm phase (El Nino) every few years. Typically, the trade winds blow from west to east in the Tropical Pacific Ocean, and this allows cold water to be upwelled off the coast of South America. When these trade winds weaken or even reverse (this is the southern oscillation element - the atmospheric component), warmer water from the western Pacific is pushed eastward, suppressing the upwelling and greatly increasing the temperature of the water throughout the Tropical Pacific. La Nina, the cold phase, is just the opposite. It can be considered an enhanced "normal" situation where the trade winds are even stronger and even more cold water is upwelled, which is also able to move further west and cool the water somewhat throughout the Tropical Pacific.
It turns out that the atmospheric and oceanic conditions in this part of the world are particularly influential on the atmospheric conditions in much of the rest of the world. Droughts and flooding are the two most prominent manifestations of each phase, though which regions experience will vary.
Why would a well cough and sputter every 6 minutes but always have a lot of water available?
my dad was a well driller, and that sounds to me like air in the pipes, I can remember him going to the well house and on the pump there should be a valve that will let you drain it of the air before it gets to the pipes, hope this will help you.
Which of the phenomena is supposedly associated with globol warming?
One of the phenomena supposedly associated with global warming is the rise in average global temperatures. As greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide accumulate in the atmosphere, they trap heat and lead to an increase in the Earth's overall temperature. This can result in various consequences, such as melting ice caps, rising sea levels, and more frequent and severe heatwaves.
What is El Nino and how does it affect South America?
La Nina brings drought to the continent. El Nino on the other hand brings floods, rain, rising rivers and misery.
Why is the climate along the Peruvian coast of South America very dry during normal non-Nino times?
Most of the moisture flows from east to west in central South America. This moisture is blocked by the Andes Mountains and does not reach the western parts of the continent, forming rain shadow deserts in Peru and Chile.
How does El Nino affect South America?
In South America, the effects of El Niño are direct and stronger than in North America. An El Niño is associated with warm and very wet summers (December-February) along the coasts of northern Peru and Ecuador, causing major flooding whenever the event is strong or extreme. The effects during the months of February, March and April may become critical. Southern Brazil and northern Argentina also experience wetter than normal conditions but mainly during the spring and early summer. Central Chile receives a mild winter with large rainfall, and the Peruvian-Bolivian Altiplano is sometimes exposed to unusual winter snowfall events. Drier and hotter weather occurs in parts of the Amazon River Basin, Colombia and Central America.
What are the economic impacts of el nino?
There are negative economic impacts of el nino. Property, livestock and crops are damaged. Most of the production work is also halted due to the heavy floods which will stagnate the economy.
Weak dollar is normally expected to cause?
Since a weak dollar would mean that people in other countries will be able to purchase more US products for the same price, their demand would create a need for more products.
This demand would cause manufacturers to hire more employees and thus lower unemployment.
clarson73 contributes:
First, let's understand the U.S. dollar has been the so-called "world currency" since 1944. These days, more nations peg their currency against the dollar than not. These nations do not want to see the dollar weaken because, in short, it tends to hurt their economy when the dollar has less value than what they put into it. On the other hand, the U.S. tends to benefit from a weak dollar, in short term, because: 1.) It makes our debt to foreign investors (namely China and Japan) smaller... the debt is in U.S. dollars, so, a dollar that is lower-priced is cheaper to pay back-- but, the downside is they will tend to raise interest rates on future loans to us though. 2.) U.S. exports (look at what Ford Motor Co. is getting ready to do, along with many other U.S. manufacturers) are cheaper to manufacture, thus making exports more competitively priced and hopefully closing the gap, even slightly, on our trade deficit. 3.) Foreign tourists (mainly those from Europe, Canada, Australia...), students, etc. will find this a perfect time to come to the U.S. and spend their money because their money simply goes farther now... which is good for American retailers and universities alike. The bad part is it's more expensive for us to travel and buy merchandise, hotels, etc. there. 4.) Imports most likely will not be priced higher (for now) because foreign manufacturers will be reluctant to raise prices for the simple reason they rely on income from the massive U.S. market share on imported products and do not want to threaten their own economy by importing less products. (U.S.-made products become less expensive to make and thus more competitive as well. The Chinese currency is the yuan and is paralleled in worth almost exactly with the dollar which is why their products have been so competitively priced for so long. Think Wal-Mart.) 5.) Oil prices do rise when the dollar weakens. Oil is traded in U.S. dollars and oil-rich nations try to compensate for the loss in revenue by raising prices, BUT... the upside to this is that developing and using alternative fuel sources will drastically reduce our dependence on fossil fuels (and foreign oil of course) and ultimately enrich our environment for future generations. 6.) Gold prices also go up when the dollar goes down as long as demand for gold (as an alternative investment) increases (as with many commodities). Buy futures in gold right now. Sell when the dollar starts to go back up. This is an afterthought and I'm sure you've seen the commercials, but people tend to invest in commodities when the dollar weakens, thus increasing demand and driving up prices-- therefore making futures more lucrative (for now). Just remember to set a stop-loss point and sell when it begins to go the other way. When the dollar is weak you can hedge on futures contracts because many things tend to be on the upward swing, but remember that with that comes higher inflation, higher interest rates, etc. These are trends that don't tend to last for very long so take advantage of every opportunity you can before the dollar makes a comeback and hopefully evens out before too long. I'm no financial advisor as many of you can probably tell, but I do like the question and this is the best I can do with it. Thank you for listening.
Does El Niño affect the weather worldwide?
The US gets increased percipitation in the South East and Gulf Coast. Gulf Coast temps. go down in winter too.
El nino can affect the global weather because most of the time a cold current along the coast of Peru keeps the temperature of the ocean water cool. This keeps high pressure along the west coast of south America. on the other side of the pacific ocean the water is warm around Australia witch causes warm air with low pressure the winds that blow across the pacific ocean usually blow from the high air pressure area in the west to the low pressure area in the east.
Every 2-7 years the cold current sinks and soes not push cold water up to the surface witch causes a change of weather called El Nino the warmer temp. f the surface couses the air pressure changes witch causes the winds to blow from east to west not west to east.this causes the winds to push ocean water in front of them and cause higher tides on the coasts of north and south America.
El Nino means 'the child' in spanish and the affects are people like football
p.s el nino is Fernando Torres' nickname
Pp.s Torres sucks and he is a traitor
What are some of the characteristics of El Nino?
The first signs of El Nino are 1. Rise in surface pressure over the Indian Ocean, Indonisia and Australia 2. Fall in air pressure over Tahiti and the rest of the central and eastern Pacific Ocean 3. Trade winds in the Pacific weaken or head east 4. Warm air rises near Peru causing rain in the northern Peruvian deserts 5. Warm air spreads from west Pacific and Indian Ocean to east Pacific. It takes rain with it causing extensive drought in the western Pacific and rainfall in the normally dry eastern Pacific
Enso results from dynamic and thermodynamic interactions. These interactions happen in the atmosphere, oceans, and land surfaces, although specificallywhat causes ENSO is unclear. Aside from that, scientists believe air pressure changes and wind currents play a vital role in starting El Nino/ Southern Oscillation. Some researcher think greenhouse gases may play a role. Others say underwater activity; underwater earthquakes for example, cause El Nino.
What is unusual pattern occurs during el nino?
The pressure gradient decreases. The trade winds weaken, or even blow backwards.
What weather conditions can be expected in eastern Australia during the El Nino phenomeno?
El Nino brings drought conditions to eastern Australia. These effects often last for several years, and they are by no means restricted to the eastern states. Lack of rainfall accompanying an El Nino can also affect the west coast, bordering the Indian Ocean.
Australia's severe bushfire seasons are often preceded by the El Nino phenomena, extending for any number of years. This was the case in the 1982-83 season, leading to the horrific Ash Wednesday bushfires, and again in 2008-09, leading to the even worse Victorian "Black Saturday" bushfires.
What is the solution for el nino phenomenon?
There is no solution because there is no problem. It is a completely natural cycle (it may or may not be enhanced by global warming) that we wouldn't be able to alter if we wanted to because its scale is far too large. To minimize damage, we can only prepare for its consequences and strive to detect and predict it more accurately.
What are the effects of el niño on human systems?
The El Nino phenomenon impacts the Earth's ecosystems through climate changes around the world. In some areas, food is plentiful, while in other areas, severe drought occurs limiting the food supply.
What was one result of El nino that occurred in 1997 and 1998?
El Nino in 1997-1998 was such a big deal in the US, because of the rainfall amount during that time. The cities received between 15 inches and 80 inches of rain.
What happend during the years of El Nino?
The pressure gradient decreases.
drought conditions in Australia
What effect does el nino have on Canada?
Absolutely none. El Nino is an ocean current (approximately 27 miles long) off the western coast of South America. It has little affect on any of the environment other than the immediate area around the current.
What the media has lead the rest of the media watching world to believe is El Nino is actually the Southern Oscillation or climate change.
Precision of language is important.
Why is it helpful to a community to be able to predict an El Nino event?
Fishermen who ply the waters of the Pacific off the coast of Peru and Ecuador have known for centuries about the El Niño. Every three to seven years during the months of December and January, fish in the coastal waters off of these countries virtually vanish, causing the fishing business to come to a standstill. South American fishermen have given this phenomenon the name El Niño, which is Spanish for "the Boy Child," because it comes about the time of the celebration of the birth of the Christ Child. During an El Niño, the physical relationships between wind, ocean currents, oceanic and atmospheric temperature, and biosphere break down into destructive patterns that are second only to the march of the seasons in their impacts to weather conditions around the world.
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If the fishing industry can predict El Niño, they will be better able to plan for a time when the fish vanish from the coastal waters. This is how they earn their living, and it is 'very' important to them!
How can we minimize the effects of el nino?
You can't avoid it because it's an ocean current. It does have an influence on weather patterns globally, but when/if that occurs to the extent that it threatens you directly (which is somewhat unlikely depending on where you live), you can take the appropriate action then.
El Nino is really nothing to be afraid of, despite what it seems like when watching the news during a strong El Nino. It is simply one phase of an oscillation in the Pacific Ocean that has the ability to make weather conditions wetter/dryer and cooler/warmer than they otherwise might be in some places. It is not anything tangible to worry about, and not nearly as scary as you might think.
