1 “El Niño - Southern Oscillation” Outline: Outline: What is El Nino? What is El Nino? How does it work? How does it work? What affect does El What affect does El Niño have on Niño have on California? California?
1 “El Niño - Southern Oscillation” Outline: What is El Nino? How does it work? What affect does El Niño have on California?
Dec 21, 2015
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“El Niño -
Southern Oscillation”Outline:Outline: What is El Nino?What is El Nino? How does it work?How does it work? What affect does El Niño What affect does El Niño
have on California?have on California?
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What is El Niño?
• El Niño is:
• El Niño occurs:
• The name, “El Niño” (means ‘boy child’ in
Spanish) as it often occurs around Christmas
time.
a warming of the equatorial eastern Pacific Ocean
about about once every 2 to 7 years
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Normal Conditions
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El Niño Conditions
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‘Normal’ conditions (sea surface temps)
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El Niño (sea surface temps)
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How does El Niño work?
El Niño is a coupled ocean-atmosphere process• It involves:
1. _____________ of the trade winds
2. __________of the eastern equatorial Pacific
3. _______ movement of the heavy rain region
4. _________ pressure in the west and reduced pressure in the east
WeakeningWeakening
WarmingWarmingEastwardEastwardIncreasedIncreased
Normal conditions:
warm water and rain in the west Pacific
El Niño conditions: warm water and rain in the central Pacific
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ENSO (El Niño-Southern Oscillation)
• The Southern Oscillation:– is the part of El Niño
– The Southern Oscillation Index is the pressure difference between Tahiti and Darwin,
– During El Niño, the pressure is _______ in the west and _______ in the east
– During El Nino, the Southern Oscillation Index is (positive/negative).
higherhigher
lower
atmospheric
Pressure(Tahiti) – Pressure(Darwin)
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Southern Oscillation Index
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How does El Niño affect the other parts of the globe
• http://www.usatoday.com/weather/tg/wninogrf/wninogrf.htm
• May change ‘normal’ storm tracks
• i.e. – Warmer and drier in pacific northwest– Wetter in California– Wetter over Southern States
• Some areas flood, other areas have drought
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m
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El Niño
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El Niño…
• …is an important modifier of local climates
• …may change global wind patterns
• …can cause floods or drought
• …is NOT a storm!!!
• …is pretty fascinating!!!
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