Description
Go to the NOAA, El Niño Southern Oscillation page and answer the following questions: http://www.elnino.noaa.gov/
- 1) What is the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO)?
- 2) Describe “Normal” or Neutral conditions in the ENSO cycle.
- 3) Describe the El Nino El Niño phase of the ENSO.
- 4) On average, how long does the El Niño phase of the ENSO last?
- 5) Describe the La Nina phase of the ENSO?
Watch the video, “Developing the El Niño Observations System”
- 6) How are SST measures employed to determine and how it is used to predict ENSO phases (i.e. describe the TIO/TRITON Array)?
- 7) Describe the ENSO impact on climate in North and South America (all three phases.)
- 8) Describe the ENSO impact on climate in Australia and India (all three phases.)
- 9) What phase of the ENSO are we in today?
10) What is the ENSO prediction for the rest of the year?
11) If the current ENSO prediction is correct, what impact might it have on the current rainfall/drought conditions in California?
Additional Links:
Check-out the ENSO animations should the sea surface temperature variations in the eastern Pacific Ocean during the strong El Niño /La Nina cycle which occurred between 1997 and 2000.
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Explanation & Answer
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Running Head: ENSO
El Niño Southern Oscillation
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ENSO
El Niño Southern Oscillation
What is the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO)?
El Niño Southern Oscillation is one of the earth’s vital climatic patterns fluctuations that
involves changes in both water/sea temperatures and the atmospheric air pressure throughout the
Equatorial Pacific Ocean. Therefore, ENSO is made up of two aspects; El Niño and Southern
Oscillation. El Niño is the sea temperature change, while Southern Oscillation is overlying
atmosphere air pressure changes.
Describe “Normal” or Neutral conditions in the ENSO cycle.
ENSO cycle is categorized into three phases; Neutral, La Niña, and El Niño. The neutral
phase is the middle between La Niña and El Niño. The neutral phase of the ENSO cycle does
happen on a rare occasion, where the tropical Pacific sea surface temperature (SSTs) are closer to
average. On some events, the ocean sways between El Niño and La Niña while the temperature
remains constant. This state is what is referred to as Neutral condition.
Describe the El Niño phase of the ENSO.
El Niño phase happens when the Equatorial Pacific surface water is more warm than
average, and there is weaker than normal east winds. Therefore, El Niñ...