El Nino :: essays papers

El NinoThis morning, before writing this essay, I spent a considerable amount of money of condemnation water systeming my wilting garden. Meanwhile, the New YorkYankees have been rained out for their deuce-ace consecutive game. And outin California? Rain, no rain, rain, no rain... why are we sufferingsuch severe weather this summer? In case you have not heard, we areexperiencing a weather phenomenon called El Nino.What is El Nino, and How Long Will This Last? According to MichaelMcPhaden, director of the tropical Atmosphere Ocean Array, an El Ninois born when westmost-blowing Pacific trade wrestles retard or reverse. Withoutthe wind at its dorsum, seawater that typically piles up on the jaggedwestern edge of the Pacific -- around Indonesia, the Philippines andAustralia -- slides back toward the Americas. The sliding water movesin what scientists call Kelvin waves. It pushes the frozen water down.That causes the initial cordiallying, said McPhaden. At the same time, thePaci fic reacts to the lost wind by building another series of wavesunder water. Called , they roll west toward Indonesia, the Philippinesand Australia. Eventually, the series of waves strikes the coasts ofthose countries. Then, it reverses and heads back toward South America,traveling along the equator. As it passes, McPhaden said, it leavescold water closer to the surface.El Nino normally occurs around Christmas and usually brook for a fewweeks to a few months. Sometimes an extremely secure event can developthat last for much longer time periods. A strong El Nino developed in1991 and lasted until 1995. We are patently experiencing one of thesestronger El Ninos, as this one has lasted for nearly six months . preciselyhow long will this last? And then what?The Onset of La Nina later on an El Nino event, weather conditions usuallyreturn to normal. However, in some historic period the trade winds can becomeextremely strong and an abnormal assemblage of cold water can occurin the cen tral and easterly Pacific. This event is called La Nina. WhereEl Nino refers to a body of unusually warm water astride the equator bySouth America, La Nina describes a sea thats abnormally cool. Twoindependent computer models that forecast El Nino enamour on the horizon apronounced cooling of the same part of the Pacific. Sometimes, the coldwater is just enough to return ocean temperatures to normal. notalways. Sometimes, it overshoots, McPhaden said. That would bring aLa Nina after El Nino.The models say . . . at that place will be a cold effect sometime beside year --