How Peruvian fishermen discovered El Niño
The physical engine of the Pacific
The global domino effect of weather
The cool sibling and the ENSO cycle
Watching the ocean from space and sea
YOUR GOAL
Master of How El Niño shapes our weather
diego El Niño
When the winds quiet down and the warm waters play, the Earth spins slower to stretch out the day.
diego The eastward surge of warm water flattens the ocean's temperature boundary, stopping nutrient upwelling.
diego During El Niño, the trade winds weaken or reverse, letting warm water slosh backward toward South America.
diego Balance the Pacific winds to discover how El Niño flips global weather patterns.
Sloshing sea levels: During normal years, strong trade winds pile up so much water in the western Pacific that sea level near Indonesia is 1.5 feet higher than in Peru.
An atmospheric circulation cell in the equatorial Pacific characterized by air rising in the west and sinking in the east. Sir Gilbert Walker discovered this loop in the 1920s while analyzing Indian monsoon data.
What type of ocean wave carries warm water eastward across the Pacific during El Niño?
Which winds normally blow from east to west along the equator, keeping warm water in the western Pacific?
What is the name of the atmospheric loop where air rises in the west Pacific and sinks in the east?
What do we call the sharp boundary layer that separates warm surface water from cold deep ocean water?
What is the scientific term for the rising of cold, nutrient-rich deep ocean water to the surface?