CLIMATE OF INDIA
EL NINO AND SOUTHERN OSCILLATIONS
|
Question
[CLICK ON ANY CHOICE TO KNOW THE RIGHT ANSWER]
|
|
|
cold water off the Atlantic coast of South America
|
|
|
warm water in the Pacific off the coast of South America
|
|
|
warm water in the Pacific off the coast of Mexico
|
|
|
cold water in the Pacific off the coast of Mexico
|
Detailed explanation-1: -Warm water is pushed back east, toward the west coast of the Americas. El Niño means Little Boy in Spanish. South American fishermen first noticed periods of unusually warm water in the Pacific Ocean in the 1600s. The full name they used was El Niño de Navidad, because El Niño typically peaks around December.
Detailed explanation-2: -During an El Niño event, westward-blowing trade winds weaken along the Equator. These changes in air pressure and wind speed cause warm surface water to move eastward along the Equator, from the western Pacific to the coast of northern South America.
Detailed explanation-3: -During an El Niño event, the surface waters in the central and eastern Pacific Ocean become significantly warmer than usual. That change is intimately tied to the atmosphere and to the winds blowing over the vast Pacific.