Quote:
Originally Posted by Brokenfriend
The weather is affected by the"El Nino-Southern Oscellation(2009,2010). It also took the tops of the hurricanes clouds out during the 2009 season I believe. This phenomina is hard to explain. Google it,and it will show maps of the areas that it affects in America.
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Thank you Steve!
(reposting links/info here from the checkin thread...)
Wikipedia has an extensive page on this, with references.
Wikipedia - El Niņo-Southern Oscillation
Here are just a few tidbits:
Quote:
Definition
El Niņo is defined by sustained differences in Pacific-Ocean surface temperatures when compared with the average value.
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Typically, this happens at irregular intervals of 2–7 years and lasts nine months to two years.[6]
Early stages and characteristics of El Niņo
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The Pacific Ocean is a heat reservoir that drives global wind patterns, and the resulting change in its temperature alters weather on a global scale.[8] Rainfall shifts from the western Pacific toward the Americas, while Indonesia and India become drier.[9]
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Here's a page from
The Franklin Institute Science Museum dating back to the 1997/8 episode of El Niņo, that makes an interesting point:
El Niņo: Hot Air over Hot Water
Quote:
In the 1500s, fishermen who lived in South America began to wonder about a current of unusually warm water that came to their shore every few years near Christmastime. Since the fishermen believed in the birth of the Christ child at Christmas, and since they spoke Spanish, they named the hot water El Niņo, which means "the infant" in Spanish.
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The 1997-1998 El Niņo may or may not be stronger than ever before. Scientists are still deciding. One thing that is definitely different about this El Niņo is the technology that scientists are using to study it.
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The
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA) has two brief pages dedicated to El Niņo and the complementary La Niņa phenomena
NOAA El Niņo Page
NOAA La Niņa Page
~ waves ~