fgfa--EL NINO AND LA NINA

El Nino and La Nina refer to the warming and cooling of surface waters
over the central and eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean which affect the
atmospheric circulation worldwide and regional climate in many parts of the
world.

El Nino and La Nina are characterised by large-scale sea surface

temperature (SST) departures, sometimes referred to as anomalies, over the
tropical Pacific Ocean. They occur when the SST in the tropical Pacific is much
warmer (El Nio) or cooler (La Nia) than usual. This temperature change
occurs due to change of atmospheric pressure between east and west tropical
Pacific which is known as 'Southern Oscillation'. The Southern Oscillation is
the atmospheric component of a single large-scale coupled interaction called the
El Nio/Southern Oscillation (ENSO). The cycle of the water temperature
changing from warm to cold usually occurs every three to four years. In the
Northern Hemisphere, the peak season for El Nino and La Nina is during the
winter

During normal condition trade winds blow westward across the Pacific, piling
up warm surface water so that Indonesian sea levels are about 50 cm higher than
those in Ecuador. Cool, nutrientrich sea water "wells up" off the South
American coast, supporting marine ecosystems and fisheries. Relatively cold
sea temperatures also extend along the equator from South America towards the
central Pacific. High rainfall occurs in the rising air over the warmest water to
the west, whereas the colder east Pacific is relatively dry. But during an ENSO
event, ocean temperatures become warmer than usual or cooler than usual at
different locations, which are reflected in ocean temperature gradients. The
most important driver of ENSO is these temperature gradients across the
Pacific, both at the surface and below the surface, particularly at the
thermocline.

El Nio (Warm Phase):

During El Nio events, the trade winds weaken, leading to a rise in sea
surface temperature in the eastern equatorial Pacific and a reduction of "up
welling" off South America. This allows warm water in the western margin to
slip back to the east by increasing the flow of the Equatorial Counter Current.
Surface water temperatures and sea level decrease in the west and increase in
the east, producing an event called El Nio. Heavy rainfall and flooding occur
over Peru, and drought over Indonesia and Australia. The supplies of nutrient
rich water off the South American coast are cut off due to the reduced up
welling, adversely affecting fisheries in that region. In the tropical South Pacific
the pattern of occurrence of tropical cyclones shifts eastward, so there are more
cyclones than normal in areas such as the Cook Islands and French Polynesia.
La Nia (Cool Phase):
During La Nia events, the trade winds strengthen, and the pattern is a
more intense version of the "normal conditions", with an even colder tongue of
sea surface temperatures in the eastern equatorial Pacific. During a period of La
Nia, the sea surface temperature across the equatorial Eastern Central Pacific
Ocean becomes lower than normal by 35 C. In this phase on the western side
of the Pacific, rainfall is generally heavier than normal but on the eastern side,
the rainfall is reduced with cooler temperatures.