El Niño in the Atacama Desert

Today I will be talking about El Niño and a particular effect it has on the Atacama Desert.

El Niño is the warm phase of the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) climate pattern. This event happens
irregularly at two- to seven-year intervals. Briefly to recall what it is it’s the warming of the ocean surface or
above-average sea surface temperatures in the central and eastern tropical Pacific Ocean.

Today I will be talking about how El Niño affects the northern regions in Chile, particularly the “small north”
which is this region here. The Atacama Desert is in this part.

Here I’ve attached a picture of how the ocean side looks in this region. As you can see, its very dry and it
doesn’t receive much rain. El Niño produces widespread and sometimes severe changes in the atmosphere
circulation. Convection above warmer surface waters bring increased precipitation. Rainfall increases
drastically on the South American coast (here in Chile), contributing to coastal flooding and erosion.

Some characteristics of the Atacama Desert are that its:

1. The Driest non-polar place on Earth: Lack of water in the soil and humidity in the air.
2. Highly endemic ecosystem: Made up of cacti, succulents and other specimens.
3. High temperature fluctuation: Morning temperature is 4 to 10 °C and the maximum can reach 45 °C in
full sunlight
Measurable rain —that is, 1 mm or more— can take place once every 7, 10 or 40 years — periods of up to 400
years have been recorded without rain in its central sector.

The cyclical warming of the central Pacific may be causing droughts and floods in various parts of the world,
but in the desert of northern Chile it has also caused a vibrant explosion of thousands of species of flowers.
This phenomenon has happened in 2017, 2015, 2002, 2000, 1997, 1995 y 1991.

Some effect the Flower Desert has are:

- Effects on plant and animal populations

Following El Niño caused precipitations, plant and animal populations change. As we saw in the picture, there
are more plants, herbs and seed. Studies show that small rodents feeding on herbs and seeds can irrupt to
population levels that are about 20 times higher than normal. In turn, top predators (hawks, owls and foxes)
respond to prey abundance with a delayed increase in density.

So how does this happen? First, the Humboldt Current carries cold water from Antarctica northward along
the Chilean coast, which cools the sea breezes, reduces evaporation, and creates a thermal inversion, which
is cold air trapped below a layer of warm air, preventing the formation of large rain-producing clouds.
Then El Niño, which would be the climatological and oceanic factor, causes the overheating of the marine
currents of the country's coast generates an increase in rainfall, which would be the metrological factor.

This then has an effect in tertiary, secondary and primary productivity. We see then more vegetation and
increase in the seed bank. This also increases the herbivores and then this causes an increase in predators.

There is no consensus whether climate change has influence on the occurrence, strength, or duration of El
Niño events. The effects of global warming on El Niño are difficult to predict, but recent studies and climatic
models suggest that the frequency of El Niño-like conditions are expected to increase over the coming
decade. This increase in the frequency of extreme El Niño events, can lead to intensifying droughts, worsening
floods, and shifting hurricane patterns.