Patterns of El Nino: Image of the Day

By NASA -- Image Courtesy Scott Curtis, University of Maryland - Baltimore County

Book Id: WPLBN0004193636
Format Type: PDF eBook :
File Size:
Reproduction Date: 2003

Title:	Patterns of El Nino: Image of the Day
Author:	NASA -- Image Courtesy Scott Curtis, University of Maryland - Baltimore County
Volume:
Language:	Spanish
Subject:	Where -- Pacific Ocean, Where -- Indonesia, Where -- Papua New Guinea
Collections:	Government Library Collection
Historic Publication Date:	2003
Publisher:


Citation APA MLA Chicago Image Courtesy Scott Curtis, University Of Maryland - Baltimore Count, N. -. (2003). Patterns of El Nino: Image of the Day. Retrieved from http://gutenberg.us/

Description
Description: El Nino -- the periodic weakening of trade winds and warming of ocean water in the equatorial Pacific -- has effects that reach across the globe. Perhaps the most significant of its effects is change in rainfall patterns -- El Nino has been linked to drought in some parts of the world while causing flooding in others. Although the basic rainfall patterns associated with El Nino are widely known, the details remain unclear. Using a time series of global precipitation data, NASA scientists are bringing the effects of El Nino into sharper focus. Scott Curtis and Bob Adler studied precipitation from six El Ninos dating back to 1982. Instead of looking at the data seasonally -- data from December, January, and February, for example -- they viewed the data from distinct phases of each event. The onset phase, for example, consists of 3 to 5 months while precipitation shifts from the western to the eastern pacific. The peak phase occurs while the El Nino caused the largest changes in precipitation between each side of the Pacific. This was important because El Nino does not always peak in the Northern Hemisphere winter, when it is typically studied. The researchers separated the effects of El Nino from its timing. Their study revealed previously hidden patterns. It turns out that precipitation changes around the world even as an El Nino is gaining strength. The map above shows the change in precipitation during peak El Nino. The strongest droughts (blue) are over Indonesia and Papua, New Guinea. Other areas with sharply reduced precipitation are eastern Brazil, South Africa, and the Maritime Provinces of Canada. The largest increase in precipitation is over the equatorial Pacific, while other significant areas of increased precipitation are the Persian Gulf and southern South America. This research is also revealing the effects of El Nino far from the borders of the Pacific Ocean, which gives clues to the global changes in atmospheric circulation. For more information, read: earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/NasaNews/2003/2003050114826.html NASA Discovers a Soggy Secret of El Nino

Reference:
Curtis, Scott and Adler, Robert F. (2003) Evolution of El Nino-precipitation relationships from satellites and gauges, Journal of Geophysical Research Vol. 108 No. D4 28 February 2003