EL NIÑO & LA NIÑA

ENSO

Alia Winn
GEOL – 1700
4/22/2019
 WHAT IS IT?

• An El Niño explained simply is a change in the trade

winds, where they either weaken or reverse entirely.
• Normally, trade winds flow from east to west, warm
ocean water flows west causing stormy weather, and an
up flow of cold nutrient-rich ocean water comes east.
• El Niño is one part of a cycle that has short term
effects on the climate globally. There are regular years
of course, where the trade winds flow as usual, but the
El Niño and La Niña conditions are collectively referred
to as ENSO (The El Niño-Southern Oscillation).

https://www.pmel.noaa.gov/elnino/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/el_nino_
conditions.png Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory: What is El Niño?
Accessed 4/28/19
 EL NIÑO VS LA NIÑA

• This image shows the difference in surface

temperatures during both an El Niño and La Niña
• As seen on the lower image, El Niño results in a
large mass of warm water staying on the eastern Pacific.
In this case the trade winds are either not strong
enough to push the surface water westward, or they
are reversed, and are actively pushing it east.
• In a La Niña year, the trade winds are simply
stronger, this results in a greater upwelling of cold
water coming to the surface.

https://www.climate.gov/news-features/understanding-climate/el-
ni%C3%B1o-and-la-ni%C3%B1a-frequently-asked-questions
NOAA Climate.gov Accessed 4/30/19 Author: Michelle L'Heureux
 EL NIÑO

El Niño is the warm side of the cycle. During

an El Niño year, the trade winds are weak and
may begin to blow the other direction, back
towards South America.
This encourages stormier weather in the eastern
Pacific as the warm water sits in the area, and it
may even result in flooding, as seen in the image.
This picture is one of many taken during the 2017
South America floods, in La Tinguiña District, Peru.
Early that year, much of the area was deluged with
heavy rain, resulting in flooding in much of South
America, with Ecuador and Peru being the most
affected. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2016%E2%80%9317_South_America_floods#/media/File
:JMC_3208_(32149486630).jpg
Across the Pacific, it results in drought, as the 2016–17 South America floods Wikipedia, Accessed 4/30/19
warm moist water never makes it across the
ocean to create the precipitation such areas
usually see on a normal year.
 EL NIÑO
WINTER
EFFECTS

• “By modifying the jet streams,

ENSO can affect temperature
and precipitation across the
United States and other parts
of the world. The influence on
the U.S. is strongest during the
winter (January-March), but it
lingers into the early spring.”
(NOAA Climate.gov staff,
2016)
https://www.climate.gov/sites/default/files/ElNin%CC%83o_winter_globe_updated_large.png
NOAA Climate.gov Accessed 4/30/19
As can be seen here, the impact El Niño has on the jet stream has
worldwide effects, though seasonal it can create drastic changes in
weather.
Places such as Indonesia that are normally tropical and wet, may suffer
drought in an El Niño year, while others are unusually dry.

https://www.climate.gov/sites/default/files/Nino_winterr_globalimpacts_620.jpg
NOAA Climate.gov Accessed 4/30/19
 LA NIÑA

• “La Niña: A cooling of the ocean surface, or

below-average sea surface temperatures
(SST), in the central and eastern tropical
Pacific Ocean. Over Indonesia, rainfall
tends to increase while rainfall decreases
over the central tropical Pacific Ocean. The
normal easterly winds along the equator
become even stronger.” (L'Heureux, 2014)
• To put it simply, a La Niña is a strengthening
of the trade winds that results in colder https://www.climate.gov/sites/default/files/ENSOPageWhatisElNinoTest_0.png
NOAA Climate.gov Accessed 4/30/19
ocean surface temperatures.
• During a La Niña the conditions are roughly flipped, as it is
the other end of the cycle. It brings colder air across the
Pacific from east to west than a normal year.
• Some areas become drier, this picture from www.climate.gov
shows the impact on weather a La Niña can bring to the
United States. It can make states such as Florida drier, while
bringing more precipitation to other areas.
• This is because the change in the circulation of the tropical
atmosphere also effects the jet streams for the mid-latitudes.
https://www.climate.gov/sites/default/files/LaNina_winter_flat_updated_large_1.png
NOAA Climate.gov Accessed 4/30/19
 Works Cited
L'Heureux, M. (2014, 05 05). What is the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) in a nutshell? Retrieved
from Climate.gov: https://www.climate.gov/news-features/blogs/enso/what-el-
ni%C3%B1o%E2%80%93southern-oscillation-enso-nutshell

NOAA Climate.gov staff. (2016, 01 18). El Niño and La Niña: Frequently asked questions. Retrieved from
Climate.gov: https://www.climate.gov/news-features/understanding-climate/el-ni%C3%B1o-
and-la-ni%C3%B1a-frequently-asked-questions

SOURCES