flynn'spage


 * [|Enso_normal.png]El Niño and La Niña Southern Oscillation **

El Niño and La Niña Southern Oscillation (ESNO) is a natural phenomenon that occurs every 3-5 years. This phenomenon causes fire and drought on one side of the world and cyclones, tornadoes and floods on the other.

El Niño is the warm phase or irregular phase where the warm waters that bring cyclones, tornadoes and floods that are normally off the Australian-Indonesian coast move west towards South America. The cool waters that bring fires and droughts that are normally off the Southern American coast move towards the Australian-Indonesian coast. La Niña the cool phase or regular phase where cool waters that bring fires and droughts that are normally off the Southern American coast move towards the Australian-Indonesian coast and warm waters that bring cyclones, tornadoes and floods that are off the South American coast (because of La Niña) move back towards the Australian-Indonesian coast. Black Saturday was the result of an El Niño, whilst the floods in Queensland were the result of La Niña. Think literally for a second, everyone knows that hot air rises and cold air sinks. It’s the same with water. Warm water evaporates and cold water doesn’t. Cyclones need water so therefore, hot water brings cyclones, tornadoes and floods whilst cold water causes fire and drought.

ESNO is making those aid workers scramble across the globe. Property, livestock and houses are being destroyed along with people and crops. The economy is also being affected. Instead of making money, they are spending it on natural disasters.

**So what causes this phenomenon to occur? **
 * Atmospheric pressure changing is the actual reason that the waters move across the pacific. **

(Regular waters, equatorial winds are moving warm water west towards Australia)

(El Niño conditions, warm waters move east towards South America. Without the cold water it gets warmer)

(La Niña conditions, cool waters farther west than usual)

El Niño begins when trade winds, part of the walker circulation, falter for many months. The warm waters move by a series of Kelvin waves-relatively warm subsurface waves of water a few centimeters high and hundreds of kilometers wide—cross the Pacific along the equator and move the warm water to the South American coast. The cold upwelling near the South American <span style="font-family: 'New times roman','serif'; font-size: 14px;">coast ebbs towards the Australian-Indonesian coast.