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Weak El Niņo returns to the Pacific NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center October 5, 2006 NASA satellite data indicates El Niņo has returned to the tropical Pacific Ocean, although in a relatively weak condition that may not persist and is currently much less intense than the last major El Niņo episode in 1997-1998. Over the past several weeks, NASA's Aqua and Jason satellites have observed a general warming of ocean temperatures and a rise in sea surface heights in the central and eastern Pacific along the equator, both indicators of El Niņo development.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the lead U.S. agency on monitoring and forecasting these events, has also recently noted other signs of a developing El Niņo, including below-normal rainfall in Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines. These areas are usually the first to respond to an El Niņo pattern as trade winds relax due to higher-than-normal air pressure in the region. Still, scientists remain doubtful about whether the observed El Niņo will persist. They say it is important to wait and see how ocean conditions evolve over the next couple of months since there are natural fluctuations that result in a short-term tendency toward warmer water on the Pacific equator at this time of year. According to researchers, the current El Niņo signal is far less dramatic than that seen during the start of the last major El Niņo episode in 1997-1998. That event brought devastating floods to California that cost millions of dollars in damage while severe drought struck Indonesia, Australia and the Philippines.
El Niņo is a cyclical warming of the ocean waters in the central and eastern tropical Pacific that generally occurs every 3 to 7 years. It is associated with changes in air pressure and the movement of high-level winds that can affect weather worldwide. Typically peaking during the winter months, El Niņo is the warm phase of the El Niņo/Southern Oscillation. It alternates with La Niņa, the cooling of ocean waters in the same region of the Pacific.
During the next several weeks and months, scientists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and NASA will continue to closely monitor conditions in the Pacific to determine how the evolution of this El Niņo may impact weather patterns this winter. This is a modified news release from NASA. . Recommend this article? Comments? Digg this article | Hugg this article | Contact News options News index | RSS | News Feed Advertisements: Organic Apparel from Patagonia | Insect-repelling clothing |
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This image from the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer (AMSR-E) aboard NASA's Aqua spacecraft shows sea surface temperatures in the Pacific Ocean. The rectangular box on the right side of the image outlines the area closely monitored for El Niņo development. Credit: JAXA/NASA/JPL
The left image shows sea surface height anomalies on September 15, 2006, during a weak El Niņo event. The right image, from September 20, 1997, was associated with a much more intense El Niņo. Yellow and red areas indicate where the waters are relatively higher (warmer) and have expanded above normal sea level; green indicates near normal sea level; blue and purple show where waters are relatively lower (colder) and below normal sea level. Credit: NASA/JPL
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