MLchartDataset catalogue

El Niño - Southern Oscillation

Term · Environment · MLC-T-ENV-009050

El Niño, in its original sense, is a warm water current that periodically flows along the coast of Ecuador and Peru, disrupting the local fishery. This oceanic event is associated with a fluctuation of the intertropical surface pressure pattern and circulation in the Indian and Pacific Oceans, called the Southern Oscillation. This coupled atmosphere-ocean phenomenon is collectively known as El Niño-Southern Oscillation. During an El Niño event, the prevailing trade winds weaken and the equatorial countercurrent strengthens, causing warm surface waters in the Indonesian area to flow eastward to overlie the cold waters of the Peru current. This event has great impact on the wind, sea surface temperature, and precipitation patterns in the tropical Pacific. It has climatic effects throughout the Pacific region and in many other parts of the world. The opposite of an El Niño event is called La Niña.

Table 1. Record
IdentifierMLC-T-ENV-009050
FieldEnvironment
SubjectClimate change
AbbreviationENSO
ReferencesGlossary of Climate Change Terms
Record as JSON
{
  "id": "MLC-T-ENV-009050",
  "term": "El Niño - Southern Oscillation",
  "field": "Environment",
  "definition": "El Niño, in its original sense, is a warm water current that periodically flows along the coast of Ecuador and Peru, disrupting the local fishery. This oceanic event is associated with a fluctuation of the intertropical surface pressure pattern and circulation in the Indian and Pacific Oceans, called the Southern Oscillation. This coupled atmosphere-ocean phenomenon is collectively known as El Niño-Southern Oscillation. During an El Niño event, the prevailing trade winds weaken and the equatorial countercurrent strengthens, causing warm surface waters in the Indonesian area to flow eastward to overlie the cold waters of the Peru current. This event has great impact on the wind, sea surface temperature, and precipitation patterns in the tropical Pacific. It has climatic effects throughout the Pacific region and in many other parts of the world. The opposite of an El Niño event is called La Niña.",
  "abbreviation": "ENSO",
  "subject": "Climate change",
  "references": [
    "Glossary of Climate Change Terms"
  ],
  "url": "https://mlchart.com/terminology/environment/el-nino-southern-oscillation/"
}

Record 9,050 of 30,736 in Environment terminology (MLC-0121). Request the full dataset.