El Niño and La Niña

El nino

Unusally warm water temps im the oacific cause by a weak or reversed direction trade winds

La Niña

Unusually cold water temps in the pacific caused by strong easterly winds

La Niña characteristics

Cooling of the water in the Pacific Ocean

Less Precipitation

Decreased Humidity

Unusually cold weather in Alaska

Unusually warm weather in the rest of the USA

Drought in the southwest

Higher than normal number of hurricanes in the Atlantic

El Niño characteristics

Warming of water in the Pacific Ocean

Rain and Flooding on the Pacific coast

Increased Humidity

Warm weather disrupts fish and birds lives

Increase of thunderstorms in the southern United States.

Occurs more often than La Nina

Upwelling

Bring up cold nutrient rich water from the bottom of the ocean

Fish like cold water! More food

(La Nina = good fishing)

What causes el nino

Weak trade winds and weak upwelling cause warm waters off the coast of s. America

What causes La Niña

Strong trade winds blow the water towards east creating colder surface temps off the s. American coast

Shared Characteristics: of El Nino and La Nina

El Niño and La Niña are

Pacific Ocean-Atmospheric systems

The most powerful phenomenon on earth

Alters more than half the planet's climate

What caused and Increased number of Hurricanes

(La Niña) due to strong trade winds

what Caused devastating floods in Australia

La Niña)

what has the opposite weather of Texas!!

Australia

what and why does the Fish populations decline off the coast of S. America

(El Niño) and because they do not like warm water

Is there a pattern between El nino and La nina with tornadoes

no

what cause the movement of ocean water

Surface Ocean Currents

Currents are controlled by the wind.

Deep Ocean Currents are controlled by what

temperature and salinity

90% of the ocean water moves in deep ocean currents