Impacts of El Niño and La Niña Cycles: Systems and Sectors

2008 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cynthia Rosenzweig ◽  
Daniel Hillel
Keyword(s):  
Pacific Ocean ◽  
El Niño ◽  
El Nino ◽  
Terrestrial Ecosystem ◽  
Terrestrial Ecosystems ◽  
La Niña ◽  
Enso Events ◽  
La Nina ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
The Pacific Ocean

Perturbations of the climate system caused by El Niño and La Niña events affect natural and managed systems in vast areas of the Pacific Ocean and far beyond it. (Other oscillations affect systems and sectors in wide swaths of the world as well.)1 El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) events have been associated with ecosystem disruptions and forest fires, crop failures and famines, disease epidemics, and even market fluctuations in various regions. The forms and degrees of impact depend not only on the strength and duration of an El Niño or La Niña event and its associated teleconnections, but also on the state, sensitivity, and vulnerability of the affected system and its biotic community, as well as its human population. The underlying characteristics of ecosystems and human societies in each region are important factors in their susceptibility to ENSO-related damages. Variation may be enhanced as ENSO effects ripple through natural and managed ecosystems. The underlying health of the affected biota, interrelationships among different biotic associations, and pressure by humans all affect marine as well as terrestrial ecosystem responses to ENSO events. Impacts on human systems can be both direct and indirect. Some ENSO phenomena, such as severe storms, affect human lives and infrastructures directly. Other impacts occur through alterations in the marine and terrestrial ecosystems and water supplies upon which human populations ultimately depend. In this chapter we consider some of the impacts that ENSO and other oscillations (described with their teleconnections in chapter 1) have on marine and terrestrial ecosystems and on human-managed systems apart from agriculture. The significant and geographically widespread changes that El Niño events induce in the Pacific Ocean alter conditions for various marine communities. These alterations include dramatic changes in the abundance and distribution of organisms, associated collapses of commercial fisheries, and ensuing consequences affecting human livelihood (Glantz, 2004; Lehodey et al., 2006). Some of the effects are well documented. Reductions in primary production of up to 95% were measured in the eastern equatorial Pacific in 1982–83 (Barber and Chavez, 1983.) Large changes in ecosystem structure and productivity have also been recorded in other parts of the Pacific Ocean, including the western Pacific and in the North Pacific subtropical gyre (north of the Hawaiian Islands) (Karl et al., 1995).

scholarly journals PDO–ENSO Effects in the Climate of Mexico

2006 ◽  
Vol 19 (24) ◽  
pp. 6433-6438 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edgar G. Pavia ◽  
Federico Graef ◽  
Jorge Reyes
Keyword(s):  
El Niño ◽  
El Nino ◽  
Southern Oscillation ◽  
La Niña ◽  
Climate Anomalies ◽  
Enso Events ◽  
La Nina ◽  
Mean Temperature ◽  
The Pacific

Abstract The role of the Pacific decadal oscillation (PDO) in El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO)-related Mexican climate anomalies during winter and summer is investigated. The precipitation and mean temperature data of approximately 1000 stations throughout Mexico are considered. After sorting ENSO events by warm phase (El Niño) and cold phase (La Niña) and prevailing PDO phase: warm or high (HiPDO) and cold or low (LoPDO), the authors found the following: 1) For precipitation, El Niño favors wet conditions during summers of LoPDO and during winters of HiPDO. 2) For mean temperature, cooler conditions are favored during La Niña summers and during El Niño winters, regardless of the PDO phase; however, warmer conditions are favored by the HiPDO during El Niño summers.

scholarly journals Influência do el niño e la niña no número de dias de precipitação pluviométrica do estado do Mato Grosso do Sul

2016 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 73
Author(s):  
Nayhara De Lima Oliveira ◽  
Francisco Fernando Noronha Marcuzzo
Keyword(s):  
El Niño ◽  
Direct Relationship ◽  
El Nino ◽  
La Niña ◽  
Mato Grosso ◽  
La Nina ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
The Pacific Ocean ◽  
Mato Grosso Do Sul ◽  
Key Words Temperature

ResumoUm melhor detalhamento do comportamento da precipitação pluvial pode ser obtido com o estudo do NDC (Número de Dias de Chuva) e a sua correlação com fenômenos climáticos. O presente trabalho teve como objetivo correlacionar a variação do NDC no Estado do Mato Grosso do Sul com a intensidade do Índice Oceânico Niño(a) (ION). Utilizaram-se dados de 37 estações pluviométricas com 30 anos de dados e 55 estações com dados variando de 20 a 29 anos, sendo que toda série histórica está entre os anos de 1977 a 2006. No período de 1977 a 2006 o ION mensal médio variou entre -1,1°C e 1,3°C, variações consideradas moderadas, com algumas variações consideradas fortes nos anos de 1982 (2,3°C), 1983 (2,3°C). 1988 (-1,9°C), 1991 (1,6°C), 1992 (1,8°C), 1997 (2,5°C), 1998 (2,3°C), 1999/2000 (-1,6°C) e 2002 (1,5°C). Observa-se que o NDC de cada ano do período não tem uma relação direta com os fenômenos El Niño e La Niña, já que a linha de tendência polinomial de segunda ordem pouco variou.Palavras-chave: Temperatura do Oceano Pacífico, ENOS, Número de Dias de Chuva, Climatologia. AbstractA more detailed behavior of rainfall can be obtained from the study of Number of Days Rain (NDC) and its correlation with weather phenomena. This study aimed to correlate the variation of the NDC in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul with the intensity Niño Index (a). We used data from 37 rainfall stations with 30 years of data and 55 stations with data ranging from 20 to 29 years, and throughout this series between the years 1977 to 2006. In the period 1977 to 2006 the average monthly Niño índex ranged between -1,1°C and 1,3°C, variations considered moderate, with some variations considered strong in the years 1982 (2.3°C), 1983 (2.3°C), 1988(-1.9°C), 1991 (1.6°C), 1992 (1,8°C), 1997 (2.5°C), 1998 (2.3°C), 1999/2000 (-1.6°C) and 2002 (1.5°C). It is observed that in general the NDC for each year of the period has a direct relationship with El Niño and La Niña, since the polynomial trendline second order changed little. Key-words: Temperature of the Pacific Ocean, ENSO, Number of Days of Rain, Climatology ResumenUn comportamiento más detallado de la precipitación se pueden obtener a partir del estudio de Número de días de lluvia (NDL) y su correlación con los fenómenos meteorológicos. Este estudio tuvo como objetivo relacionar la variación de lo NDL en el estado de Mato Grosso do Sul, con la intensidad de El Niño Index (a). Se utilizaron los datos de 37 estaciones pluviométricas con 30 años de datos y 55 estaciones con datos de entre 20 y 29 años (1977 y 2006). En el período de 1977 a 2006, el índice de El Niño (a) promedio mensual osciló entre -1,1°C y 1,3° C, las variaciones considera moderado, con algunas variaciones consideradas fuerte en 1982 (2,3°C), 1983 (2,3°C). 1988 (-1,9°C), 1991 (1,6°C), 1992 (1,8°C), 1997 (2,5°C), 1998 (2,3°C), 1999/2000 (-1,6°C) y 2002 (1,5°C). Se observa que, en general, el NDC para cada año del período tiene una relación directa con El Niño y La Niña, ya que la línea de tendencia polinómica de segundo orden ha cambiado poco.Palabras clave: Temperatura del Océano Pacífico, ENSO, número de días de lluvia, Climatologia. 

scholarly journals The ENSO-Related West Pacific Sea Surface Temperature Gradient

2013 ◽  
Vol 26 (23) ◽  
pp. 9545-9562 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Hoell ◽  
Chris Funk
Keyword(s):  
Pacific Ocean ◽  
El Niño ◽  
El Nino ◽  
La Niña ◽  
Central Pacific ◽  
The West ◽  
West Pacific ◽  
Enso Events ◽  
West Pacific Ocean ◽  
La Nina

El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) events are accompanied by an anomalous zonal sea surface temperature (SST) gradient over the west Pacific Ocean, defined here as the west Pacific SST gradient (WPG). The WPG is defined as the standardized difference between area-averaged SST over the central Pacific Ocean (Niño-4 region) and west Pacific Ocean (0°–10°N, 130°–150°E). While the direction of the WPG follows ENSO cycles, the magnitude of the gradient varies considerably between individual El Niño and La Niña events. In this study, El Niño and La Niña events are grouped according to the magnitude of the WPG, and tropical SST, circulations, and precipitation are examined for the period 1948–2011. Until the 1980s the WPG showed little trend as the west and central Pacific warmed at similar rates; however, the west Pacific has recently warmed faster than the central Pacific, which has resulted in an increased WPG during La Niña events. The temporal evolution and distribution of tropical Pacific SST as well as the near-surface tropical Pacific zonal wind, divergence, and vertical velocity are considerably different during ENSO events partitioned according to the strength of the WPG. Modifications to the tropical circulation, resulting in changes to Indo– west Pacific precipitation, are linked to strong and consistent circulation and precipitation modifications throughout the Northern Hemisphere during winter.

scholarly journals ANÁLISE DOS ELEMENTOS CLIMÁTICOS EM PRESIDENTE PRUDENTE/SP SOB A ATUAÇÃO DO LA NIÑA (2007-2008) E EL NIÑO (2015-2016)

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 01-08
Author(s):  
Laércio Yudi Watanabe Silva ◽  
Margarete Cristiane de Costa Trindade Amorim
Keyword(s):  
El Niño ◽  
El Nino ◽  
Time Frame ◽  
La Niña ◽  
Monthly Data ◽  
Planetary Scale ◽  
La Nina ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
The Pacific Ocean ◽  
The City

This paper analyzes the climate elements of Presidente Prudente in two moments: under the actions of La Niña, between 2007 and 2008, and El Niño, 2015 and 2016. The time frame used in both periods is of 12 months. The general objective is to analyze the variability of the climate elements in the city underthe action of both of these phenomena that occur in the Pacific Ocean and that have repercussions in the climate on a planetary scale. The methodology used was the collection and processing of the monthly data of the climate elements in both periods, having as source the automatic meteorological station of the National Institute of Meteorology (Brazilian acronym: INMET) –A707 –P.P –SP. The data enabled the elaboration of tables of every period, for comparative purposes. The analyses shown in this paper enable the identification of possible variations in the climate elements resulting from the oscillations originated by the phenomena El Niñoand La Ninã.

Analysis of the structure of climate networks under El Niño and La Niña conditions

2018 ◽  
Vol 29 (04) ◽  
pp. 1850033 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juan Carlos Graciosa ◽  
Marissa Pastor
Keyword(s):  
Pacific Ocean ◽  
El Niño ◽  
El Nino ◽  
Southern Oscillation ◽  
Small World ◽  
La Niña ◽  
La Nina ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
Climate Networks ◽  
Three Phases

The El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is the most important driver of natural climate variability and is characterized by anomalies in the sea surface temperatures (SST) over the tropical Pacific ocean. It has three phases: neutral, a warming phase or El Niño, and a cooling phase called La Niña. In this research, we modeled the climate under the three phases as a network and characterized its properties. We utilized the National Center for Environmental Prediction/National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCEP/NCAR) daily surface temperature reanalysis data from January 1950 to December 2016. A network associated to a month was created using the temperature spanning from the previous month to the succeeding month, for a total of three months worth of data for each network. Each site of the included data was a potential node in the network and the existence of links were determined by the strength of their relationship, which was based on mutual information. Interestingly, we found that climate networks exhibit small-world properties and these are found to be more prominent from October to April, coinciding with observations that El Niño occurrences peak from December to March. During these months, the temperature of a relatively large part of the Pacific ocean and its surrounding areas increase and the anomaly values become synchronized. This synchronization in the temperature anomalies forms links around the Pacific, increasing the clustering in the region and in effect, that of the entire network.

scholarly journals Role of the Indo-Pacific Interbasin Coupling in Predicting Asymmetric ENSO Transition and Duration

2012 ◽  
Vol 25 (9) ◽  
pp. 3321-3335 ◽  
Author(s):  
Masamichi Ohba ◽  
Masahiro Watanabe
Keyword(s):  
El Niño ◽  
General Circulation ◽  
El Nino ◽  
Southern Oscillation ◽  
La Niña ◽  
La Nina ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
Enso Asymmetry ◽  
Sst Anomalies

Warm and cold phases of El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) exhibit a significant asymmetry in their transition/duration such that El Niño tends to shift rapidly to La Niña after the mature phase, whereas La Niña tends to persist for up to 2 yr. The possible role of sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies in the Indian Ocean (IO) in this ENSO asymmetry is investigated using a coupled general circulation model (CGCM). Decoupled-IO experiments are conducted to assess asymmetric IO feedbacks to the ongoing ENSO evolution in the Pacific. Identical-twin forecast experiments show that a coupling of the IO extends the skillful prediction of the ENSO warm phase by about one year, which was about 8 months in the absence of the IO coupling, in which a significant drop of the prediction skill around the boreal spring (known as the spring prediction barrier) is found. The effect of IO coupling on the predictability of the Pacific SST is significantly weaker in the decay phase of La Niña. Warm IO SST anomalies associated with El Niño enhance surface easterlies over the equatorial western Pacific and hence facilitate the El Niño decay. However, this mechanism cannot be applied to cold IO SST anomalies during La Niña. The result of these CGCM experiments estimates that approximately one-half of the ENSO asymmetry arises from the phase-dependent nature of the Indo-Pacific interbasin coupling.

El Nino Chaos: Overlapping of Resonances Between the Seasonal Cycle and the Pacific Ocean-Atmosphere Oscillator

Science ◽  
1994 ◽  
Vol 264 (5155) ◽  
pp. 72-74 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Tziperman ◽  
L. Stone ◽  
M. A. Cane ◽  
H. Jarosh
Keyword(s):  
Pacific Ocean ◽  
El Niño ◽  
Seasonal Cycle ◽  
El Nino ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
Ocean Atmosphere ◽  
The Pacific Ocean

scholarly journals Switch Between El Nino and La Nina is Caused by Subsurface Ocean Waves Likely Driven by Lunar Tidal Forcing

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jialin Lin ◽  
Taotao Qian
Keyword(s):  
El Niño ◽  
El Nino ◽  
Ocean Waves ◽  
La Niña ◽  
Slow Phase ◽  
Enso Events ◽  
The Past ◽  
La Nina ◽  
Subsurface Ocean ◽  
Sst Anomaly

Abstract The El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is the dominant interannual variability of Earth’s climate system, and strongly modulates global temperature, precipitation, atmospheric circulation, tropical cyclones and other extreme events. However, forecasting ENSO is one of the most difficult problems in climate sciences affecting both interannual climate prediction and decadal prediction of near-term global climate change. The key question is what cause the switch between El Nino and La Nina. For the past 30 years, ENSO forecasts have been limited to short lead times after ENSO sea surface temperature (SST) anomaly has already developed, but unable to predict the switch between El Nino and La Nina. Here, we demonstrate that the switch between El Nino and La Nina is caused by a subsurface ocean wave propagating from western Pacific to central and eastern Pacific and then triggering development of SST anomaly. This is based on analysis of all ENSO events in the past 136 years using multiple long-term observational datasets. The wave’s slow phase speed and decoupling from atmosphere indicate that it is a forced wave. Further analysis of Earth’s angular momentum budget and NASA’s Apollo Landing Mirror Experiment suggests that the subsurface wave is likely driven by lunar tidal gravitational force.

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