El-Nino, La-Nina and Southern Oscillation
El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is an irregularly periodic variation in winds and sea surface temperatures over the tropical eastern Pacific Ocean, affecting much of the tropics and subtropics.
- The warming phase is known as El Niño and the cooling phase as La Niña. Southern Oscillation is the accompanying atmospheric component, coupled with the sea temperature change:
- El Niño is accompanied with high, and La Niña with low air surface pressure in the tropical western Pacific.The two periods last several months each (typically occurring every few years) and their effects vary in intensity.
- The two phases relate to the Walker circulation, discovered by ....