Atmosphere Journal Entry
Satellite Sees New Evidence of El Niño (January 10, 2003)
Data from a NASA satellite shows warmer ocean water in the eastern and central Pacific Ocean. Red areas are 2 degrees Fahrenheit above normal. Areas in white are from 3 to 5 degrees above normal. Image Courtesy Jason Science Team, JPL/Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales.
Recent data collected by NASA's Jason oceanography satellite shows that El Niño is growing. El Niño is a climate pattern marked by a large patch of warm water in the eastern and central equatorial part of the Pacific Ocean. The satellite data shows that ocean temperatures in the Pacific have increased over the past few months.
In some areas, temperatures are from 3 to 5 degrees Fahrenheit (1.5 to 2.5 degrees Celsius) above normal. The giant pocket of warm water is rapidly expanding and is moving towards the western coast of South America.
El Niño occurs in cycles. When it appears, it is linked to dramatic changes in weather. Most recently, it has been linked to much higher than normal rainfall over the tropical Pacific since the summer of 2002. It has also caused drier than normal weather in other parts of the globe, including the Pacific Northwest of the United States and many parts of Indonesia, India, Mexico, Central America, and northern South America.
The United States Climate Prediction Center says El Niño will continue affecting global patterns until at least May 2003. Predictions include drier than average weather in the Ohio Valley states and northern U.S. Rockies, wetter weather for much of the southern U.S., and warmer weather across the northern U.S., western and central Canada, and southern Alaska.
Globally, the center expects dry weather to continue over Indonesia, eastern Australia, southeastern Africa, and northern South America. But wet conditions will likely dominate in southeastern South America, coastal sections of Ecuador, and northern Peru.
