1988, Oceanography 1(2):23, http://dx.doi.org/10.5670/oceanog.1988.04

Is El Niño Becoming More Common?

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Author

David B. Enfield | NOAA Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory, Miami, FL, USA

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First Paragraph

El Niño is an anomalous warming of the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean that occurs at 2–10 year intervals and is frequently associated with far-reaching climatic and economic impacts around the world. Intensive research following the disastrous 1982–83 event has led to a much greater understanding of the phenomenon and some recent successes in prediction using new, coupled ocean-atmosphere numerical models. The most widely supported hypothesis at present is that El Niño occurs as an internal oscillation of the tropical Pacific Ocean-atmosphere system. While this is not universally adhered to, all agree on one fundamental aspect: that the E1 Niño condition only evolves after an unstable cycle of positive feedbacks between ocean and atmosphere is established along the equator in the central Pacific.

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Full Article

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Citation

Enfield, D.B. 1988. Is El Niño becoming more common? Oceanography 1(2):23, http://dx.doi.org/10.5670/oceanog.1988.04.

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