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| S P E C I A L | El Niño Returns |
New 3-D look at El Niño shows its vast reach
December 18, 1997
The red indicates warmer water temperatures
Web posted at: 5:09 p.m. EST (2209 GMT)GREENBELT, Maryland (CNN) -- A new 3-D video of El Niño released Thursday traces the evolution of the disruptive weather pattern throughout 1997. The satellite images, prepared by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, include side-by-side comparisons of the 1982-83 and 1997 El Niños.
Changes in sea level, surface-water temperatures and wind patterns during the year contributed to "making this one of the largest El Niño events in history," NASA research oceanographer Tony Busalacchi told CNN.
Water temperatures from March-December 1997
Sea Surface Temperature Comparison between 1982 and 1997
NASA animation showing a 3D view of El Niño. 1.9M/28 sec./320x240
1.1M/28 sec./160x120
QuickTime movie
NASA animation comparing the 1982 and 1987 El Niño.2.0M/28 sec./320x240
1.1M/28 sec./160x120
QuickTime movie
NASA animation showing water temperature and wind speed.2.1M/28 sec./320x240
1.2M/28 sec./160x120
QuickTime movieEl Niño may be at its peak, he said, but won't be dissipating quickly. It could affect temperatures through the fall of 1998.
El Niño is a weather condition in the Pacific Ocean that typically occurs every two to seven years when trade winds weaken, allowing warm water normally located off Australia to move eastward.
The computer-generated images show an "invasion eastward along the equator, where water temperatures are about 10 degrees warmer than normal," Busalacchi said in a live interview. "This displacement of warmer temperatures is what's causing these changes in world weather patterns."
Busalacchi described the phenomenon as a "5,000- to 8,000- mile displacement of some of the warmest water in the world oceans ... ."
El Niño got its name from the Spanish words for baby Jesus, because the pool of warmer water usually arrives around Christmas.
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- El Niño Visualizations - Goddard Space Flight Center
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