ENSO - El Nino Southern Oscillation Cycle - a climate cycle that naturally occurs due to the interaction of trade wind and the ocean in the Pacific, Mixed Layer - Top 200m of the ocean that is warmed by sunlight, Deep Layer - Bottom 1000+m of the ocean that is dark and cold, Equator - Zero degrees latitude where the angle of incoming sunlight is 90 degrees and heating of the ocean surface is most intense, East Pacific - South America, West Pacific - Australia and New Zealand, Trade Wind - Prevailing East to West wind that blows across the equator this gets stronger some years and weaker in other years, Normal Phase - When the trade wind blows at average strength piling warm water up on the West side of the Pacific, El Nino Phase - When the trade winds weaken causing warm water to get stuck on the East side of the Pacific, La Nina Phase - When the trade winds blow stronger causing extra piling up of warm water on the West of the Pacific, High Pressure - Cold air is more dense so sinks down towards the ground pushing down on it, Low Pressure - Hot air is less dense so rises up away from the ground , Walker Wind - Extra wind that moves from High to Low pressure across the Pacific , Upwelling - Movement of cold nutrient rich water from the deep layer up into the mixed layer to replace surface water that has been pushed away by trade winds, Thermocline - Change in temperature between the mixed layer and deep layer of the ocean - the depth of this changes across the Pacific during El Nino and La Nina events, Warmer and wetter - NZ weather during a La Nina event, Cooler and drier - NZ weather during an El Nino event, Good fishing - Caused by stronger than normal upwelling near South America during La Nina, Bad fishing - Caused by weaker than normal upwelling near South America during El Nino,

13ESS ENSO Cycle

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