OCG 301 Lecture 9: Air-Sea Interaction
Document Summary
El nino: warming in the eastern and central tropical pacific ocean. Warm water sloshes to the eastern side of the basin during el nino. La nina: cool conditions in the eastern and central tropical pacific ocean. Warm water is restricted to the w side of the tropical pacific during la. Walker circulation: tropical, zonal atmospheric circulation that involves rising air over indonesia, sinking over the eastern pacific. Consists of trade winds blowing from e to w across the tropical pacific. Ocean bringing moist surface air to the west. Pressure difference determined by density of air. Wind blows from high pressure (e pacific) to low pressure (w. Enso: refers to the behavior of el nino/la nina and the southern oscillation , which are coupled together. Large amounts of warm water in the western tropical pacific. El nino and la nina are exceptions to normal wind and current flow.
