Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
| Domain | Definition |
Science | A warming of the surface waters of the eastern equatorial Pacific that occurs at irregular intervals of 2-7 years, usually lasting 1-2 years. Along the west coast of South America, southerly winds promote the upwelling of cold, nutrient-rich water that sustains large fish populations, that sustain abundant sea birds, whose droppings support the fertilizer industry. Near the end of each calendar year, a warm current of nutrient-pool tropical water replaces the cold, nutrient-rich surface water. Because this condition often occurs around Christmas, it was named El Niño (Spanish for boy child, referring to the Christ child). In most years the warming last only a few weeks or a month, after which the weather patterns return to normal and fishing improves. However, when El Niño conditions last for many months, more extensive ocean warming occurs and economic results can be disastrous. El Niño has been linked to wetter, colder winters in the United States; drier, hotter summers in South America and Europe; and drought in Africa. See ENSO. (references) |
Weather | A climatic phenomenon occurring irregularly, but generally every 3 to 5 years. El Niños often first become evident during the Christmas season (El Niño means Christ child) in the surface oceans of the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean. The phenomenon involves seasonal changes in the direction of the tropical winds over the Pacific and abnormally warm surface ocean temperatures. The changes in the tropics are most intense in the Pacific region, these changes can disrupt weather patterns throughout the tropics and can extend to higher latitudes, especially in Central and North America. The relationship between these events and global weather patterns are currently the subject of much research in order to enhance prediction of seasonal to interannual fluctuations in the climate. (references) |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
El Niño and La Niña are major temperature fluctuations in the Pacific Ocean. They are phases of the ENSO cycle (El Niño-Southern Oscillation). Their role in global warming or cooling is controversial.
El Niño was originally recognized by fishermen off the coast of South America as the appearance of unusually warm water in the Pacific Ocean. El Niño is the warming of the surface waters of the eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean that occurs at irregular intervals of 2-7 years, usually lasting 1-2 years. Along the west coast of South America, southerly winds promote the upwelling of cold, nutrient-rich water that sustains large fish populations, that sustain abundant sea birds, whose droppings support the fertilizer industry. Near the end of each calendar year, a warm current of nutrient-poor tropical water replaces the cold, nutrient-rich surface water. Because this condition often occurs around Christmas, it was named El Niño (Spanish for boy child, referring to the Christ child). In most years the warming last only a few weeks or a month, after which the weather patterns return to normal and fishing improves. However, when El Niño conditions last for many months, more extensive ocean warming occurs and economic results can be disastrous. El Niño has been linked to wetter, colder winters in the United States; drier, hotter summers in South America and Europe; and drought in Africa.
ENSO
ENSO is a set of interacting parts of a single global system of climate fluctuations. ENSO is the most prominent known source of interannual variability in weather and climate around the world, though not all areas are affected. The Southern Oscillation (SO) is a global-scale seesaw in atmospheric pressure between Indonesia/North Australia, and the southeast Pacific. In major warm events El Niño warming extends over much of the tropical Pacific and becomes clearly linked to the SO pattern. Many of the countries most affected by ENSO events are developing countries with economies that are largely dependent upon their agricultural and fishery sectors as a major source of food supply, employment, and foreign exchange. New capabilities to predict the onset of ENSO event can have a global impact. While ENSO is a natural part of the Earth's climate, whether its intensity or frequency may change as a result of global warming is an important concern.La Niña is characterized by unusually cold ocean temperatures in the Equatorial Pacific, compared to El Niño, which is characterized by unusually warm ocean temperatures in the same area. La Niña usually comes soon after El Niño.
External link: NOAA explanation
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "El Niño."
Crosswords: EL NIÑO |
| Specialty definitions using "EL NIÑO": ENSO ♦ southern oscillation. (references) |
| Non-English Usage: "EL NIÑO" is also a word in the following language with the English translation in parentheses. Portuguese (El Niño). |
| Domain | Usage | |
Movie/TV Titles | El Niño es nuestro (1973) Con el niño atravesado (1988) El Niño que quiso temblar (1986) | |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | ||
| Domain | Title |
Books | |
Music |
|
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| Subject | Topic | Quote |
Business | They have realized that, with irrigation, they can avoid the risks of reduced production because of adverse climatic conditions, as for instance the shortage of rainfall presently affecting the tropical regions, as a consequence of the El Niño phenomenon. (references) | |
Economic History | Peru | After being hit hard by El Niño in 1998, fisheries exports have recovered, and minerals and metals exports should record an increase of about 10% in 2001. Imports may register a small increase in all categories in 2001. After several years of substantial growth, foreign direct investment not related to privatization has fallen dramatically to levels not seen in a decade. (references) |
Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits. | ||
| The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com. |
| Expression | Frequency per Day |
el niño | 49 |
bebes el niño | 6 |
autoestima el niño | 6 |
clima el niño | 4 |
el niño phenomenon | 4 |
del desarrollo el niño | 4 |
ambiente el niño sonoro su y | 3 |
el niño oscilação sul | 3 |
el niño observando orizonte | 2 |
desarrollo el niño psicosexual | 2 |
buen el niño | 2 |
diarrea el niño | 2 |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| Language | Translations for "EL NIÑO"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses. | |
French | El Niño (El Niño). (various references) | |
German | El Niño (El Niño). (various references) | |
Italian | El Niño (El Niño). (various references) | |
Pig Latin | elay iñonay.(various references) | |
Portuguese | El Niño (El Niño). (various references) | |
Spanish | El Niño (El Niño). (various references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various translation references. | ||
Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams | |
| Words within the letters "e-i-l-n-ñ-o" | |
-1 letter: eloin, olein. | |
-2 letters: enol, leno, lien, line, lino, lion, loin, lone, noel, noil. | |
-3 letters: eon, ion, lei, lie, lin, nil, oil, ole, one. | |
-4 letters: el, en, in, li, lo, ne, no, oe, on. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro. | |
Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.