WARMING PACIFIC SHOWS 2002 WILL BE AN EL NINO YEAR
SILVER SPRING, Maryland, March 11, 2002 (ENS) - Ocean surface temperatures
warmed two degrees Celsius in the eastern equatorial Pacific near the South
American coast in February, U.S. scientists report, a sign that the Pacific
Ocean is heading toward an El Niño condition.
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WARMING PACIFIC SHOWS 2002 WILL BE AN EL NINO YEAR
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A possible indicator of El Nino is a Kelvin wave. Kelvin waves are warm "bumps" in the Pacific ocean. They form around Indonesia and travel east toward the Americas. A typical Kelvin wave is 5 to 10 cm high and hundreds of kilometers wide. They are a few degrees warmer than surrounding waters. Not much happens when a Kelvin wave arrives, a bit of extra rain, slightly warmer surf, still, scientists pay close attention to these waves as they can herald the next El Nino. Scource: science/nasa.gov