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Pacific shows signs of morphing to cool La Nina NASA/JPL PHOTO RELEASE Posted: March 5, 2007 New data of sea-level heights from early February, 2007, by the Jason altimetric satellite show that the tropical Pacific Ocean has transitioned from a warm (El Nino) to a cool (La Nina) condition during the prior two months. The beginnings of a possible La Nina are indicated by the blue area (in the center of the image along the equator) of lower than normal sea level (cold water). It is not certain yet if this current cooling trend will eventually evolve into a long-lasting, well-developed La Nina.
A La Nina situation often follows an El Nino episode and is essentially the opposite of an El Nino condition. During a La Nina, trade winds are stronger than normal, and the cold water that normally exists along the coast of South America extends to the central equatorial Pacific. A La Nina situation changes global weather patterns and is associated with less moisture in the air, resulting in less rain along the coasts of North and South America. Jason will continue to track this developing switch in the climate. This image of the Pacific Ocean was produced using sea-surface height measurements taken by the U.S.-French Jason satellite. The image is based on the average of 10 days of data centered on February 12, 2007, compared to the long-term average of observations from 1993 through 2005. In this image, places where the Pacific sea surface height is higher (warmer) than normal are yellow and red, and places where the sea surface is lower (cooler) than normal are blue and purple. Green shows where conditions are near normal. Sea-surface height is an indicator of the heat content of the upper ocean. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the U.S. portion of the U.S./French Jason mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. JPL is a division of the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, Calif. |
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