El Nino or La Nina

Essay by mylittlecheatcheatJunior High, 9th gradeA+, March 2004

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El NiÃÂ±o Predictions For Year 2004

El NiÃÂ±o and La NiÃÂ±a are the names given to the periodic warming and cooling of the surface waters of the Pacific Ocean near the equator. More attention has been given to El NiÃÂ±o by current scientists than to its equally dreaded counterpart, La NiÃÂ±a. El NiÃÂ±o. The term was discovered by several people who were as simple and plain as you and I. Years ago, fishermen in Ecuador and Peru noticed that during some of their winters, the ocean became warmer than usual. When the ocean became warmer, the fishermen noticed that they could not catch as many fish. The fishermen also noticed that the amount of rain increased. These fishermen gave the warmer water a name. They named it "El NiÃÂ±o." El NiÃÂ±o means "the little boy" or "Christ child" in spanish and usually occurs within regions located on the South American coast around Christmas time, at the same time when bananas come into season, thus making it appear to be a gift from the god.

Now, we've always heard about these phenomenons occurring here and there, but we have never considered the thought that one of these occurrences may happen to us.

During the years, our knowledge of El NiÃÂ±o has progressed highly and we are now able to understand the premature occurrences of El NiÃÂ±o. El NiÃÂ±o is the name given to the occasional development of warm ocean surface waters along the coast of South America. As mentioned before, El NiÃÂ±o normally occurs around Christmas and usually lasts for a few weeks to a few months. El NiÃÂ±o causes the temperature of ocean water to rise. It occurs periodically every four or five years on the South American coast from Ecuador to the coast of Peru, and continues for six...