Warning Waves Predict El Nino
In Ecuador or Peru the air and water are sometimes a bit warmer and the waves are a bit higher. When that happens, it means the area has been hit by a ?Kelvin wave,? which means an El Nino is on the way.
?Kelvin waves are warm bumps in the Pacific Ocean,? says JPL oceanographer Bill Patzert. They form around Indonesia and travel east toward the Americas.?
El Ni?os and Kelvin waves are both triggered by winds in the Pacific Ocean. Sometimes the trade winds slow down for a few days or weeks — researchers aren?t sure why — and warm water slides back across the Pacific toward the Americas. ?”That?s a Kelvin wave,? says Patzert.
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