What happens during the Walker circulation?
What happens during the Walker circulation?
The Walker circulation causes an upwelling of cold deep sea water, thus cooling the sea surface. El Niño results when this circulation decreases or stops, as the impaired or inhibited circulation causes the ocean surface to warm to above average temperatures.
Where does Walker circulation occur?
THE WALKER CIRCULATION is an atmospheric system of air flow in the equatorial Pacific Ocean. The trade winds across the tropical Pacific flow from east to west: air rises above the warm waters of the western Pacific, flows eastward at high altitudes, and descends over the eastern Pacific.
Is Walker circulation normal?
The Walker circulation contributes to normal weather conditions in the tropical Pacific Ocean: warm, wet weather in the western Pacific and cool, dry weather in the eastern Pacific. The Walker circulation reverses every few years, as part of a phenomenon called the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO).
What is the Walker Circulation quizlet?
What is the Walker Circulation Cell? It is the path that air takes as it moves from high to low pressure, and back to high pressure, in the South Pacific under normal conditions.
How does Walker circulation affect South African rainfall?
Thus, when the local Walker Circulation ascends over tropical southern Africa, the cloud-bands extend southeast from southern Angola and out over the southeast coast of South Africa, resulting in significant rain over northern and eastern South Africa.
What is Walker circulation Upsc?
The Walker circulation is the result of a difference in surface pressure and temperature over the western and eastern tropical Pacific Ocean. A pressure gradient from east to west creates an air circulation from the Eastern pacific i.e. along the coast of Peru-Chile to western Pacific(Australia-New Guinea).
Why does Walker circulation weaken?
The Walker Circulation tends to weaken in climate models forced with increasing greenhouse gases [Tanaka et al., 2004; Vecchi et al., 2006; Meehl et al., 2007].
What is an El Niño and how is it related to the Walker Circulation quizlet?
What is an El Niño and how is it related to the Walker circulation? At 2-7 year intervals, the surface waters of the eastern Pacific become unusually warm. This causes the trade winds to weaken or even reverse and flow eastward, which in turn reverses the Walker circulation.
What is the effect of El Niño to the Walker Circulation?
During an El Niño event, the Walker Circulation is greatly diminished. Increased precipitation and abnormally warm water are found in the central Pacific during an El Niño event (or ENSO warm phase). These changes in weather patterns have a cascading effect on weather patterns in other parts of the world.
How does El Niño affect Walker Circulation?
Why does Walker Circulation weaken?
Is Walker Circulation El Niño?
During an El Niño event, the Walker Circulation is greatly diminished. Increased precipitation and abnormally warm water are found in the central Pacific during an El Niño event (or ENSO warm phase).
What is El Niño La Nina and Drishti?
El Nino and La Nina are complex weather patterns resulting from variations in ocean temperatures in the Equatorial Pacific Region. They are opposite phases of what is known as the El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) cycle.
What happens during neutral Walker Circulation?
During neutral ENSO conditions, upward branches of the Walker Circulation rise strongly across the Maritime Continent and more weakly over eastern Africa and northern South America. These rising branches coincide with bull’s-eyes of precipitation during December through February.
What is Walker Circulation Upsc?
What is an El Niño and how is it related to the Walker Circulation?
How does Walker circulation impact on rainfall in South Africa?
What is the main difference between El Nino and La Nino?
El Niño refers to the above-average sea-surface temperatures that periodically develop across the east-central equatorial Pacific. It represents the warm phase of the ENSO cycle. La Niña refers to the periodic cooling of sea-surface temperatures across the east-central equatorial Pacific.
Is Walker circulation El Niño?
What causes La Niña and El Niño?
El Niño and La Niña result from interaction between the surface of the ocean and the atmosphere in the tropical Pacific. Changes in the ocean impact the atmosphere and climate patterns around the globe. In turn, changes in the atmosphere impact the ocean temperatures and currents.