Photograph: © SAF — Coastal Care
Excerpts;
It was fishermen off the coast of Peru who first recognized the anomaly, hundreds of years ago. Every so often, their usually cold, nutrient-rich water would turn warm and the fish they depended on would disappear. Then there was the ceaseless rain.
They called it “El Nino,” The Boy, or Christmas Boy, because of its timing near the holiday each time it returned, every three to seven years.
El Nino is not a contemporary phenomenon; it’s long been Earth’s dominant source of year-to-year climate fluctuation. But as the climate warms and the feedbacks that drive the cycle change, researchers want to know how El Nino will respond…
