Earth Science Wire

What is El Niño?

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and

November 5, 2015

Wind-driven upwelling in the eastern equatorial Pacific normally lifts nutrients to the sunlit surface to fertilize phytoplankton blooms. El Niño disrupts this pattern, causing famine across the marine food web.

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Posted

November 5, 2015

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Earth

Eleanor Imster

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About the Author:

Eleanor Imster has helped write and edit EarthSky since 1995. She was an integral part of the award-winning EarthSky radio series almost since it began until it ended in 2013. She and her husband live in Tennessee, where they enjoy guitar playing and singing. They have 2 grown sons.