Weather and Climate

Weather is short term conditions of a place while climate is long term conditions. Upwelling occurs when the surface waters move away from the west coast, causing a massive rush of cool, deep, nutrient-rich water to rise from the bottom.

The El Nino Southern Oscillation is an important weather phenomenon in the Pacific Ocean. Usually, tropical trade winds blow from east to west and this causes upwelling off the west coast of the Americas. Anyways, during an ENSO, these westerly winds weaken, and sometimes reverse in direction preventing the normal upwelling, which stops crucial nutrients from reaching populations, leading to a decline in biodiversity of the ocean. This is becoming a major concern for us because these ENSOs are happening more and more often. No one knows why, but scientists suspect human actions and pollution are behind this enigma.

EXTRAPOLATING QUESTION: What is the reverse of an El Nino called?

It is called La Nina. Creative? Isn't it? La Nina brings back upwellings and cools coastal waters.