El NinoWe live on an incredibly large planet. The amount of change and relationships between humans, animals, the environment, weather, and the effects of each is even greater than the size of the planet. Often, with busy schedules and modern lifestyles, we forget the interaction that occurs between a number of concepts or ideas. We don't realize that a specific weather event in the Pacific Ocean can have an effect on daily life in the United States. El Nino is one of the most important scientific phenomena ever explored by scientists. The main concepts of El Nino are very simple and there are many variations, causes, effects and relationships to study. The main idea behind El Nino is that the wind changes direction across the Pacific Ocean. In a non-El Nino (normal) year, the trade winds blow from east to west across the ocean, from North and South America to the tropical regions of the Pacific Ocean. During an El Niño year, the trade winds change direction and blow from Asia and the tropical Pacific toward North and South America (NOAA B, 2004). Changes in these winds, commonly called Southern Oscillation winds because the majority of activity occurs in southern parts of the Pacific, produce many other changes. Ultimately, the winds are the cause of this pattern. John Daly (2004) explained how winds produce major changes in ocean water temperatures. This is the second main concept of El Niño. In normal years, when the wind blows from east to west, the "sea surface" temperature is about 8 degrees cooler in the west than in the east. During El Nino, winds blow a certain amount of water westward, thereby accumulating it and increasing its depth by about half a meter. Due to the loss of water on either coast, deeper ocean waters rise to replace what is gone. Deeper/colder waters are the source of much income in North and South America; However, in an El Nino year, warmer water sits over the ocean, creating many tribulations related to both income and weather. The final main point of El Nino is the weather that ensues due to changes in water temperature. Precipitation follows warmer water, regardless of which direction it flows. During normal wind patterns, precipitation in the southern Pacific islands is constant and creates their tropical identity. When...... middle of article......lnino/history.asp.National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Washington DC Last updated April 22, 2004. http://www.pmel.noaa.gov/tao/elnino/el-nino-story.html. (A)National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Washington DC Last updated April 22, 2004. http://www.pmel.noaa.gov/tao/elnino/faq.html#what. (B)National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Washington DC Last updated April 22, 2004. http://www.pmel.noaa.gov/tao/elnino/impacts.html. (C)Redmond, Kelly. “El Nino, La Nina and the Western United States, Alaska and Hawaii.” June 16, 1998. http://www.wrcc.dri.edu/enso/ensofaq.html. United States Geological Survey (USGS). “California Floods 1998.” Extract from the press release. February 3, 1998, http://ca.water.usgs.gov/archive/floods/flood98/.University of Illinois, Champaign Illinois. Last updated April 2000. http://ww2010.atmos.uiuc.edu/(Gh)/guides/mtr/eln/rcnt.rxml.USA Today, by Associated Press. “El Nino affects Antarctic sea ice.” 2004. http://www.usatoday.com/news/science/cold-science/2002-03-06-nino-ice.htm. Williams, Jack. The United States Today. " THE 8, 2003.