"El Nino and it's effects on coral reefs" What is El nino and how does it affect the ocean?

My topic is how El Nino influences and affects ocean life. My paper will inform you about research and studies being done on the affects of El Nino. It will discuss the consequence on marine organisms. But first it will introduce you to El Nino.

El Nino is a disruption of the ocean-atmosphere system in the tropical pacific, yet it has important consequences for weather around the globe. It is caused by the relaxation of the trade winds in the central and western pacific that allows warm water to flow east and reduces upwelling in the eastern pacific. This drastically raises the sea surface temperatures and greatly reduces primary productivity in the eastern pacific.

El Nino has a large effect on the coral reefs in the western pacific. When an El Nino occurs, it makes the water very warm in the tropics and also causes very low tides. Too warm of water is hazardous to the corals and can cause bleaching and the death of corals. This is very dangerous to the balance of the ecosystem. Coral plays a large and important part in lives of many cal organisms. They provide a home and nursery for almost a million fish and other species, many that we rely on for food. They are full of new and undiscovered biomedical resources that we have only begun to explore. They give protection to coastal communities from storms, wave damage, and erosion. Coral reefs also attract hundreds of thousands of divers and tourists to tropical coasts each year. These tourists play a vital role in the tropical tourism industry. If coral reefs are destroyed, it will have a chain reaction in the food web. This could have drastic affects on the future of the ocean

Researchers in the tropical pacific noted in late June...