El Niño current. Hydrology

Can you imagine such a picture in the underground passage of your city?
But in vain. In our life everything is possible, and even more!
Temperatures are rising, the climate is changing, rivers are overflowing their banks, water levels in the world's oceans are rising, and scammers are skimming the cream off people's fears. Global warming and a global example of this is the premiere of the film "". What is the connection with cards, you might think?
And here she is!

Recent sea level data from NASA (using the Jason-2 oceanography satellite) show that large-scale, persistent weakening of winds in the western and central equatorial Pacific during October produced a strong, eastward-moving warm water wave. In the central and eastern equatorial Pacific, this warm wave manifests itself as an area of ​​higher sea level, compared to normal and warmer marine surface temperatures.
The image was created using data collected by the US/European satellite during a 10-day period spanning late October and early November. The picture shows a red and white area in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean that is approximately 10 to 18 centimeters above normal. These areas contrast with the western equatorial Pacific, where lower water levels (blue and purple areas) are between 8 to 15 centimeters below normal. Along the equator, red and white colors represent areas where sea surface temperatures are one to two degrees Celsius above normal.

These are many interacting parts of one global system of ocean-atmospheric climate fluctuations that occur as a sequence of oceanic and atmospheric circulations. It is the world's best known source of interannual weather and climate variability (3 to 8 years).

Signs of El Niño are as follows:
Increase in air pressure over the Indian Ocean, Indonesia and Australia.
Warm air appears near Peru, causing rain in the deserts.
Warm water spreads from the western part of the Pacific Ocean to the eastern part. It brings rain with it, causing it to occur in areas that are usually dry.
As El Niño's warm waters fuel storms, it creates increased rainfall in the east-central and eastern Pacific Ocean.
The western Antarctic Peninsula, Ross Land, Bellingshausen and Amundsen seas are covered with large amounts of snow and ice during El Niño. The latter two and the Wedell Sea become warmer and are under higher atmospheric pressure.
In North America, winters are generally warmer than normal in the Midwest and Canada, while central and southern California, northwestern Mexico and the southeastern United States are getting wetter. The Pacific Northwest states, in other words, dry out during El Niño.
Based on this data, I can write a new script for a devastating blockbuster. As usual: apocalypse, catastrophe, panic... El Niño 2029 or El Niño 2033. Nowadays it’s fashionable to invent everything with numbers. Or, perhaps simply.
El Nin o-o

Peruvian Current or Humboldt Current(Spanish: Corriente de Humboldt) - a cold ocean current in the southeastern part of the Pacific Ocean; flows from south to north from the shores of Antarctica along the western shores of and.

It is a wide, slow flow, consisting of the Peruvian Oceanic and Peruvian Coastal Currents, carrying relatively cold (from +15°C to +20°C) waters of temperate latitudes at speeds of up to 0.9 km/h; has a water consumption of 15-20 million l³/sec; gives rise to South Trade Wind Current.

Alexander von Humboldt

German encyclopedist, physicist, meteorologist, geographer and naturalist, baron Alexander von Humboldt(German: Alexander Freiherr von Humboldt; 1769-1859), who traveled extensively in Latin America, discovered in 1812 that a cold deep current was moving from the polar regions towards the equator, cooling the air there.

In honor of this scientist, the Peruvian Current, which carries water along the South American coast, was also named the Humboldt Current.

Movement is life

Continuous movement is one of the characteristic features of the waters of the World Ocean.

Large-scale masses of water that continuously move across the oceans are called ocean or sea currents. Each of the streams moves in a certain channel and direction, which is why they are sometimes called “rivers of the oceans”: the width of the largest currents can be several hundred km, and the length can reach more than one thousand km.

Every ocean has a clearly defined cycle of currents. Interestingly, they do not move in a straight line; the direction of the currents is determined by the following factors: constant winds (trade winds) blowing on both sides of the equator from east to west; outlines of continents; bottom relief; deflecting force of the Earth's rotation.

Sea currents form There are vicious circles in the oceans. The movement of water in these circles in the Northern Hemisphere occurs clockwise, and in the Southern Hemisphere - counterclockwise: the direction of the currents is determined by the rotation of the Earth around its axis.

Warm, cold

Depending on the water temperature, ocean currents are divided into warm And cold. Warm ones arise near the equator, they carry warm waters through cold waters located near the poles, and heat the air. Cold currents are directed from the polar regions to the equator; on the contrary, they lead to a decrease in air temperature.

The largest warm sea currents include: Gulf Stream (Atlantic Ocean), Brazilian (Atlantic Ocean), Kuroshio (Pacific Ocean), Caribbean (Atlantic Ocean), North and South Equatorial Currents (Atlantic, Pacific, Indian Oceans), Antilles (Atlantic Ocean) ).

The largest cold sea currents include: Peruvian (Pacific Ocean), Canary (Atlantic Ocean), Oyashio or Kuril (Pacific Ocean), East Greenland (Atlantic Ocean), Labrador (Atlantic Ocean) and California (Pacific Ocean).

Cold and warm currents come close to each other in some places, most often in temperate latitudes. As a result of the formation of an area of ​​convergence of waters with different physical properties, vortices arise. These phenomena in the ocean influence the air masses formed over the ocean, and then manifest themselves in weather conditions on land at temperate latitudes.

The influence of currents on the life of the planet

The role of ocean currents in the life of our planet can hardly be overestimated, since the movement of water flows directly affects the Earth's climate, weather, coastal flora and fauna, and marine organisms. The ocean is often compared to a titanic thermal unit driven by the energy of the Sun. This machine creates a continuous exchange of water between the deep and surface layers of the ocean, affecting the life of marine life.

This process can be traced using the example of the Peruvian Current. Thanks to the rise of deep waters, which lift dissolved phosphorus and nitrogen upward, animal and plant plankton successfully develops on the ocean surface, serving as food for small fish. That, in turn, becomes a victim of larger fish, birds and many marine mammals, which, with such an abundance of food, settle here, making the region one of the most productive areas of the World Ocean. Water Characteristics of the Peruvian Current- very high biological activity; This is one of the main areas for fishing, the extraction of anchovies and tuna, as well as the collection of natural fertilizer - guano.

Peruvian Current: Interesting facts

• Global ocean currents move at speeds from 1 to 9 km/h.
• Sea currents play a huge role in the life of our planet. They contribute to the interlatitudinal distribution of heat, water masses and living organisms, and influence the circulation of the Earth’s atmosphere and climate. Studying the current regime is necessary for navigation and proper organization of fishing.
• The currents of the World Ocean are a kind of giant air conditioner that distributes cold and warm air around the globe.
• Currently, according to international agreement, a bottle is thrown into the sea every day from special ships, in which a note is attached indicating the exact location (latitude and longitude) and time (year, day and month). And the “traveler” sets off on a voyage, sometimes a very long one. For example, a bottle abandoned in October 1820 in the South Atlantic Ocean was found in August 1821 off the coast of the English Channel. Another, abandoned off the Cape Verde Islands (May 19, 1887), was caught off the Irish coast on March 17, 1890. One of the bottles made a particularly long journey in the Pacific Ocean: abandoned off the southern coast of South America. She was found in a bay in New Zealand. Thus, in 1,271 days the bottle covered a distance of 20 thousand km, i.e. an average of 9 km per day.
• By mapping the paths taken by the bottles, experts are able to determine the trajectories and directions of currents. By noting the time when the bottle was thrown and found, they get an idea of ​​the speed of the currents.
• In “drift bottles”, which are used to determine surface currents, add a little sand for ballast and insert a postcard or special form. The finder is asked to report the place and time of its discovery. Every year, the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) releases 10–20 thousand “drifting” bottles into the sea off the east coast of the United States. As a rule, 10-11% of the cards included in them are usually returned. The information obtained about the drift was used to compile an atlas of surface ocean currents.
• Once every 12 years, a warm current approaches the coast of Peru, pushing aside the cold Peruvian Current. It is called “El Niño” (Spanish El Niño - “Baby”), as it usually appears at Christmas. A sharp change in temperature leads to the massive death of all forms of marine organisms, which means that fish and fish-eating birds - guano producers - die from starvation.

Fires and floods, droughts and hurricanes - all hit our Earth at the end of the last century. Fires turned the forests of Indonesia to ashes, then raged across the vast expanses of Australia. Showers have become frequent over the Chilean Atacama Desert, which is particularly dry. Torrential rains and floods did not spare South America. The total damage from the willfulness of the disaster amounted to about $50 billion. Meteorologists believe the cause of all these disasters is the phenomenon.

El Niño means "baby" in Spanish. This is the name given to the abnormal warming of the surface waters of the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Ecuador and Peru, which occurs every few years. This affectionate name only reflects the fact that the onset of El Niño most often occurs around the Christmas holidays, and fishermen on the west coast of South America associated it with the name of Jesus in infancy.

In normal years, along the entire Pacific coast of South America, due to the coastal upwelling of cold deep waters caused by the cold surface Peruvian Current, ocean surface temperatures fluctuate within a narrow seasonal range of 15°C to 19°C. During the El Niño period, ocean surface temperatures in the coastal zone increase by 6-10°C. As geological and paleoclimatic studies have shown, the phenomenon mentioned has existed for at least 100 thousand years. Fluctuations in the temperature of the surface layer of the ocean from extremely warm to neutral or cold occur with periods of 2 to 10 years. Currently, the term "El Niño" is used to refer to situations where abnormally warm surface waters occupy not only the coastal region near South America, but also most of the tropical Pacific Ocean up to the 180th meridian.

There is a constant warm current originating from the coast of Peru and extending to the archipelago lying southeast of the Asian continent. It is an elongated tongue of heated water, with an area equal to the territory of the United States. The heated water intensively evaporates and “pumps” the atmosphere with energy. Clouds form over the warming ocean. Typically, trade winds (constantly blowing easterly winds in the tropical zone) drive a layer of this warm water from the American coast towards Asia. Around Indonesia, the current stops and monsoon rains begin to fall over southern Asia.

During El Niño near the equator, this current warms up more than usual, so the trade winds weaken or do not blow at all. The heated water spreads to the sides and goes back to the American coast. An anomalous convection zone appears. Rain and hurricanes hit Central and South America. The La Niño phenomenon, the opposite of El Niño, manifests itself as a decrease in surface water temperature below the climate norm in the eastern tropical zone of the Pacific Ocean. Unusually cold weather sets in in the eastern Pacific Ocean during this period. During the formation of La Niño, trade winds (easterly) winds from the west coast of the Americas increase significantly. Winds shift the zone of warm water and the “tongue” of cold water stretches for 5000 km, exactly in the place (Ecuador - Samoa Islands) where during El Niño there should be a belt of warm waters. During this period, heavy monsoon rains are observed in Indochina, India and Australia. The countries of the Caribbean and the United States are suffering from droughts and tornadoes. La Niño, like La Niño, most often occurs from December to March. The difference is that El Niño occurs on average once every three to four years, while La Niño occurs once every six to seven years. Both events bring with them an increased number of hurricanes, but La Niño has three to four times as many hurricanes as El Niño.

According to observations, the reliability of the onset of El Niño or La Niño can be determined if:

1. Near the equator, in the eastern Pacific Ocean, a patch of warmer than normal water (El Niño) and colder water (La Niño) forms.

2. The atmospheric pressure trend between the port of Darwin (Australia) and the island of Tahiti is compared. During an El Niño, pressure will be high in Tahiti and low in Darwin. During La Niño it is the other way around.

Research over the past few decades has established that El Niño means more than just coordinated fluctuations in surface pressure and ocean water temperature. El Niño and La Niño are the most pronounced manifestations of interannual climate variability on a global scale. These phenomena represent large-scale changes in ocean temperatures, precipitation, atmospheric circulation, and vertical air movements over the tropical Pacific Ocean.

Abnormal weather conditions on the globe during El Niño years

In the tropics, there is an increase in precipitation over areas east of the central Pacific Ocean and a decrease from normal over northern Australia, Indonesia and the Philippines. In December-February, precipitation above normal is observed along the coast of Ecuador, in northwestern Peru, over southern Brazil, central Argentina and over the equatorial, eastern part of Africa, during June-August in the western United States and over central Chile.

El Niño events are also responsible for large-scale air temperature anomalies around the world. During these years there are outstanding temperature rises. Warmer than normal conditions in December-February were over southeast Asia, over Primorye, Japan, the Sea of ​​Japan, over southeast Africa and Brazil, and southeast Australia. Warmer than normal temperatures occur in June-August along the western coast of South America and over southeastern Brazil. Colder winters (December-February) occur along the southwest coast of the United States.

Abnormal weather conditions on the globe during La Niño years

During La Niño periods, precipitation increases over the western equatorial Pacific, Indonesia and the Philippines, and is almost completely absent over the eastern part. More precipitation falls in December-February over northern South America and over South Africa, and in June-August over southeastern Australia. Drier than normal conditions occur over the coast of Ecuador, over northwestern Peru and equatorial eastern Africa during December-February, and over southern Brazil and central Argentina during June-August. There are large-scale aberrations across the world, with the largest number of areas experiencing abnormally cool conditions. Cold winters in Japan and the Maritimes, over southern Alaska and western, central Canada. Cool summer seasons over southeast Africa, India and southeast Asia. Warmer winters over the southwestern United States.

Some aspects of teleconnection

Despite the fact that the main events associated with El Niño occur in the tropical zone, they are closely related to processes occurring in other regions of the globe. This can be seen in long-distance communications across territory and time - teleconnections. During El Niño years, energy transfer into the troposphere of tropical and temperate latitudes increases. This is manifested in an increase in thermal contrasts between tropical and polar latitudes, and intensification of cyclonic and anticyclonic activity in temperate latitudes. The DVNIIGMI carried out calculations of the frequency of cyclones and anticyclones in the northern part of the Pacific Ocean from 120° east. up to 120° W It turned out that cyclones in the band 40°-60° N. and anticyclones in the band 25°-40° N. is formed in subsequent winters after El Niño more than in previous ones, i.e. processes in the winter months after El Niño are characterized by greater activity than before this period.

During El Niño years:

• the Honolulu and Asian anticyclones are weakened;
• the summer depression over southern Eurasia is filled, which is the main reason for the weakening of the monsoon over India;
• The summer depression over the Amur basin is more developed than usual, as well as the winter Aleutian and Icelandic depressions.

On the territory of Russia during El Niño years, areas of significant air temperature anomalies are identified. In spring, the temperature field is characterized by negative anomalies, that is, spring in El Niño years is usually cold in most of Russia. In summer, a center of negative anomalies remains over the Far East and Eastern Siberia, and centers of positive air temperature anomalies appear over Western Siberia and the European part of Russia. In the autumn months, no significant air temperature anomalies were identified over the territory of Russia. It should only be noted that in the European part of the country the temperature background is slightly lower than usual. El Niño years experience warm winters over most of the area. The focus of negative anomalies can be traced only over the northeast of Eurasia.

We are currently in a period of weakening of the cycle - a period of average ocean surface temperature distribution. (El Niño and La Niño represent opposite extremes of ocean water pressure and temperature cycles.)

Over the past few years, great strides have been made in the comprehensive study of the El Niño phenomenon. Scientists believe that the key issues in this problem are the oscillations of the atmosphere-ocean-Earth system. In this case, atmospheric fluctuations are the so-called Southern Oscillation (coordinated fluctuations in surface pressure in the subtropical anticyclone in the southeast Pacific Ocean and in a trough stretching from northern Australia to Indonesia), ocean fluctuations - the El Niño and La Niño phenomena and fluctuations Earth - movement of geographic poles. Also of great importance when studying the El Niño phenomenon is the study of the impact of external cosmic factors on the Earth's atmosphere.

The natural phenomenon El Niño, which took place in 1997-1998, had no equal in scale in the entire history of observations. What is this mysterious phenomenon that has caused so much noise and attracted close attention from the media?

In scientific terms, El Niño is a complex of interdependent changes in thermobaric and chemical parameters of the ocean and atmosphere, taking on the character of natural disasters. According to reference literature, it is a warm current that sometimes occurs for unknown reasons off the coast of Ecuador, Peru and Chile. Translated from Spanish, "El Niño" means "baby". Peruvian fishermen gave it this name because warming waters and associated mass fish kills usually occur at the end of December and coincide with Christmas. Our magazine already wrote about this phenomenon in No. 1 in 1993, but since that time researchers have accumulated a lot of new information.

NORMAL SITUATION

To understand the anomalous nature of the phenomenon, let us first consider the usual (standard) climate situation off the South American coast of the Pacific Ocean. It is quite peculiar and is determined by the Peruvian Current, which carries cold waters from Antarctica along the western coast of South America to the Galapagos Islands lying on the equator. Usually the trade winds blowing here from the Atlantic, crossing the high-mountain barrier of the Andes, leave moisture on their eastern slopes. And therefore the western coast of South America is a dry rocky desert, where rain is extremely rare - sometimes it does not fall for years. When the trade winds collect so much moisture that they carry it to the western shores of the Pacific Ocean, they form here the predominant westerly direction of surface currents, causing a surge of water off the coast. It is unloaded by the counter-trade Cromwell Current in the equatorial zone of the Pacific Ocean, which covers a 400-kilometer strip here and at depths of 50-300 m transports huge masses of water back to the east.

The attention of specialists is attracted by the colossal biological productivity of coastal Peruvian-Chilean waters. Here, in a small space, constituting a fraction of a percent of the entire water area of ​​the World Ocean, the annual production of fish (mainly anchovy) exceeds 20% of the global total. Its abundance attracts huge flocks of fish-eating birds - cormorants, gannets, pelicans. And in areas where they accumulate, colossal masses of guano (bird droppings) - a valuable nitrogen-phosphorus fertilizer - are concentrated; its deposits, ranging in thickness from 50 to 100 m, became the object of industrial development and export.

CATASTROPHE

During El Niño years, the situation changes dramatically. First, the water temperature rises by several degrees and mass death or departure of fish from this water area begins, and as a result, birds disappear. Then, in the eastern part of the Pacific Ocean, atmospheric pressure drops, clouds appear above it, trade winds subside, and air flows over the entire equatorial zone of the ocean change direction. Now they are moving from west to east, carrying moisture from the Pacific region and dumping it on the Peruvian-Chilean coast.

Events are developing especially catastrophically at the foot of the Andes, which now block the path of the western winds and receive all their moisture onto their slopes. As a result, floods, mudflows, and floods are raging in a narrow strip of rocky coastal deserts on the western coast (at the same time, the territories of the Western Pacific region are suffering from terrible drought: tropical forests are burning in Indonesia and New Guinea, and agricultural yields are sharply falling in Australia). To top it all off, so-called “red tides” are developing from the Chilean coast to California, caused by the rapid growth of microscopic algae.

So, the chain of catastrophic events begins with a noticeable warming of surface waters in the eastern Pacific Ocean, which has recently been successfully used to predict El Niño. A network of buoy stations has been installed in this water area; with their help, the temperature of ocean water is constantly measured, and the data obtained is promptly transmitted via satellites to research centers. As a result, it was possible to warn in advance about the onset of the most powerful El Niño known to date - in 1997-98.

At the same time, the reason for the heating of ocean water, and therefore the occurrence of El Niño itself, is still not completely clear. Oceanographers explain the appearance of warm water south of the equator by a change in the direction of the prevailing winds, while meteorologists consider the change in winds to be a consequence of heating the water. Thus, a kind of vicious circle is created.

To get closer to understanding the genesis of El Niño, let us pay attention to a number of circumstances that are usually overlooked by climate specialists.

EL NINO DEGASION SCENARIO

For geologists, the following fact is absolutely obvious: El Niño develops over one of the most geologically active areas of the world rift system - the East Pacific Rise, where the maximum spreading rate (spreading of the ocean floor) reaches 12-15 cm/year. In the axial zone of this underwater ridge, a very high heat flow from the bowels of the earth is noted, manifestations of modern basaltic volcanism are known here, thermal water outlets and traces of the intensive process of modern ore formation in the form of numerous black and white “smokers” were discovered.

In the water area between 20 and 35 south. w. Nine hydrogen jets were recorded at the bottom - the release of this gas from the bowels of the earth. In 1994, an international expedition discovered the world's most powerful hydrothermal system here. In its gas emanations, the 3 He/4 He isotope ratios turned out to be abnormally high, which means that the source of degassing is located at great depths.

A similar situation is typical for other “hot spots” on the planet - Iceland, Hawaii, and the Red Sea. There, at the bottom there are powerful centers of hydrogen-methane degassing and above them, most often in the Northern Hemisphere, the ozone layer is destroyed
, which gives grounds to apply the model I created for the destruction of the ozone layer by hydrogen and methane flows to El Niño.

This is roughly how this process begins and develops. Hydrogen, released from the ocean floor from the rift valley of the East Pacific Rise (its sources were instrumentally discovered there) and reaching the surface, reacts with oxygen. As a result, heat is generated, which begins to warm up the water. The conditions here are very favorable for oxidative reactions: the surface layer of water is enriched with oxygen during wave interaction with the atmosphere.

However, the question arises: can hydrogen coming from the bottom reach the ocean surface in noticeable quantities? A positive answer was given by the results of American researchers who discovered twice the content of this gas in the air over the Gulf of California, compared to the background level. But here at the bottom there are hydrogen-methane sources with a total flow rate of 1.6 x 10 8 m 3 /year.

Hydrogen, rising from the depths of water into the stratosphere, forms an ozone hole into which ultraviolet and infrared solar radiation “falls”. Falling onto the surface of the ocean, it intensifies the heating of its upper layer that has begun (due to the oxidation of hydrogen). Most likely, it is the additional energy of the Sun that is the main and determining factor in this process. The role of oxidative reactions in heating is more problematic. This could not be discussed if it were not for the significant (from 36 to 32.7% o) desalination of ocean water that occurs simultaneously with it. The latter is probably accomplished by the very addition of water that is formed during the oxidation of hydrogen.

Due to the heating of the surface layer of the ocean, the solubility of CO 2 in it decreases, and it is released into the atmosphere. For example, during the El Niño of 1982-83. An additional 6 billion tons of carbon dioxide entered the air. Water evaporation also increases, and clouds appear over the eastern Pacific Ocean. Both water vapor and CO 2 are greenhouse gases; they absorb thermal radiation and become an excellent accumulator of additional energy coming through the ozone hole.

Gradually the process is gaining momentum. Anomalous heating of the air leads to a decrease in pressure, and a cyclonic region forms over the eastern part of the Pacific Ocean. It is this that breaks the standard trade wind pattern of atmospheric dynamics in the area and “sucks” air from the western part of the Pacific Ocean. Following the subsidence of the trade winds, the surge of water off the Peruvian-Chilean coast decreases and the equatorial Cromwell countercurrent ceases to operate. Strong heating of the water leads to the formation of typhoons, which is very rare in normal years (due to the cooling influence of the Peruvian Current). From 1980 to 1989, ten typhoons occurred here, seven of them in 1982-83, when El Niño raged.

BIOLOGICAL PRODUCTIVITY

Why is biological productivity so high off the west coast of South America? According to experts, it is the same as in the abundantly “fertilized” fish ponds of Asia, and 50 thousand times higher (!) than in other parts of the Pacific Ocean, if calculated by the number of fish caught. Traditionally, this phenomenon is explained by upwelling - a wind-driven movement of warm water from the shore, forcing cold water enriched with nutritional components, mainly nitrogen and phosphorus, to rise from the depths. During El Niño years, when the wind changes direction, upwelling is interrupted, and therefore, the flow of nutrient water stops. As a result, fish and birds die or migrate due to starvation.

All this resembles a perpetual motion machine: the abundance of life in surface waters is explained by the supply of nutrients from below, and their excess below is explained by the abundance of life above, because dying organic matter settles to the bottom. However, what is primary here, what gives impetus to such a cycle? Why does it not dry up, although, judging by the power of the guano deposits, it has been active for millennia?

The mechanism of wind upwelling itself is not very clear. The associated rise of deep water is usually determined by measuring its temperature on profiles of different levels oriented perpendicular to the coastline. Isotherms are then constructed that show the same low temperatures near the shore and at great depths away from it. And in the end they conclude that cold waters are rising. But it is known: the low temperature near the coast is caused by the Peruvian Current, so the described method for determining the rise of deep waters is hardly correct. Finally, another ambiguity: the profiles mentioned are built across the coastline, and the prevailing winds here blow along it.

I am by no means going to overthrow the concept of wind upwelling - it is based on an understandable physical phenomenon and has a right to life. However, upon closer acquaintance with it in this area of ​​the ocean, all of the listed problems inevitably arise. Therefore, I propose a different explanation for the anomalous biological productivity off the western coast of South America: it is again determined by the degassing of the earth’s interior.

In fact, not the entire Peruvian-Chilean coastal strip is equally productive, as it should be under the influence of climatic upwelling. There are two separate “spots” here - northern and southern, and their position is controlled by tectonic factors. The first is located above a powerful fault extending from the ocean to the continent south of the Mendana fault (6-8 o S) and parallel to it. The second spot, somewhat smaller in size, is located just north of the Nazca Ridge (13-14 S latitude). All of these oblique (diagonal) geological structures running from the East Pacific Rise towards South America are essentially degassing zones; through them, a huge number of different chemical compounds flow from the earth’s interior to the bottom and into the water column. Among them there are, of course, vital elements - nitrogen, phosphorus, manganese, and plenty of microelements. In the thickness of the coastal Peruvian-Ecuadorian waters, the oxygen content is the lowest in the entire World Ocean, since the main volume here is made up of reduced gases - methane, hydrogen sulfide, hydrogen, ammonia. But the thin surface layer (20-30 m) is abnormally rich in oxygen due to the low temperature of the water brought here from Antarctica by the Peruvian Current. In this layer above fault zones - sources of endogenous nutrients - unique conditions for the development of life are created.

However, there is an area in the World Ocean that is not inferior in bioproductivity to the Peruvian one, and perhaps even superior to it - off the western coast of South Africa. It is also considered a wind upwelling zone. But the position of the most productive area here (Walvis Bay) is again controlled by tectonic factors: it is located above a powerful fault zone running from the Atlantic Ocean to the African continent somewhat north of the South Tropic. And the cold, oxygen-rich Benguela Current runs along the coast from Antarctica.

The region of the Southern Kuril Islands, where the cold current passes over the submeridional marginal ocean fault Jonah, is also distinguished by its colossal fish productivity. At the height of the saury season, literally the entire Far Eastern fishing fleet of Russia gathers in a small water area of ​​the South Kuril Strait. It is appropriate here to recall Kuril Lake in Southern Kamchatka, where one of the largest spawning grounds of sockeye salmon (a type of Far Eastern salmon) is located in our country. The reason for the very high biological productivity of the lake, according to experts, is the natural “fertilization” of its water with volcanic emanations (it is located between two volcanoes - Ilyinsky and Kambalny).

However, let's return to El Niño. During the period when degassing intensifies off the coast of South America, the thin, oxygenated and teeming with life surface layer of water is blown through with methane and hydrogen, oxygen disappears, and the mass death of all living things begins: from the bottom of the sea, trawls lift a huge number of bones of large fish, onto Seals are dying on the Galapagos Islands. However, it is unlikely that the fauna is dying due to a decrease in ocean bioproductivity, as the traditional version says. She is most likely poisoned by poisonous gases rising from the bottom. After all, death comes suddenly and overtakes the entire marine community - from phytoplankton to vertebrates. Only birds die from hunger, and even then mostly chicks - adults simply leave the danger zone.

"RED TIDES"

However, after the mass disappearance of the biota, the amazing riot of life off the western coast of South America does not stop. In oxygen-deprived waters blown with toxic gases, single-celled algae - dinoflagellates - begin to rapidly develop. This phenomenon is known as "red tide" and is so named because only intensely colored algae thrive in such conditions. Their color is a kind of protection from solar ultraviolet radiation, acquired back in the Proterozoic (over 2 billion years ago), when there was no ozone layer and the surface of reservoirs was subjected to intense ultraviolet irradiation. So during “red tides” the ocean seems to return to its “pre-oxygen” past. Due to the abundance of microscopic algae, some marine organisms that usually act as water filters, such as oysters, become poisonous at this time and their consumption can lead to severe poisoning.

Within the framework of the gas-geochemical model I developed for the anomalous bioproductivity of local areas of the ocean and the periodically rapid death of biota in it, other phenomena are also explained: the massive accumulation of fossil fauna in ancient shales of Germany or phosphorites of the Moscow region, overflowing with the remains of fish bones and cephalopod shells.

MODEL CONFIRMED

I will give some facts indicating the reality of the El Niño degassing scenario.

During the years of its manifestation, the seismic activity of the East Pacific Rise sharply increases - this was the conclusion made by the American researcher D. Walker, having analyzed the relevant observations from 1964 to 1992 in the area of ​​​​this underwater ridge between 20 and 40 degrees. w. But, as has long been established, seismic events are often accompanied by increased degassing of the earth’s interior. The model I developed is also supported by the fact that the waters off the western coast of South America literally boil with the release of gases during El Niño years. The hulls of ships are covered with black spots (the phenomenon is called “El Pintor”, translated from Spanish as “the painter”), and the foul smell of hydrogen sulfide spreads over large areas.

In the African Gulf of Walvis Bay (mentioned above as an area of ​​anomalous bioproductivity), environmental crises also periodically arise, following the same scenario as off the coast of South America. Emissions of gases begin in this bay, which leads to massive fish deaths, then “red tides” develop here, and the smell of hydrogen sulfide on land is felt even 40 miles from the coast. All this is traditionally associated with the abundant release of hydrogen sulfide, but its formation is explained by the decomposition of organic residues on the seabed. Although it is much more logical to consider hydrogen sulfide as a common component of deep emanations - after all, it comes out here only above the fault zone. The penetration of gas far onto land is also easier to explain by its arrival from the same fault, tracing from the ocean to the interior of the continent.

It is important to note the following: when deep gases enter ocean water, they are separated due to sharply different (by several orders of magnitude) solubility. For hydrogen and helium it is 0.0181 and 0.0138 cm 3 in 1 cm 3 of water (at temperatures up to 20 C and a pressure of 0.1 MPa), and for hydrogen sulfide and ammonia it is incomparably greater: 2.6 and 700 cm, respectively 3 in 1 cm 3 . That is why the water above the degassing zones is greatly enriched with these gases.

A strong argument in favor of the El Niño degassing scenario is a map of the average monthly ozone deficiency over the equatorial region of the planet, compiled at the Central Aerological Observatory of the Hydrometeorological Center of Russia using satellite data. It clearly shows a powerful ozone anomaly over the axial part of the East Pacific Rise slightly south of the equator. I note that by the time the map was published, I had published a qualitative model explaining the possibility of destruction of the ozone layer above this zone. By the way, this is not the first time that my forecasts of the possible occurrence of ozone anomalies have been confirmed by field observations.

LA NINA

This is the name of the final phase of El Niño - a sharp cooling of water in the eastern part of the Pacific Ocean, when for a long period its temperature drops several degrees below normal. A natural explanation for this is the simultaneous destruction of the ozone layer both over the equator and over Antarctica. But if in the first case it causes heating of the water (El Niño), then in the second it causes a strong melting of ice in Antarctica. The latter increases the influx of cold water into the Antarctic waters. As a result, the temperature gradient between the equatorial and southern parts of the Pacific Ocean sharply increases, and this leads to an intensification of the cold Peruvian Current, which cools the equatorial waters after the weakening of degassing and restoration of the ozone layer.

THE RIGITAL CAUSE IS IN SPACE

First, I would like to say a few “justifying” words about El Niño. The media, to put it mildly, are not entirely right when they accuse him of causing disasters such as floods in South Korea or unprecedented frosts in Europe. After all, deep degassing can simultaneously increase in many areas of the planet, which leads there to the destruction of the ozonosphere and the appearance of anomalous natural phenomena, which have already been mentioned. For example, the heating of water that precedes the occurrence of El Niño occurs under ozone anomalies not only in the Pacific, but also in other oceans.

As for the intensification of deep degassing, it is determined, in my opinion, by cosmic factors, mainly by the gravitational effect on the liquid core of the Earth, where the main planetary reserves of hydrogen are contained. An important role in this case is probably played by the relative position of the planets and, first of all, interactions in the Earth - Moon - Sun system. G.I. Voitov and his colleagues from the Joint Institute of Physics of the Earth named after. O. Yu. Schmidt of the Russian Academy of Sciences established long ago: degassing of the subsoil noticeably increases during periods close to the full moon and new moon. It is also influenced by the position of the Earth in its circumsolar orbit and by changes in its rotation speed. The complex combination of all these external factors with processes in the depths of the planet (for example, the crystallization of its inner core) determines the pulses of increased planetary degassing, and hence the El Niño phenomenon. Its 2-7-year quasi-periodicity was revealed by domestic researcher N. S. Sidorenko (Hydrometeorological Center of Russia), having analyzed a continuous series of atmospheric pressure differences between the stations of Tahiti (on the island of the same name in the Pacific Ocean) and Darwin (northern coast of Australia) over a long period - since 1866 to the present time.

Candidate of Geological and Mineralogical Sciences V. L. SYVOROTKIN, Moscow State University. M. V. Lomonosova

Ocean currents are horizontal movements of water masses over long distances. There are cold and warm currents, and winds play a major role in their origin. The wind is the creator of the entire complex system of currents that exists in the World Ocean. It is enough to look at the map of the hemispheres to be convinced: the directions of many of the largest currents coincide with the directions of constant winds. That is why these currents are often called by the names of their “creators” - the North and South trade winds, the current of the Western winds and others.

The most powerful current on Earth is the Western Winds. This giant current forms a moving ring - a “water carousel” - around Antarctica and carries 200 times more water than all the world’s rivers combined. The reason for the formation of a powerful stream is constant westerly winds. They are the “engine” that forces water masses to move around the globe.

Severe "baby"

Currents are the most important factor in climate formation. By transporting water masses over long distances, along with them the currents also “move” the climatic conditions characteristic of the areas where these masses were previously located. Cold currents lower the air temperature and contribute to a decrease in precipitation; warm ocean currents lead to the opposite result.

But sometimes currents bring extremely unpleasant surprises. This primarily applies to El Niño. Typically, huge masses of surface water heated in the equatorial zone of the Pacific Ocean move along the equator from the coast of South America towards Asia. However, every few years this current turns back and carries warm water masses to the shores of America. It is this “reverse” water flow that the inhabitants of the Chilean and Peruvian coasts nicknamed “El Niño” - “baby, baby.” This name is due to the fact that most often it occurs on the days of the Nativity of Christ. It would seem that what’s bad is that the water temperature off the coast of South America will rise slightly? Meanwhile, thanks to El Niño, short-term fluctuations in climatic conditions around the world occur, which often lead to catastrophic consequences.

"Pranks" El Niño

In the early spring of 1997, satellites with infrared cameras recorded a vast “spot” of heated water in the equatorial latitudes of the eastern Pacific Ocean. The 10-12 cm thick layer had a temperature of up to 30 ° C, which is much higher than usual. This alerted meteorologists: a center for the formation of powerful tropical hurricanes could form in this area. By June, seasonal indicators of atmospheric pressure over the Australian port of Darwin and the island. Tahiti has changed significantly, and Peruvian fishermen have begun to regularly catch hammerhead sharks, a fish that lives in the warmest equatorial waters. Forecasters and the media sounded the alarm.

But it was too late - in the wilds of the usually humid forests of Indonesia, enormous fires were already raging, caused by the lack of rain. Then waves of fires swept across the Australian continent one after another. Tornadoes occurred where they had never been observed before, in particular, the giant Hurricane Nora swept over Los Angeles and the California coast. The Chilean Atacama Desert, considered the driest place on the planet, was hit by heavy rains, and on the other side of the globe - in the eastern part of the island. New Guinea - the soil cracked from heat and drought, the vegetation of the equatorial forests died, wells dried up, crops turned to ash. A famine began among the inhabitants of the island, destroying entire Papuan tribes.

On a global scale, the consequences were very severe: strong winds, floods and high tidal waves during hurricanes caused the death of 24 thousand people; economic losses in different countries exceeded $34 billion; In many regions, agricultural production was reduced as a result of flooding of fields, and where there were no strong winds and rains, long dry periods set in, leading to loss of crops and severe shortages of drinking water.

Scientists believe that the mysterious disappearance of the Mayan civilization in Central America and the fall of the Chinese Tang dynasty, followed by internecine wars and the ruin of the country, were caused by one natural phenomenon - the same El Niño. Despite the fact that both civilizations were located on opposite ends of the Earth, they had one thing in common - the monsoon climate. The well-being of the people depended on seasonal precipitation. However, around 903-907. the rainy season has not arrived. A drought simultaneously struck the cities of Central America and China, which led to prolonged famine and the decline of two major civilizations at once.