El Niņo is a disruption of the ocean-atmosphere system in the Tropical Pacific having
important consequences for weather and climate around the globe. 



Is There a Connection Between El Nino and Global Temperatures?

Some climate model experiments suggest an increase in El Nino frequency, 
linked to a future greenhouse warming.

The strongest surface warming is calculated to occur in the equatorial eastern 
Pacific, in accord with a physical picture that posits the existence of a "thermostat" 
in the western Pacific, which keeps the high surface temperature there from rising 
further because of a cloud-albedo feedback.

On the other hand, a different physical model leads to strong upwelling in the eastern 
equatorial Pacific that could weaken the warming there, thereby strengthen equatorial 
winds, causing more upwelling and a net cooling in the eastern Pacific. Such a 
feedback process would lead to La Nina-like conditions, eventually 
retarding global warming. Which picture is more nearly correct?