Geography • World GeographyHard
Analyze the ocean-atmosphere interactions driving the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) cycle: Assertion (A): During an El Niño event, the trade winds over the equatorial Pacific Ocean weaken or reverse direction, leading to a warming of surface waters in the central and eastern tropical Pacific. Reason (R): This anomalous ocean warming disrupts global atmospheric circulation cells, suppressing monsoonal rainfall over the Indian subcontinent while causing torrential downpours in western South America. Which of the following is correct?
A. Both Assertion (A) and Reason (R) are correct, and Reason (R) is the correct explanation of Assertion (A)✓ Correct Answer
B. Both Assertion (A) and Reason (R) are correct, but Reason (R) is not the correct explanation of Assertion (A)
C. Assertion (A) is correct, but Reason (R) is incorrect
D. Assertion (A) is incorrect, but Reason (R) is correct
💡 Solution & Explanation
El Niño is characterized by a relaxation of normal easterly trade winds, allowing warm water pooled near Indonesia to slosh eastward toward Peru, shutting down coastal upwelling and altering global jet stream paths that frequently result in drought conditions over South Asia and floods in South America. Both statements correctly capture the physical mechanisms and climatic teleconnections of ENSO. This phenomenon significantly impacts global agriculture and weather forecasting.
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