Main hydrological impacts of

ENSO in the Central Andes

- ENSO (El Nio Southern Oscillation) is a weather phenomenon that

depends on sea surface temperature and thermal gradient between

the east and west of the pacific ocean.
-

During the Pleistocene (a geological epoch) the strenght of ENSO

was smaller than these days.

Impacts of ENSO:
In the coast, this high precipitation event increase growth of all
species in Tumbes Piura dry forests; in the other hand, this weather
phenomenon affects negatively the most productive marine
ecosystem Worldwide (disrupts The Humbolt Current).
During El Nio, dry westerly winds dominates in the Andes; these dry
winds produces drought in all the region. Furthermore, glaciers melt
very rapidly during extreme El Nio years.