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  ANNUAL 
  REPORT 
  SMITHSONIAN 
  INSTITUTION, 
  1943 
  

  

  Punta 
  Aguja 
  by 
  a 
  narrow 
  band 
  of 
  cooler 
  water. 
  In 
  1941 
  such 
  a 
  band 
  

   did 
  not 
  exist. 
  Not 
  only 
  did 
  the 
  rains 
  of 
  1941 
  prove 
  disastrous 
  to 
  

   crops, 
  buildings, 
  birds, 
  fish, 
  and 
  local 
  industries, 
  but, 
  even 
  more 
  im- 
  

   portant, 
  they 
  upset 
  the 
  sense 
  of 
  security 
  associated 
  with 
  the 
  reputed 
  

   7-year 
  cycle. 
  For 
  the 
  Child 
  Current 
  in 
  1941 
  was 
  not 
  observing 
  the 
  

   rules; 
  it 
  was 
  cheating 
  with 
  an 
  unexpected, 
  off-schedule 
  call 
  which 
  

   spelled 
  uncertainty 
  regarding 
  the 
  forecasting 
  of 
  future 
  invasions. 
  

  

  Many 
  attempts 
  have 
  been 
  made 
  to 
  explain 
  the 
  vagaries 
  of 
  El 
  Nino. 
  

   Both 
  the 
  sun 
  and 
  the 
  moon 
  have 
  been 
  named 
  as 
  Nature's 
  accomplices. 
  

   Sun-spottedness 
  or 
  lunar 
  tides 
  in 
  the 
  Antarctic 
  have 
  been 
  blamed 
  for 
  

   the 
  behavior 
  of 
  this 
  turgid, 
  hot 
  current. 
  Other 
  explanations 
  offered 
  

   center 
  nearer 
  home, 
  notably 
  the 
  southward 
  shift 
  of 
  the 
  low-pressure 
  

   area 
  along 
  the 
  Equator 
  and 
  its 
  subsequent 
  retreat 
  southward 
  of 
  the 
  

   South 
  Pacific 
  High 
  off 
  the 
  coast 
  of 
  Chile. 
  During 
  unusual 
  extensions 
  

   of 
  the 
  Child 
  Current, 
  declining 
  strength 
  of 
  winds 
  from 
  the 
  south 
  

   and 
  southeast 
  have 
  been 
  noticed, 
  and 
  northerly 
  winds 
  across 
  Panama 
  

   may 
  have 
  some 
  effect 
  at 
  this 
  season. 
  It 
  is 
  noteworthy 
  that 
  northerly 
  

   winds 
  often 
  precede 
  or 
  accompany 
  El 
  Nino's 
  abnormal 
  movements. 
  

  

  The 
  current 
  has 
  been 
  identified 
  definitely 
  as 
  a 
  branch 
  of 
  the 
  Equa- 
  

   torial 
  Counter 
  Current, 
  which 
  normally 
  either 
  turns 
  northward 
  or 
  

   recurves 
  westward 
  before 
  reaching 
  Panama. 
  It 
  joins 
  up 
  with 
  the 
  broad 
  

   streams 
  of 
  the 
  North 
  or 
  the 
  South 
  Equatorial 
  currents. 
  The 
  Equa- 
  

   torial 
  Counter 
  Current, 
  it 
  is 
  well 
  known, 
  enjoys 
  an 
  abnormally 
  high 
  

   marine 
  temperature 
  because 
  it 
  flows 
  directly 
  under 
  the 
  heat 
  equator 
  

   across 
  the 
  entire 
  width 
  of 
  the 
  Pacific 
  Ocean, 
  approximately 
  at 
  its 
  

   most 
  widely 
  separated 
  points. 
  

  

  Why 
  the 
  branch 
  El 
  Nino 
  is 
  sometimes 
  hotter 
  and 
  stronger 
  at 
  some 
  

   places 
  than 
  at 
  others 
  has 
  not 
  been 
  satisfactorily 
  explained. 
  In 
  1939, 
  

   for 
  instance, 
  the 
  heated 
  current, 
  appearing 
  in 
  the 
  form 
  of 
  bands 
  or 
  

   strips, 
  was 
  marked 
  by 
  a 
  considerable 
  range 
  of 
  temperature 
  over 
  a 
  

   relatively 
  small 
  area. 
  Some 
  of 
  these 
  bands 
  were 
  hotter 
  away 
  from 
  

   land 
  than 
  close 
  inshore; 
  and 
  vice 
  versa. 
  At 
  the 
  same 
  time 
  it 
  was 
  

   observed 
  that 
  upwelling 
  along 
  shore 
  in 
  the 
  Humboldt 
  Current 
  became 
  

   weak 
  or 
  tended 
  to 
  cease 
  altogether. 
  Since 
  the 
  Humboldt 
  and 
  Califor- 
  

   nia 
  Currents 
  are 
  "mirror 
  images" 
  of 
  each 
  other 
  during 
  the 
  season 
  

   of 
  upwelling 
  within 
  the 
  California 
  Current 
  (as 
  already 
  stated, 
  nor- 
  

   mally 
  there 
  is 
  upwelling 
  within 
  the 
  Humboldt 
  Current 
  throughout 
  

   the 
  year) 
  , 
  the 
  most 
  plausible 
  explanations 
  may 
  be 
  gleaned 
  from 
  fur- 
  

   ther 
  research 
  applied 
  to 
  the 
  northern 
  stream. 
  

  

  It 
  is 
  known, 
  for 
  instance, 
  that 
  there 
  is 
  a 
  relatively 
  warm 
  subsurface 
  

   coastal 
  current 
  flowing 
  in 
  the 
  opposite 
  direction 
  from 
  the 
  Humboldt, 
  

   and 
  a 
  similar 
  counter 
  subsurface 
  current 
  continually 
  runs 
  under 
  the 
  

   California 
  Current. 
  When 
  upwelling 
  ceases 
  off 
  the 
  California 
  coast, 
  

   this 
  subsurface 
  current 
  rises 
  and 
  flows 
  inshore 
  at 
  the 
  surface 
  as 
  

  

  