Images related to The East Pacific Rise from Near and Far

Satellites Detect Deep-Ocean Whirlpools
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Satellites Detect Deep-Ocean Whirlpools

Submerged in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Spain and Portugal are giant, salty whirlpools of warm water. These deep-water whirlpools are part of the ocean’s circulatory system, and they help drive the ocean currents that moderate Earth’s climate. Warm water ordinarily sits at the ocean’s surface, but the warm water flowing out of the Mediterranean Sea is so salty (and therefore dense) that when it enters the Atlantic Ocean at the Strait of Gibraltar, it sinks to depths of more than 1,000 meters (one-half mile) along the continental shelf. This underwater river then separates into clockwise-flowing eddies that may continue to spin westward for more than two years, often coalescing with other eddies to form giant, salty whirlpools that may stretch for hundreds of miles. Because the eddies originate from the Mediterranean Sea, scientists call them “Meddies.”

Published Mar 23, 2006

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El Niño Conditions Are Growing Stronger
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El Niño Conditions Are Growing Stronger

Weakening trade winds are allowing warm water to move east across the Pacific in a telltale pattern.

Published Aug 5, 2015

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Weak El Niño, but Hints of Pacific Change
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Weak El Niño, but Hints of Pacific Change

Ocean conditions are not likely to help drought-stressed regions this spring. However, some broader changes might be coming in the Pacific.

Published Mar 25, 2015

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Under the Surface of El Niño
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Under the Surface of El Niño

With its own forms of underwater weather, the ocean has fronts and circulation patterns that move heat and nutrients around its basins. Changes near the surface often start with changes in the depths.

Published Mar 21, 2017

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A Day in the East Korea Current
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A Day in the East Korea Current

A Korean satellite provides an hourly view of the phytoplankton in the ocean, while also offering a testbed for future ocean-observing satellite missions.

Published Jun 21, 2016

Image of the Day Life Water Remote Sensing

Scientists Say Adios to La Niña
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Scientists Say Adios to La Niña

La Niña, the large area of cold water in the Pacific Ocean widely blamed for last summer's drought and often related to an increase in the number of hurricanes that make landfall, appears to be on its last legs.

Published May 10, 2000

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A Spacecraft's Journey to the Space Station
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A Spacecraft's Journey to the Space Station

As NASA's latest care package heads toward the International Space Station, it traveled over beautiful Earth landscapes—from scenic snowscapes to desolate deserts.

Published Dec 21, 2018

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Searching for the Bluest
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Searching for the Bluest

Some of the clearest, bluest ocean waters on Earth are found in the South Pacific.

Published Oct 12, 2017

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New Study: Heat is Being Stored Beneath the Ocean Surface
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New Study: Heat is Being Stored Beneath the Ocean Surface

Examining temperatures from the depths of the ocean, JPL scientists have found that lower layers of the Western Pacific and Indian Oceans grew much warmer during a decade when surface temperatures cooled.

Published Jul 10, 2015

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El Niño Should Be Near Its Peak
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El Niño Should Be Near Its Peak

Past events suggest the phenomenon winds down after December and January. But will this year follow the pattern?

Published Jan 22, 2016

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Where is La Nina?
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Where is La Nina?

Published Jul 18, 2003

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A Bloom of Nitrogen-Fixing Bacteria
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A Bloom of Nitrogen-Fixing Bacteria

An important player in the nitrogen cycle, Trichodesmium makes a seasonal appearance off the northeast coast of Australia.

Published Sep 16, 2019

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Still Waiting for El Niño
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Still Waiting for El Niño

Published Jun 29, 2002

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El Niño Strengthening
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El Niño Strengthening

With each passing month, 2015 looks more and more like 1997.

Published Oct 13, 2015

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