FORCING AND BIOLOGICAL IMPACT OF ONSET OF THE 1992 EL-NINO IN CENTRALCALIFORNIA

The physical, chemical and biological effects related to onset of the 1992 El Nino in central California are described. Oceanic Kelvin waves link atmospheric events in the western equatorial Pacific and onset o f temperature and primary productivity anomalies. The perturbations ob served off California, with a deeper thermocline and nutricline reduci ng the supply of nutrients and regulating productivity, are similar to those observed along the coast of Peru during El Nino.