The El Niño of 2015-2016 has been called a Mega Niño or a Super El Niño, the strongest since 1997. El Niño occurs every two to seven years and its effects are felt the world over. Drought-stricken California has had heavy rains and snow, while strong storms have caused floods and fueled tornadoes elsewhere in the country. Other regions of the world, such as Indonesia, have experienced drought and fires. 
On Wednesday, March 23, Steven Pawson, an atmospheric scientist and the chief of the Global Modeling and Assimilation Office at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, will present a lecture called “El Niño: A NASA Perspective” in the Pickford Theater on the third floor of the Library’s Madison building, from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. His presentation will cover the broad characteristics of El Niño, followed by a detailed view of the 2015-2016 event and description of how scientists use computer models to build up a three-dimensional picture of El Niño in the oceans and atmosphere, as well as how NASA uses space-based observations to form a more complete picture of the impact of El Niño on the global earth system.
If you cannot make it to the program, it will be recorded for broadcast on the Library of Congress science webcast page and on its You Tube channel “Topics in Science” playlist in the coming months.
Individuals requiring accommodations for this event are requested to submit a request at least five business days in advance by contacting (202) 707-6362 or [email protected].
Update: The webcast for this program is now available.