At the end of March, a team of Georgia Tech students and faculty will pack their scuba gear for a week in the Pacific Ocean. It’s not exactly a beach trip. It’s a research project that will focus on dying coral, one of the major casualties of this season’s El Niño. Kim Cobb, a professor in the School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, is leading the team, which will arrive at the research site on March 29. 

El Niño is an ocean current that appears every few years to shake up the global thermometer, and this year's was one of the strongest ever. But what exactly is this climate phenomenon? Cobb tells us in this version of Tech+Knowledge+Y, describing some of El Niño’s effects, its role in global warming, and how this winter's current is setting the table for a very active hurricane season later this year.

Tech+knowledge+Y is a series featuring Georgia Tech faculty members explaining complex topics in simple terms. From back holes to earthquakes to the secret language of science fiction, you'll learn about it in this monthly series.