What is the name for a brief interval of coolness in between warm periods in the Pacific Ocean?

The term that describes a brief interval of coolness in between warm periods in the Pacific Ocean is La Niña. La Niña is characterized by cooler-than-average sea surface temperatures in the central and eastern tropical Pacific Ocean, which typically follows an El Niño event that features warmer waters. This phenomenon plays a significant role in influencing global weather patterns, including precipitation and temperature variations across different regions.

While the other terms relate to oceanic and atmospheric phenomena, they do not specifically describe this particular cooling phase. El Niño refers to the opposite condition, where warmer waters dominate the eastern Pacific. ENSO, or the El Niño-Southern Oscillation, encompasses both El Niño and La Niña as part of a broader climatic cycle but does not identify only the cool phase. The term "tropical gyre" refers to large systems of rotating ocean currents and is not related to temperature intervals. Therefore, La Niña accurately denotes the specific cooling phenomenon that occurs between warm periods in the Pacific.