. 24/7 Space News .
EL NINO
How El Nino impacts global temperatures
by Staff Writers
Canberra, Australia (SPX) Jun 10, 2016


Wahyoe Hantoro in Liang Luar Cave, Flores. Image courtesy Garry K. Smith. For a larger version of this image please go here.

Scientists have found past El Nino oscillations in the Pacific Ocean may have amplified global climate fluctuations for hundreds of years at a time.The team uncovered century-scale patterns in Pacific rainfall and temperature, and linked them with global climate changes in the past 2000 years.

For example, northern hemisphere warming and droughts between the years 950 and 1250 corresponded to an El Nino-like state in the Pacific, which switched to a La Nina-like pattern during a cold period between 1350 and 1900. The new data will help scientists build more accurate models of future climate, said member of the research team, Alena Kimbrough, from The Australian National University.

"Our work is a significant piece in the grand puzzle. The tropics are a complicated, yet incredibly important region to global climate and it's been great to untangle what's happening," said Ms Kimbrough, a PhD student at the ANU Research School of Earth Sciences. "The current models struggle to reflect century-scale changes in the El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO).

"We've shown ENSO is an important part of the climate system that has influenced global temperatures and rainfall over the past millennium." The team measured trace elements and stable isotopes in stalagmites from the Indonesian island of Flores to reconstruct ancient rainfall, and compared it with records from East Asia and the central-eastern equatorial Pacific.

The El Nino Southern Oscillation is an irregular variation in winds and sea surface temperatures over the tropical eastern Pacific Ocean. In one extreme it brings high temperatures and drought to eastern Australia and Indonesia, and the opposite extreme, known as La Nina, heavy rainfall and storms.

"In the past decade or so the rise in global temperature had a brief reprieve, the so-called warming hiatus, which can be partly attributed to a persistent La Nina pattern over that period," Ms Kimbrough said.

The new work found periods of predominantly El Nino-like patterns for several hundred years that alternate with La Nina patterns, impacting on global climate over the last 2000 years.

"Until we can model this lower-frequency behaviour in the tropical Pacific, one can only speculate on how the warming will play out over the next few decades," said lead author Dr Michael Griffiths from William Paterson University, in the United States.

The international team of scientists was led by Dr Michael Griffiths of William Patterson University in New Jersey, along with PhD candidate Alena Kimbrough and Dr Michael Gagan at the ANU, Professor Wahyoe Hantoro of the Indonesian Institute of Sciences and colleagues at the University of Melbourne and the University of Arizona.

The research is published in Nature Communications.


Thanks for being here;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once


credit card or paypal
SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5 Billed Monthly


paypal only


.


Related Links
Australian National University
El Nino, La Nina and an Ocean called Pacifica






Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle

Previous Report
EL NINO
Leftover warm water in Pacific Ocean fueled massive El Nino
Washington DC (SPX) May 12, 2016
A new study provides insight into how the current El Nino, one of the strongest on record, formed in the Pacific Ocean. The new research finds easterly winds in the tropical Pacific Ocean stalled a potential El Nino in 2014 and left a swath of warm water in the central Pacific. The presence of that warm water stacked the deck for a monster El Nino to occur in 2015, according to the study's autho ... read more


EL NINO
US may approve private venture moon mission: report

Fifty Years of Moon Dust

Airbus Defence and Space to guide lunar lander to the Moon

A new, water-logged history of the Moon

EL NINO
Study of Opportunity Wheel Scuff Continues

Mars 'colonists' to undergo five days of tests

SpaceX could send people to Mars by 2024, Elon Musk says

Red and Golden Planets at Opposition

EL NINO
Tech, beauty intersect in Silicon Valley

Second Starliner Begins Assembly in Florida Factory

Mexican engineer extracts gas from urine to heat shower

What Does it Take to Become a NASA Astronaut?

EL NINO
Bolivia to pay back loan to China for Tupac Katari satellite

China plans 5 new space science satellites

NASA Chief: Congress Should Revise US-China Space Cooperation Law

Chine's satellite industry eyes global satellite market

EL NINO
Astronauts enter inflatable room at space station

First steps into BEAM will expand the frontiers of habitats for space

Russia delays launch of new crew to ISS until July 7

Airbus DS and ESA launch external commercial payload platform for the ISS

EL NINO
EchoStar XVIII and BRIsat are installed on Arianespace's Ariane 5

United Launch Alliance gets $138 million Atlas V contract

SpaceX makes fourth successful rocket landing

Arianespace to supply payload dispenser systems for OneWeb constellation

EL NINO
Likely new planet may be in slow death spiral

On exoplanets, atmospheric water may be hiding behind clouds

Astronomers find giant planet around very young star

Planet 1,200 Light-Years Away Is Good Prospect for a Habitable World

EL NINO
Lean Xbox One eyes gamers as PlayStation VR turns heads

E3 video game show comes with rise of celebrity player

Neutrons reveal unexpected magnetism in rare-earth alloy

Plant lignin improves efficacy of sunscreen









The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.