"El Niño" Nuevo

“This discovery is like finding a new switch in Earth's climate.”
— Balaji Senapati of the University of Reading, on research he led that for the first time successfully simulated a “new El Niño” in the southwestern subtropical Pacific Ocean. Senapati and colleagues utilized a climate emulator that blended atmospheric, oceanic, and sea ice components to simulate 300 years of Earth’s climate system. The modeling revealed a circumpolar wavenumber-4 (W4) pattern that repeats annually across the Southern Hemisphere. The study showed that sea surface temperature changes in a small area near Australia and New Zealand trigger atmospheric variability that is carried by westerly winds in a wave-like pattern throughout the Southern Hemisphere. The W4 pattern impacts ocean temperatures and creates four alternating warm and cool areas in the oceans. The study, which was published in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans, found that the pattern in some ways is similar to El Niño and La Niña, but is independent from those systems. The finding could be beneficial to weather forecasting and climate prediction in the Southern Hemisphere, and Senapati adds it “might help explain climate changes that were previously mysterious, and could improve our ability to predict extreme weather and climate events.” [Source: University of Reading]

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