Recent variability in the Southern Oscillation: Isotopic results from a Tarawa Atoll coral
- Columbia Univ., New York, NY (United States)
- Univ. of Washington, Seattle (United States)
In the western tropical Pacific, the interannual migration of the Indonesian Low convective system causes changes in rainfall that dominate the regional signature of the El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) system. A 96-year oxygen isotope record from a Tarawa Atoll coral (1[degrees]N, 172[degrees]E) reflects regional convective activity through rainfall-induced salinity changes. This monthly resolution record spans twice the length of the local climatological record and provides a history of ENSO variability comparable in quality with those derived from instrumental climate data. Comparison of this coral record with a historical chronology of El Nino events indicates that climate anomalies in coastal South America are occasionally decoupled from Pacific-wide ENSO extremes. Spectral analysis suggests that the distribution of variance in this record has shifted among annual to interannual periods during the present century, concurrent with observed changes in the strength of the Southern Oscillation. 28 refs., 2 figs., 1 tab.
- OSTI ID:
- 6210151
- Journal Information:
- Science (Washington, D.C.); (United States), Vol. 260:5115; ISSN 0036-8075
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
CORALS
QUANTITATIVE CHEMICAL ANALYSIS
OXYGEN 18
SEAS
SALINITY
SOUTHERN OSCILLATION
VARIATIONS
ANNUAL VARIATIONS
ATMOSPHERIC PRECIPITATIONS
CLIMATIC CHANGE
OXYGEN ISOTOPES
SOUTH AMERICA
ANIMALS
CHEMICAL ANALYSIS
CNIDARIA
COELENTERATA
EVEN-EVEN NUCLEI
INVERTEBRATES
ISOTOPES
LATIN AMERICA
LIGHT NUCLEI
NUCLEI
STABLE ISOTOPES
SURFACE WATERS
540120* - Environment
Atmospheric- Chemicals Monitoring & Transport- (1990-)