Farming and fishing in the wake of El Nino

Journal Article · Sun Sep 01 04:00:00 EDT 1996 · Bioscience

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2307/1312984· OSTI ID:482366

Tibbetts, J

How does the periodic warming of the waters of the central Pacific relate to global climate change and food production? In Queensland, Australia, savvy farmers keep a sharp eye on signs of El Nino, which usually brings drought that withers the state`s winter wheat crop. Returning every four years on average and usually lasting approximately a year, El Nino is an unusual warming in the central Pacific that builds storms and disrupts wind patterns, turning weather upside down in far-removed regions. But El Nino took scientists by surprise when it persisted from 1991 to 1995. This was the first time that El Nino had lasted for more than three years since monitoring began in the 1870s. And true to form, El Nino of 1991-1995 brought extreme drought to Queensland, in north-eastern Australia, drying out farmland and costing the state economy approximately $1 billion (Australian) a year. The drought, for example, dropped rainfall levels to all-time lows in Toowoomba, one of the state`s prime cereal-growing regions.

• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE
• OSTI ID: 482366
• Journal Information: Bioscience, Journal Name: Bioscience Journal Issue: 8 Vol. 46; ISSN BISNAS; ISSN 0006-3568
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
56 BIOLOGY AND MEDICINE
APPLIED STUDIES
BIOLOGICAL EFFECTS
CLIMATIC CHANGE
ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS
FISHERIES
GLOBAL ASPECTS
POPULATION DYNAMICS
SOUTHERN OSCILLATION