library.SCOTCH: El Nino, La Nina and Walker Circulation: El Nino

General Information

Agus, S., & Wenju, C. (2014). Drought in store as El Niño's western cousin to grow stronger. Ecos, (196), 29-31.
An excerpt from the article "Drought in store as El Niño's western cousin to grow stronger," by Agus Santoso and Wenju Cai is presented, which focuses on the potential emergence of the Indian Ocean Dipole.
El Niño. (2015). In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved from http://school.eb.com.au.db.plcscotch.wa.edu.au/levels/high/article/32206
El Niño, (Spanish: “The Christ Child”) in oceanography and climatology, is the anomalous appearance, every few years, of unusually warm ocean conditions along the tropical west coast of South America.
Lippsett, L. (2000). Beyond El Niño. Scientific American Presents, 77-83.
The article presents information on El Niño, an oceanic and atmospheric event that profoundly affects climate. In 1982 scientific experts had come to a consensus that no El Niño was forming, even as waters in the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean near Peru were already heating with inevitable and catastrophic momentum.
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It sparked a host of climate changes including devastating droughts and fires in Australia, flooding in normally arid regions of Peru and Ecuador, unusual storms that rearranged California beaches, and widespread mortality of fish and birds. All told, the El Niño that wasn't going to happen led to thousands of deaths and an estimated $13 billion in damage.
Masters, J. (2014). The jet stream is getting weird. Scientific American, 311(6), 68-75.
The article discusses extreme summer and winter weather caused by contortions in the jet streams over North America and Europe.
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Topics include severe drought and winter weather in Europe and the U.S. between 2010-2014, a study by Shih-Yu (Simon) Wang and colleagues that suggests human-caused global warming reconfigured the jet stream, a greenhouse effect, called Arctic amplification, and connections between the El Nino/Southern Oscillation and the Arctic Oscillation.
The economic impacts of an El Nino. (2002, March 18). Retrieved from http://www.spacedaily.com/news/pacific-02g.html
NOAA has the primary responsibility within the federal government to routinely provide climate forecasts and products to the nation. Most parts of NOAA are in some way involved in El Nino research, monitoring and prediction.

Life and Times of El Nino

Gillings, A. (Producer). (2005). Life and times of El Nino [Television broadcast]. London, United Kingdom: BBC.

Australian Perspective

Australia's warmest-ever spring, and prospect of 'moderate' El Niño. (2014). Ecos, (202), 29-30.
The article presents the report from the Australia Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) on the country's weather condition in 2014. It reveals that national climate indicators remain close to El Niño thresholds, with a prospect of further intensification of El Niño.
Bureau of Meteorology. (2015). Tracking Australia's climate and El Niño 2015. Retrieved from http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/change/
How is the year shaping up? Australia has experienced a range of weather and climate extremes through 2015. From record heat in spring to the most substantial low-level snowfalls in 20 years, there has been no shortage of significant events.
Nicholls, N. (1998). El Nino: Of droughts and flooding rains. Retrieved from http://www.abc.net.au/science/slab/elnino/story.htm
Australia is a land "of droughts and flooding rains" because of the El Niño - Southern Oscillation. About a decade ago I showed that this phenomenon amplifies the climate variability everywhere it strikes, including Australia. Without El Niño events and La Niña events, we would have a more benign climate.

ABC Rural

McAloon, C. (2013, October 14). Global warming to intensify El Nino. Retrieved from http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-10-14/nrn-el-nino-study/5020710
Dr Scott Power, of the Bureau of Meteorology, says the latest climate models indicate global warming interferes with the impact El Nino sea-surface temperature patterns have on rainfall.

Marine Impact

Redondo-Rodriguez, A. (2012). Coral bleaching: a new form of El Niño implicated? Ecos, (169), 1-3.
The article explores a study which analyzes the interactions between the biological systems of the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) and ocean-atmosphere circulation patterns. It cites the factors affecting water circulation and states the impact of El Niño and La Niña on the reef such as coral bleaching.
El Nino system could 'lengthen, increase severity' of stinger season, researchers say. (2015, October 30). ABC Premium News,
Experts are concerned the severe El Nino weather system affecting Australia could worsen the stinger season.
Brown, J., Cahill, M., Feng, M., & Zhang, X. (2015, May 15).The good-news El Niño story for Western Australia’s oceans. Retrieved from https://theconversation.com/the-good-news-el-nino-story-for-western-australias-oceans-41744
While eastern Australia trembles at the impending El Niño this year, potentially increasing heat waves and bushfires, the coastal waters of Western Australia (WA) would find El Niño a welcome relief from the heat.