2013-07-26

Deciphering the air-sea communication: Ocean significantly affects long-term climate fluctuations

Deciphering the air-sea communication: Ocean significantly affects long-term climate fluctuations

July 25, 2013 — Why does hurricane activity vary from decade to decade? Or rainfall in the Sahel region? And why are the trans-Atlantic changes frequently in sync? A German-Russian research team has investigated the role of heat exchange between ocean and atmosphere in long-term climate variability in the Atlantic. The scientists analyzed meteorological measurements and sea surface temperatures over the past 130 years. It was found that the ocean significantly affects long term climate fluctuations, while the seemingly chaotic atmosphere is mainly responsible for the shorter-term, year-to-year changes.


Share This:





The study appears in the current issue of the journal Nature, and provides important information on the predictability of long-term climate fluctuations.

How do the ocean and atmosphere communicate? What information do they exchange, and what are the results? These are questions that climate scientists must ask, especially if they want to understand the cause of natural climate fluctuations of varying duration. These fluctuations superimpose the general global warming trend since the beginning of industrialization and thus complicate the accurate determination of human influence on the climate. The causes and mechanisms of natural climate variability, however, are poorly understood. A study led by scientists at the GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel shows that the ocean currents influence the heat exchange between ocean and atmosphere and thus can explain climate variability on decadal time scales.

The presumption of such predictability potential has been around for more than half a century. In 1964, the Norwegian climate researcher Jacob Bjerknes postulated different causes of climate variability on different time scales. While the atmosphere is mainly causing climate variations on shorter time scales, from months to years, the longer-term fluctuations, such as those on decadal time scales, are primarily determined by the ocean. The first part of this hypothesis has been well studied by now, but the second part still required some verification. "In the current study, we can utilize a new analysis of shipboard measurements, taken since the end of the 19th century, to verify the second part of the Bjerknes hypothesis," says Prof. Mojib Latif of GEOMAR, co-author of the study. "In particular, for the long-term climate variability in the Atlantic sector, the Gulf Stream circulation is of vital importance," said Latif.

Ocean currents affect the surface temperature of the oceans and thus the heat exchange with the atmosphere -- eventually causing climate variations on the adjacent continents. The most evident is an oscillation with a period of 60 years. "Such decadal climate fluctuations are superimposed on the general warming trend, so that at times it seems as if the warming trend slowed or even stopped. After a few decades, it accelerates once again," explains Prof. Latif. "It is important for us to understand these natural cycles, so that we can finally provide better climate predictions as well." One of the major problems, as Latif explained, is that there are just very few long-term oceanic measurements, thereby complicating the analysis and interpretation of climate change signals. Therefore, scientists are using increasingly refined statistical methods to extract more and more information from the available data sets.

"We need both, realistic model simulations and long-term data records, and really sophisticated analysis methods to produce reliable climate predictions. Our work is an additional piece in the giant puzzle of global climate variability, but I am confident that we will be able to extract the secrets underlying the natural climate fluctuations," says Prof. Latif.



Welcome to SUV System Ltd!

SUV System Ltd is ISO 90012008 Certified electronics distributor with 10 years of experiences.

We have built up long term business relationship with about many companies which are stockers and authorized agents. we have a steady and reliable supply to meet customer's demands to the greatest extent .Confidently, we are able to lower your cost and support your business with our years of professional service.

SUV System Ltd is Electronic Components Distributor Supplies,Find Quality Electronic Components Supplies Products IC(Integrated Circuits),Connectors,Capacitor,Resistors,Diodes,Transistors,LED at Suvsystem.com. Sourcing Other Energy, Environment, Excess Inventory Products from Manufacturers and Suppliers at Suvsystem.com

Electronic Components distributor:http://www.suvsystem.com

Connectors Distributor:http://www.suvsystem.com/l/Connectors-1.html

IC Distributor:http://www.suvsystem.com/l/IC(Integrated-Circuits)-1.html

LED Distributor:http://www.suvsystem.com/l/LED-1.html

Capacitor Distributor:http://www.suvsystem.com/l/Capacitor-1.html

Transistor Distributor:http://www.suvsystem.com/l/Transistors-1.html

Resistor Distributor:http://www.suvsystem.com/l/Resistors-1.html

Diode Distributor:http://www.suvsystem.com/l/Diodes-1.html

SUV System Ltd insists on the managing faith ofsincereness,speciality,foresight, win-win,so we build up stable-relationship customers located all over the world, including the States, Europe, Argentina, UAE, Malaysia, Australia,and India etc

we are focus on the following fields,and hope we can help you.


TOSHIBA Diodes Fast Recovery Diodes Fleld Effect Transistors TOSHIBA Transistors Current Sensors Resistors Multi-units Transistors Fairchild Semiconductor Transistors Thin Film Resistors YAGEO Resistors AVX Resistors AD IC Low Ohmic Resistors Discrete Semiconductor Transistors LED VISHAY IC DIODES Transistors Digital Transistors Vishay resistors Chip Fuses HARRIS IC PANASONIC ALTERA IC IR Diodes NEC Diodes IC(Integrated Circuits) ST Transistors BB IC NEC Transistors ON Transistors components IR transistor Voltage Regulators Transistors TDK IC MAXIM IC LED part Texas Instruments(TI) IC Rectifier Diodes Military IC Schottky Diodes Xilinx IC
http://www.suvsystem.com/a/4320.aspx

No comments:

Post a Comment