Global Ecological Consequences of the 1982-83 El Niño-Southern Oscillation

Global Ecological Consequences of the 1982-83 El Niño-Southern Oscillation PDF Author: P.W. Glynn
Publisher: Elsevier
ISBN: 0080870902
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 587

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Book Description
El Niño is a meteorologic/oceanographic phenomenon that occurs sporadically (every few years) at low latitudes. It is felt particularly strongly in the eastern Pacific region, notably from the equator southwards along the coasts of Ecuador and Peru. The El Niño is a component of the ENSO (El Niño Southern Oscillation) which accentuates the intimate and causal connection between atmospheric and marine processes. Obvious manifestations of El Niño in the eastern Pacific are anomalous warming of the sea; reduced upwelling; a marked decline in fisheries, and high rainfall with frequent flooding.The 1982/83 El Niño was exceptionally severe, and was probably the strongest warming of the equatorial Pacific Ocean to occur during this century. The warming was intense and spread over large parts of the Pacific Ocean and penetrated to greater depths than usual. Many eastern Pacific coral reefs that had exhibited uninterrupted growth for several hundred years until 1983 were devasted by the disturbance and are now in an erosional mode. Marine species were adversely affected. The consequent depletion of the plant food base resulted in significant reductions in stocks of fish, squid etc. This led to a mass migration and near-total reproductive failure of marine birds at Christmas Island.Emphasis in this volume is placed on disturbances to benthic communities; littoral populations; terrestrial communities and extratropical regions.

Global Ecological Consequences of the 1982-83 El Niño-Southern Oscillation

Global Ecological Consequences of the 1982-83 El Niño-Southern Oscillation PDF Author: P.W. Glynn
Publisher: Elsevier
ISBN: 0080870902
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 587

Get Book Here

Book Description
El Niño is a meteorologic/oceanographic phenomenon that occurs sporadically (every few years) at low latitudes. It is felt particularly strongly in the eastern Pacific region, notably from the equator southwards along the coasts of Ecuador and Peru. The El Niño is a component of the ENSO (El Niño Southern Oscillation) which accentuates the intimate and causal connection between atmospheric and marine processes. Obvious manifestations of El Niño in the eastern Pacific are anomalous warming of the sea; reduced upwelling; a marked decline in fisheries, and high rainfall with frequent flooding.The 1982/83 El Niño was exceptionally severe, and was probably the strongest warming of the equatorial Pacific Ocean to occur during this century. The warming was intense and spread over large parts of the Pacific Ocean and penetrated to greater depths than usual. Many eastern Pacific coral reefs that had exhibited uninterrupted growth for several hundred years until 1983 were devasted by the disturbance and are now in an erosional mode. Marine species were adversely affected. The consequent depletion of the plant food base resulted in significant reductions in stocks of fish, squid etc. This led to a mass migration and near-total reproductive failure of marine birds at Christmas Island.Emphasis in this volume is placed on disturbances to benthic communities; littoral populations; terrestrial communities and extratropical regions.

El Niño Southern Oscillation in a Changing Climate

El Niño Southern Oscillation in a Changing Climate PDF Author: Michael J. McPhaden
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 1119548128
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 528

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Book Description
Comprehensive and up-to-date information on Earth’s most dominant year-to-year climate variation The El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) in the Pacific Ocean has major worldwide social and economic consequences through its global scale effects on atmospheric and oceanic circulation, marine and terrestrial ecosystems, and other natural systems. Ongoing climate change is projected to significantly alter ENSO's dynamics and impacts. El Niño Southern Oscillation in a Changing Climate presents the latest theories, models, and observations, and explores the challenges of forecasting ENSO as the climate continues to change. Volume highlights include: Historical background on ENSO and its societal consequences Review of key El Niño (ENSO warm phase) and La Niña (ENSO cold phase) characteristics Mathematical description of the underlying physical processes that generate ENSO variations Conceptual framework for understanding ENSO changes on decadal and longer time scales, including the response to greenhouse gas forcing ENSO impacts on extreme ocean, weather, and climate events, including tropical cyclones, and how ENSO affects fisheries and the global carbon cycle Advances in modeling, paleo-reconstructions, and operational climate forecasting Future projections of ENSO and its impacts Factors influencing ENSO events, such as inter-basin climate interactions and volcanic eruptions The American Geophysical Union promotes discovery in Earth and space science for the benefit of humanity. Its publications disseminate scientific knowledge and provide resources for researchers, students, and professionals. Find out more about this book from this Q&A with the editors.

Encyclopedia of Modern Coral Reefs

Encyclopedia of Modern Coral Reefs PDF Author: David Hopley
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 904812638X
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 1226

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Book Description
Coral reefs are the largest landforms built by plants and animals. Their study therefore incorporates a wide range of disciplines. This encyclopedia approaches coral reefs from an earth science perspective, concentrating especially on modern reefs. Currently coral reefs are under high stress, most prominently from climate change with changes to water temperature, sea level and ocean acidification particularly damaging. Modern reefs have evolved through the massive environmental changes of the Quaternary with long periods of exposure during glacially lowered sea level periods and short periods of interglacial growth. The entries in this encyclopedia condense the large amount of work carried out since Charles Darwin first attempted to understand reef evolution. Leading authorities from many countries have contributed to the entries covering areas of geology, geography and ecology, providing comprehensive access to the most up-to-date research on the structure, form and processes operating on Quaternary coral reefs.

Upwelling Ecosystems

Upwelling Ecosystems PDF Author: R. Boje
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 3642669859
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 310

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Book Description
Upwelling areas are among the most fertile regions of the ocean. In principle, upwelling is caused by the divergence of the flow in the surface layer of the ocean which arises as a consequence of a particular wind field, the presence of a coastline, or other special conditions. Since deeper oceanic layers are usually enriched wi th nutrients, it is the permanent supply of nutrients which forms the basis for the high producti vi ty of upwelling reg ions. The study of upwelling and its consequences were, for a long time, the task of individual scientists from all disciplines of marine science. Today, it is perhaps the branch of oceanography where interdisciplinary coopera tion has developed best. Becoming aware of the large potential yield of upwelling regions, governments in creased the funds for upwelling research. With research activities developed on a larger scale, interdisciplin ary cooperation became a necessity. On the international level, several symposia documented the rapid development. Three volumes reflect the results of these scientific meetings (Rapp. Proc.-Verb. 159, 1970; Inv. Pesq. 35, 1, 1971; Tethys §.' 1-2, 1974). The present book contains selected papers from the Third Symposium on Upwelling Ecosystems, which was held in Kiel in September 1975. Although the third of a series of meetings, it was the first where the word "ecosystem" stood in the title for a scientific program.

Pinnipeds and El Niño

Pinnipeds and El Niño PDF Author: Fritz Trillmich
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 3642763987
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 299

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Book Description
El Niño is a meteorological and oceanographic phenomenon, which occurs at irregular intervals in the eastern tropical Pacific. Its most obvious characteristic is the warming of surface waters, which causes enormous disturbances of the marine environment. A severe Niño may also affect continental systems worldwide. This book gathers in a comprehensive way the information available on the effects of the exceptionally strong 1982-83 Niño on a group of marine mammals, the pinnipeds. It presents an analysis of the effects of environmental stress on the populations of top predators. Data and interpretations are based on a most unusual collection of long-term studies of pinniped population dynamics, behavior and ecology which spanned the El Niño event. The responses of pinniped populations to the El Niño disturbance of the marine ecosystem also has important implications for the management and conservation of marine mammal populations.

El Niño

El Niño PDF Author: A. M. Babkina
Publisher: Nova Publishers
ISBN: 9781590334126
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 208

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Book Description
The term El Niño (Spanish for "the Christ Child") was originally used by fishermen along the coasts of Ecuador and Peru to refer to a warm ocean current that typically appears around Christmastime and lasts for several months. Fish are less abundant during these warm intervals, yet in some years, however, the water is especially warm and the break in the fishing season persists into May or even June. El Niño also brings heavy rains. During the past 40 years, nine El Niños have affected the South American coast. Most of them raised water temperatures not only along the coast, but also at the Galapagos islands and in a belt stretching 5000 miles across the equatorial Pacific. The weaker events raised sea temperatures only by one to two degrees Fahrenheit, but the strong ones, like the El Niño of 1982-83, left an imprint, not only upon the local weather and marine life, but also on climatic conditions around the globe. This book includes a detailed overview and bibliography with complete title, author and subject indexes.

Learning to Predict Climate Variations Associated with El Nino and the Southern Oscillation

Learning to Predict Climate Variations Associated with El Nino and the Southern Oscillation PDF Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309053420
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 188

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Book Description
The TOGA (Tropical Ocean and Global Atmosphere) Program was designed to study short-term climate variations. A 10-year international program, TOGA made El Nino a household word. This book chronicles the cooperative efforts of oceanographers and meteorologists, several U.S. government agencies, many other nations, and international scientific organizations to study El Nino and the Southern Oscillation (ENSO). It describes the progression from being unable to detect the development of large climate variations to being able to make and use rudimentary climate predictions, especially for some tropical countries. It examines the development of the TOGA Program, evaluates its accomplishments, describes U.S. participation in the program, and makes general recommendations for developing better understanding and predictions of climate variations on seasonal to interannual time scales.

The Oryx Resource Guide to El Niño and La Niña

The Oryx Resource Guide to El Niño and La Niña PDF Author: Bloomsbury Publishing
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
ISBN: 0313006776
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 242

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Book Description
Fish die. Seagulls starve. Economies wither. And that's just in the coastal villages. El Niño—The Christ Child—and its climatological opposite, La Niña, are global events so powerful and strange they virtually have personalities. Many remember the El Niño seasons of 1982-83 and 1997-98, which brought floods, tornadoes, droughts, and snow to unusual locales. Increased study of these Tropical Pacific phenomena, also known as ENSO (the El Niño and Southern Oscillation), has now enabled scientists to predict the ENSO state as much as 12 to 18 months in advance and has helped to shape weather prediction in general. Here, the basic causes and effects of El Niño and La Niña are carefully chronicled for anyone in search of accurate and current information on these natural phenomena. Chapters are devoted to the history of ENSO; its influence on global weather and on the United States, including the ecosystem; and how governments and industries worldwide are utilizing new weather data to harness ENSO's economic impact, rather than be saddled by it. A chronology tours key events, from the 15th century diary observations of colonists in Ecuador and Peru to recent events like the devastating El Niño of 1997-98, which was responsible for 23,000 deaths and $33 billion in damages. Biographies of important researchers, illustrations and maps, and an extensive bibliography help make this a total guide to these magnificent natural cycles.

Coral Reefs of the Eastern Tropical Pacific

Coral Reefs of the Eastern Tropical Pacific PDF Author: Peter W. Glynn
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 9401774994
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 666

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Book Description
This book documents and examines the state of health of coral reefs in the eastern tropical Pacific region. It touches on the occurrence of coral reefs in the waters of surrounding countries, and it explores their biogeography, biodiversity and condition relative to the El Niño southern oscillation and human impacts. Additionally contained within is a field that presents information on many of the species presented in the preceding chapters.

Coupled Ocean-atmosphere Models

Coupled Ocean-atmosphere Models PDF Author: Jacques C. J. Nihoul
Publisher: Elsevier Publishing Company
ISBN:
Category : Electronic books
Languages : en
Pages : 800

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Book Description
The exchange of momentum, heat, moisture, gases (such as CO 2 and O 2 ) and salt between the atmosphere and the ocean is a phenomenon of paramount importance for the dynamics of the atmosphere and the ocean. With the pressing need for reliable climate forecast (e.g. to deal with severe food and energy problems) interactive ocean-atmosphere models have become one of the main objectives of geophysical fluid dynamics. This volume provides the first state-of-the-art review of interactive ocean-atmosphere modelling and its application to climates. The papers are by active and eminent scientists from different countries and different disciplines. They provide a up-to-date survey of major recent discoveries and valuable recommendations for future research."