Tropical oceans stoke up widespread drought

By: Richard A. Kerr

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<h1>Tropical oceans stoke up widespread drought</h1>
<h4>By: Richard A. Kerr</h4>
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<p>New research suggests that unusual conditions in the tropical Pacific Ocean caused the recent four-year droughts spanning the United States, southern Europe and Southwest Asia.<BR><BR>In this article, Richard A. Kerr explains how the analysis — carried out by Martin Hoerling and Arun Kumar of the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration — shows that two parts of the tropical Pacific created persistent drought in widely separated, seemingly unrelated regions from 1998-2002.<BR><BR>The findings, published in this week’s <em>Science</em>, are being hailed as the grandest connection between ocean and recent climate since El Niño was recognised.<BR><BR>Reference: <em>Science</em>, 31 January 2003</p>

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<p>This article was originally published on <a href="https://www.scidev.net" target="_blank">SciDev.Net</a>. Read the <a href="https://www.scidev.net/global/features/tropical-oceans-stoke-up-widespread-drought/" target="_blank">original article</a>.</p>
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New research suggests that unusual conditions in the tropical Pacific Ocean caused the recent four-year droughts spanning the United States, southern Europe and Southwest Asia.

In this article, Richard A. Kerr explains how the analysis — carried out by Martin Hoerling and Arun Kumar of the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration — shows that two parts of the tropical Pacific created persistent drought in widely separated, seemingly unrelated regions from 1998-2002.

The findings, published in this week’s Science, are being hailed as the grandest connection between ocean and recent climate since El Niño was recognised.

Reference: Science, 31 January 2003