TY - JOUR
T1 - Recent variability in the southern oscillation
T2 - Isotopic results from a Tarawa Atoll coral
AU - Cole, Julia E.
AU - Fairbanks, Richard G.
AU - Shen, Glen T.
PY - 1993
Y1 - 1993
N2 - In the western tropical Pacific, the interannual migration of the Indonesian Low convective system causes changes in rainfall that dominate the regional signature of the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) system. A 96-year oxygen isotope record from a Tarawa Atoll coral (1°N, 172°E) reflects regional convective activity through rainfall-induced salinity changes. This monthly resolution record spans twice the length of the local climatological record and provides a history of ENSO variability comparable in quality with those derived from instrumental climate data. Comparison of this coral record with a historical chronology of El Niño events indicates that climate anomalies in coastal South America are occasionally decoupled from Pacific-wide ENSO extremes. Spectral analysis suggests that the distribution of variance in this record has shifted among annual to interannual periods during the present century, concurrent with observed changes in the strength of the Southern Oscillation.
AB - In the western tropical Pacific, the interannual migration of the Indonesian Low convective system causes changes in rainfall that dominate the regional signature of the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) system. A 96-year oxygen isotope record from a Tarawa Atoll coral (1°N, 172°E) reflects regional convective activity through rainfall-induced salinity changes. This monthly resolution record spans twice the length of the local climatological record and provides a history of ENSO variability comparable in quality with those derived from instrumental climate data. Comparison of this coral record with a historical chronology of El Niño events indicates that climate anomalies in coastal South America are occasionally decoupled from Pacific-wide ENSO extremes. Spectral analysis suggests that the distribution of variance in this record has shifted among annual to interannual periods during the present century, concurrent with observed changes in the strength of the Southern Oscillation.
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U2 - 10.1126/science.260.5115.1790
DO - 10.1126/science.260.5115.1790
M3 - Article
C2 - 17793658
AN - SCOPUS:0027840518
VL - 260
SP - 1790
EP - 1793
JO - Science
JF - Science
SN - 0036-8075
IS - 5115
ER -