Eruptions linked to El Nino

摘要

Statistical validation of a relationship between explosive volcanic eruptions and the El Nino/Southern Oscillation is a step forward in understanding the effects of such eruptions on climate. One of the strongest influences on global climate is thecycle of events in the eastern and central tropical Pacific Ocean known as the El Nino/Southern Oscillation (ENSO). The cycle consists of periodic warming and cooling phases, El Nino and La Nina respectively, and conventional wisdom is that they are driven by natural interactions between the atmosphere and ocean in the tropical Pacific. On page 274 of this issue, however, Adams et al. present a convincing case that over the past 400 years the ENSO phenomenon has been influenced by the after-effects of explosive volcanic eruptions. Not only do previous hypotheses about the geophysical processes driving the volcano-ENSO relationship now have theoretical and empirical support, but there is new life in an old debate about the role of eruptions in the Earthsystem.